Scans_Daily

Ethnically Jewish, not religious. Not even a little :P

But to my knowledge, it's something that was referred to in the Old Testament traditions, but hasn't continued through to the modern Orthodoxy. Certain ceremonies have hands laid over one's eyes and motions made with hands (you'd see women do this at Seder dinners for lighting Shabbat candles), but nothing like the Christian tradition, granting blessings by laying hands.

Then again, putting a hand upon the head is such an old practice, many groups and institutions have carried this forward beyond a religious context.