The ultimate purpose is to unite limitation and infinity: that the unlimited Divine revelation should be drawn into the limited avodah of Torah and mitzvos. Through this, the power of Hashem’s Essence, which transcends both limitation and infinity, is revealed. Therefore, even when there is Hashem’s unlimited blessing, Moshe’s measured blessing is still necessary.
On the verse, “May Hashem your G‑d increase you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you as He has spoken concerning you,” Rashi explains:
“What is the meaning of the additional phrase, ‘And bless you as He has spoken concerning you’? Rather, they said to him: ‘Moshe, you are placing a limit upon our blessing. Hashem has already promised Avraham, “If a person can count…”’ Moshe replied to them: ‘This blessing is my own, but He will bless you as He has spoken concerning you.’”
It must be understood: What benefit is there in Moshe’s blessing when Hashem’s blessing has no limit?
It is also necessary to understand the expression, “In Hashem’s blessing, the addition is greater than the principal.” Seemingly, if the addition is greater, then the addition itself should be considered the principal.
This can be understood by first considering the verse:
“The number of the Children of Israel will be…which cannot be measured or counted.”
The Gemara explains:
“Here it refers to a time when they fulfill the will of Hashem—‘it cannot be counted’; and here it refers to a time when they do not fulfill the will of Hashem—‘the number of the Children of Israel.’”
Even the expression “the number of the Children of Israel” refers to a blessing that comes through the avodah of the Jewish people. However, it refers to the avodah of Torah and mitzvos, which is measured and limited.
The avodah of teshuvah, which transcends limitation, draws down the level of “which cannot be measured or counted.”
The ultimate purpose, however, is not merely the revelation of the unlimited. Rather, it is the union of the unlimited and the limited: that the unlimited Divine revelation should be drawn into the limited avodah of Torah and mitzvos.
Through this union, the power of Hashem’s Essence is revealed, for His Essence transcends both limitation and infinity.
Therefore, even when there is Hashem’s unlimited blessing, Moshe’s blessing—which has a defined measure—is still necessary. The unlimited blessing must be drawn into and united with the framework of limitation.
Hashem’s intention is that all Divine revelations should be drawn down through human avodah, so that the person should not receive them as “bread of shame”—an unearned gift.
Therefore, although the “addition”—the revelation drawn down from above—is far greater than the “principal,” human avodah is nevertheless called the principal. This is because the person’s avodah is what brings about and draws down the far greater revelation from above.