The priests extend their hands towards the people as they recite the blessing, in a special way. They hold their hands out with the thumb separated, the index finger and middle finger together, another separation then the ring finger and pinkie together. This forms the Hebrew letter ‘shin’ which represents the name of God (El Shaddai). Both hands are held up in the same way, with the thumbs almost touching each other. In this way, they put the name of God on the people.