Kohen

For other meanings, see Cohen (disambiguation)

A Kohen (or Kohein, Hebrew כֹּהֵן, 'priest', pl. כוהנים, Kohanim) is a Jew who is in direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron.

The name Kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, both Jewish and non-Jewish, as well as the Jewish nation as a whole. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, Kohanim performed specific duties vis-à-vis the daily and festival sacrificial offerings.

Today Kohanim retain a lesser though still somewhat distinct status within Judaism and remain bound by additional laws in Orthodox Judaism.

Maimonides, the leading figure of Jewish philosophy, states that the purpose of Kohanim was to wean the populace off the primal custom of sacrifice.

Biblical origins

The status of Kohen was conferred on Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his sons. During the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and until the Holy Temple was built in Jerusalem, Kohanim performed their priestly service in the portable Tabernacle. Their duties involved offering the daily and Jewish holiday sacrifices, collectively known as the Korbanot in Hebrew, and blessing the people in a ceremony known as Nesiat Kapayim ("Raising of the hands"), the ceremony of the Priestly Blessing.

When the First and Second Temples were built, the Kohanim assumed these same roles in these permanent structures on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They were divided into 24 groups, each group consisting of six priestly families. Each of the 24 served for one complete week, with each of the six serving one day per week, on the Shabbat all six worked in tandem. These 24 groups changed every Shabbat at the completion of the Mussaf service. On the biblical festivals all 24 were present in the Temple for duty.

In a broader sense, since Aaron was a descendant of the Tribe of Levi, Kohanim are sometimes titled Levites, by direct patrilineal descent. However, not all Levites are Kohanim.

When the Temple existed, most services (i.e. the Korbanot) could only be conducted by Kohanim. Non-Kohen Levites (i.e. all those who descended from Levi, the son of Jacob, but not from Aaron) performed a variety of other Temple roles, including Shchita, song service by use of voice and Musical instruments, and various tasks in assisting the Kohanim in performing their service.

Lineage of priests in the Torah

King Melchizedek of Salem, identified by Rashi as being Shem the son of Noah by another name, is the first person in the Torah to be called a kohen (Genesis 14:18).

When Esau sold the birthright of the first born to Jacob, Rashi explains that the priesthood was sold along with it, because by right the priesthood belongs to the first-born. Only when the first-born (along with the rest of Israel) sinned at the Golden calf, the priesthood was given to the Tribe of Levi, which had not been tainted by this incident.

Moses was supposed to receive the priesthood along with the leadership of the Jewish people, but when he argued with God that he should not be the leader, it was given to Aaron.

Aaron received the priesthood along with his children and any descendants that would be born subsequently. However, his grandson Pinchas had already been born, and did not receive the priesthood until he killed the prince of the Tribe of Simeon and the princess of the Midianites (Numbers 25:7–13). Thereafter, the priesthood has remained with the descendants of Aaron. However, when the Messiah comes, there is a tradition that it will revert back to the first born.

King David assigned each of the 24 Kohanic clans to a weekly watch (משמרת) during which its members were responsible for maintaining the schedule of offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem (1Chronicles 24:3–5). This instated a cycle of 'priestly courses' or 'priestly divisions' which repeated itself roughly twice each year. Following the Temple's destruction at the end of the First Jewish Revolt and the displacement to the Galilee of the bulk of the remaining Jewish population in Judea at the end of the Bar Kochva Revolt, Jewish tradition in the Talmud and poems from the period records that the descendants of each priestly watch established a separate residential seat in towns and villages of the Galilee, and maintained this residential pattern for at least several centuries in anticipation of the reconstruction of the Temple and reinstitution of the cycle of priestly courses. Specifically, this kohanic settlement region stretched from the Bet Netofa valley, through the Nazareth region to Arbel and the vicinity of Tiberias.

The twenty-four divisions

Main article: priestly divisions

King David, along with Shmuel HaNavi divided the then existing Kohanic groups into 24 priestly divisions (Mishmarot, משמרות). Each group's members were responsible for maintaining the schedule of offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem. When the First and Second Temples were built, the Kohanim assumed these roles in the permanent temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Each of the 24 groups consisted of six priestly families, with each of the six serving one day of the week. On the Shabbat all six worked in tandem. These 24 groups changed every Shabbat at the completion of the Mussaf service. However, On the biblical festivals all 24 were present in the Temple for duty. The cycle of the 24 priestly courses repeated itself roughly twice each year.

Qualifications and disqualifications

Main article: Kohanic disqualifications

Although Kohanim may assume their duties once they reached physical maturity, the fraternity of Kohanim generally would not allow young Kohanim to begin service until they reached the age of twenty, some opinions state that this age was thirty. There was no mandatory retirement age. Only when a Kohen became physically infirm could he no longer serve.. A Kohen may become disqualified from performing his service for a host of reasons, including -but not limited to- Tumah, Marital defilements, and Physical blemishes. Of importance is that the Kohen is never permanently disqualified from service but is permitted to return to his normal duties once the disqualification ceases.

The twenty-four Kohanic gifts

Main article: The twenty-four Kohanic gifts

The Kohanim were compensated for their service to the nation and in the Temple through 24 priestly gifts. Of these 24 gifts, 10 are listed as to be given even outside the land of Israel. An example of the gifts given to the Kohen in the Diaspora are most notably the five coins of the Pidyon HaBen ceremony, and the Giving of the foreleg, cheeks and abomasum from each Kosher-slaughtered animal.

The Kohen Gadol

Main article: Kohen Gadol

In every generation when the Temple was standing, one Kohen would be singled out to perform the functions of Kohen Gadol (High Priest). His primary task was the Yom Kippur service. Other Kohen Gadol unique acts included the offering of a daily meal sacrifice, and the prerogative to supersede any Kohen and offer any offering he chose.

Although the Torah retains a procedure to select a Kohen Gadol when needed, in the absence of the Temple in Jerusalem, there is no Kohen Gadol today.

Modern application

After the destruction of the Second Temple and the suspension of sacrificial offerings, the formal role of priests in sacrificial services came to an end, whether temporary or permanent. However, Kohanim retain a formal and public ceremonial role in synagogue prayer services, which were established as a substitute for or reminder of the sacrifices themselves ("Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: "Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips..." (Hosea 14:3). Kohanim also have a limited number of other special duties/privileges in Jewish religious practice. These special roles have been maintained in Orthodox Judaism, and sometimes in Conservative Judaism. Reform Judaism does not afford any special status or recognition to Kohanim.

Synagogue aliyah

Every Monday, Thursday and Shabbat in Orthodox synagogues (and many Conservative ones as well), a portion from the Torah is read aloud in the original Hebrew in front of the congregation. On weekdays, this reading is divided into three; it is customary to call a Kohen for the first reading (aliyah), a Levite for the second reading, and a member of any other Tribe of Israel to the third reading. On Shabbat, the reading is divided into seven portions; a Kohen is called for the first aliyah and a Levite to the second, and a Yisroel for the rest.

If a kohen is not present, it is customary in many communities for a levite to take the first aliyah "bimkom Kohen" (in the place of a Kohen) and an Israelite the second and succeeding ones. This custom is not required by Halakha (Jewish religious law), however, and Israelites may be called up for all aliyot.

The late 12th and early 13th century Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg ruled that in a community consisting entirely of Kohanim, the prohibition on calling Kohanim for anything but the first two and maftir aliyot creates a deadlock situation which should be resolved by calling women to the Torah for all the intermediate aliyot. Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky, an author on the topic of the role of women in Judaism, has recently endorsed relying on this authority to permit the deliberate creation of minyanim composed entirely of Kohanim for the express purpose of giving women an opportunity to have an aliyah to the Torah in an Orthodox setting.

The Conservative Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), consistent with the Conservative movement's general view of the role of Kohanim, has ruled that the practice of calling a Kohen to the first aliyah represents a custom rather than a law, and that accordingly, a Conservative rabbi is not obligated to follow it. As such, in some Conservative synagogues, this practice is not followed.

Priestly blessing

Main article: Priestly Blessing

Blessing gesture depicted on the gravestone of Rabbi Meschullam Kohn (1739-1819), who was a kohen.

The Kohanim participating in an Orthodox prayer service also deliver the Priestly Blessing , during the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei.. They perform this service by standing and facing the crowd in the front of the congregation, with their arms held outwards and their hands and fingers in a specific formation,. Kohanim living in Israel and many Sephardic Jews living in areas outside of Israel deliver the Priestly Blessing daily; Ashkenazi Jews living outside of Israel deliver it only on Jewish holidays.

Pidyon Haben

Main article: Pidyon haben

Outside the synagogue, the Kohen leads the Pidyon Haben ceremony. This symbolic Redemption of the first-born son is based on the Torah commandment, "and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons."

Effects on marital status

Orthodox Judaism recognizes the rules as being in full force, but in practice seeks leniency with respect to some of the rules' strictures, and tends to resolve at least some doubts in favor of permitting a questionable marriage. Areas where Orthodox approaches may create different results include situations where a woman has been raped, kidnapped or held hostage, descendants of converts whose Judaism status turned out to be subject to doubt, ambiguous prior dating histories, and other potentially ambiguous or difficult situations.

Rape poses an especially poignant problem. The pain experienced by the families of Kohanim who were required to divorce their wives as the result of the rapes accompanying the capture of Jerusalem is alluded to in this Mishnah:

If a woman were imprisoned by non-Jews concerning money affairs, she is permitted to her husband, but if for some capital offense, she is forbidden to her husband. If a town were overcome by besieging troops, all women of priestly stock found in it are ineligible [to be married to priests or to remain married to priests], but if they had witnesses, even a slave, or even a bondswoman, these may be believed. But no man may be believed for himself. Rabbi Zechariah ben Hakatsab said, "By this Temple, her hand did not stir from my hand from the time the non-Jews entered Jerusalem until they went out." They said to him: No man may give evidence of himself.

In Israel

The Israeli rabbinate will not perform a marriage Halachically forbidden to a Kohen. For example, a Kohen cannot legally marry a divorced or converted woman in the State of Israel, although a foreign marriage would be recognized.

Conservative Jewish view

Conservative Judaism has issued an emergency takanah (rabbinical edict) temporarily suspending the application of the rules in their entirety, on the grounds that the high intermarriage rate in its community threatens the survival of Judaism, and hence that any marriage between Jews is welcomed. The takanah declares that the offspring of such marriages are to be regarded as Kohanim. The movement allows a kohen to marry a convert or divorcee for these reasons:

• Since the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer extant and korbanot should not be restored, Kohanim are no longer able to perform Temple services in a state of ritual purity.
• Because the intermarriage crisis among American Jewry is an extreme situation, the Conservative movement feels it must support the decision of two Jews to marry.

Who is a Kohen

See also: The status quo Kohen

The status of Kohanim today is a matter of dispute. Some early rabbinic commentators (Rishonim) state that Kohanim remain bound by the Torah and various rabbinic laws while others say they do not. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein do not automatically invalidate all Koahnim though nevertheless invalidate those Kohanim who come from two generations of non-observance or know that they are Kohanim from non-observant relatives or friends

For this reason, Rabbi Jacob Emden state that Kohanim are not entitled to the Pidyon Haben money, as taking such money could constitute theft. Thus, the Vilna Gaon would redeem himself from multiple Kohanim until he found a real Kohen with the last name of Rappaport. The Rappaport family is said to be a family of Ashkenazim who are Kohanim Meyuchasim. Additionally, according to many, all forms of monetary privileges granted to Kohanim are held back due to the lack of the Beit Din keeping tabs on Kohanic heritage; the Kohen therefore only receives non monetary honors, as to keep the Kehuna not attractive to Non-Kohanim Other authorities state in the Shulchan Aruch that many of the laws of Kohanim remain in effect to this day on various levels for various reasons.

Status of women as Kohanim

Kohen was a status that traditionally referred to men, passed from father to son, although there were situations where a Bat-Kohen, daughter of a Kohen, enjoyed some special status. For example, the firstborn son of a Bat-Kohen or the firstborn son of a Bat-Levi, the daughter of any Levite did not require the ritual of Pidyon HaBen.

In addition, females, although they did not serve in the Tabernacle or the Temple, were permitted to consume and/or derive benefit from some of the 24 kohanic gifts. However, if a Kohen's daughter married a man from outside the Kohanic line, she was no longer permitted to benefit from the Kohanic gifts. Conversely, the daughter of a non-Kohen who married a Kohen took on the same rights as an unmarried daughter of a Kohen.

In modern times

Today, Orthodox and many Conservative rabbis retain the position that only men can serve as a Kohen, and that a daughter of a Kohen is recognized as a Bat-Kohen only in the very limited ways that have been identified in the past. Other Conservative rabbis, along with some Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis, are prepared to give equal Kohen status to the daughter of a Kohen.

Orthodox Judaism retains the view that the privileges and status of Kohanim stem primarily from their offerings and activities in the Temple. Accordingly, in Orthodox Judaism only men can perform the Priestly Blessing and receive the first aliyah during the public Torah reading, and women are generally not permitted to officiate in a Pidyon HaBen ceremony. However, the question of what acts (if any) a bat kohen can perform in an Orthodox context is a subject of current discussion and debate in some Orthodox circles.

Some women's prayer groups which practice under the halakhic guidance of Modern Orthodox Rabbis, and which conduct Torah readings for women only, have adapted a custom of calling a bat kohen for the first aliyah and a bat levi for the second.

Conservative Judaism, consistent with its view that sacrifices in the Temple will not be restored and in light of many congregations' commitment to gender (but not tribal) egalitarianism, interprets the Talmudic passages involved to permit elimination of most distinctions between male and female Kohanim in congregations that retain traditional tribal roles while modifying traditional gender roles. The Conservative movement bases this leniency on the view that the privileges of kohen-hood come not from offering Temple offerings but solely from lineal sanctity, and that ceremonies like the Priestly Blessing should evolve from their Temple-based origins. (The argument for women's involvement in the Priestly Blessing acknowledges that only male Kohanim could perform this ritual in the days of the Temple, but that the ceremony is no longer rooted in Temple practice; its association with the Temple was by rabbinic decree; and rabbis therefore have the authority to permit the practice to evolve from its Temple-based roots). As a result, some Conservative synagogues permit a bat kohen to perform the Priestly Blessing and the Pidyon HaBen ceremony, and to receive the first aliyah during the Torah reading.

The law committee of the Masorti movement (the equivalent of Conservative Judaism) in Israel has ruled that women do not receive such aliyot and cannot perform such functions as a valid position (Rabbi Robert Harris, 5748). Therefore, not all Conservative congregations or rabbis permit these roles for bnot Kohanim (daughters of priests). Moreover, many egalitarian-oriented Conservative synagogues have abolished traditional tribal roles and do not perform ceremonies involving Kohanim (such as the Priestly Blessing or calling a Kohen to the first aliyah), and many traditionalist-oriented Conservative synagogues have retained traditional gender roles and do not permit women to perform these roles at all.

Because most Reform and Reconstructionist temples have abolished traditional tribal distinctions, roles, and identities on grounds of egalitarianism, a special status for a bat Kohen has very little significance in these movements.

Kohen genetic testing controversy

The Department of Haematology and Genetic Pathology at Flinders University School of Medicine has found the following studies to be invalid due to bias and flawed test data. The popular genetic testing service 23andme have corroborated these findings as being biased and flawed.

Main article: Y-chromosomal Aaron

Recently the tradition that many Kohanim are descended from a common ancestor has gained some support from genetic testing. Since all direct male lineages share a common haplotype, testing was done across sectors of the Jewish population to see if there was any commonality among their Y chromosomes. There were proven to be certain distinctions among the Y chromosomes of Kohanim, although these distinctions were found in slightly over half of the Kohanim tested; implying that slightly over half of Kohanim share some common male ancestry. The Cohen Modal Haplotype results from this study of Kohanim were used to establish that many male members of the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) were descendants of Kohanim, and thus substantiating their claims to be Jewish. Note: The genetic markers cannot be passed to or through a female. Since the religious status of a kohen is contingent upon being the male biological descendants of Aaron in conjunction with numerous other variables that are not subject to genetic testing (the wife of a kohen cannot have had relations with a non-Jew, be a divorcee etc...) the possession of a common haplotype does not provide sufficient evidence required to render or maintain the status of a kohen.

Cohen as a surname

Main article: Cohen (surname)

The status of kohen in Judaism has no necessary relationship to a person's surname. Though it is true that descendants of Kohanim often bear surnames that reflect their genealogy, there are many families with the surname Cohen (or any number of variations) who are not Kohanim nor even Jewish. Conversely, there are many Kohanim who do not have Cohen as a surname.

There are numerous variations to the spelling of the surname Cohen. These are often corrupted by translation or transliteration into or from other languages, as exemplified below (not a complete list).

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• Ancient/Modern Hebrew: Kohen, HaKohen, ben-Kohen, bar-Kohen
• Others: Maze (acronym of mi zerat Aharon, i.e. "from the seed of Aaron"), Azoulai (acronym from ishah zonah ve'challelah lo yikachu, meaning "a foreign or divorced woman he shall not take;" prohibition binding on Kohanim), Rappaport, Shapiro, Kahane, Quinn (Gaelic or English), Kohanchi (Persian).

However, by no means are all Jews with these surnames Kohanim. Additionally, some "Cohen"-type surnames are considered stronger indications of the status than others. "Cohen" is one of the hardest to substantiate due to its sheer commonality.

In contemporary Israel, "Moshe Cohen" is the equivalent of "John Smith" in English-speaking countries - i.e., proverbially the most common of names.

Seder

Main article: Passover Seder Plate

According to the Jewish Virtual Library, one common interpretation of the practice of having three pieces of matzah on a Seder plate is that they represent "Kohen, Levi and Yisrael" (i.e., the priests, the tribe of Levi, and all other Jewish people).

Outside Judaism

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, only "literal descendants of Aaron" have the legal right to constitute the Presiding Bishopric under the authority of the First Presidency (Section 68:16-20). When and where no Latter-day Saint descendants of Aaron are available, Melchizedek Priesthood holders are permitted to substitute. To date, all men who have served on the Presiding Bishopric have been Melchizedek Priesthood holders, and none have been publicly identified as descendants of Aaron. See also Mormonism and Judaism.

References in popular culture

The positioning of the kohen's hands during the Priestly Blessing was Leonard Nimoy's inspiration for Mr. Spock's Vulcan salute in the original Star Trek television series. Nimoy, raised an Orthodox Jew (but not a kohen), used the salute when saying "Live long and prosper."

The Priestly Blessing is used by Leonard Cohen in his farewell blessing during "Whither Thou Goest", the closing song on his concerts. Leonard Cohen himself is from a kohen family. He also uses the drawing of the Priestly Blessing as one of his logos.

The Kohen and the Holocaust

Main article: Holocaust theology

In 1938, with the outbreak of violence that would come to be known as Kristallnacht, American Orthodx rabbi Mnachem HaKohen Risikoff wrote about the central role he saw for Priests and Levites in terms of Jewish and world responses, in worship, liturgy, and teshuva, repentance. In הכהנים והלוים HaKohanim vHaLeviim(1940), The Priests and the Levites, he stressed that members of these groups exist in the realm between history (below) and redemption (above), and must act in a unique way to help move others to prayer and action, and help bring an end to suffering. He wrote, "Today, we also are living through a time of flood, Not of water, but of a bright fire, which burns and turns Jewish life into ruin. We are now drowning in a flood of blood...Through the Kohanim and Levi'im help will come to all Israel."

See also

• The status quo Kohen
• The Mitzvah of sanctifying the Kohen
• The Torah instruction of the Kohanim
• Giving of the Foreleg, Cheeks, and Abomasum (as an outside-of-Israel Kohanic gift)
• Wicked Priest
• Israelites
• Jewish view of marriage
• Family history

Bibliography

• Isaac Klein A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, p. 387-388. (Conservative view prior to takkanah on Kohen marriages.)
• Isaac Klein Responsa and Halakhic Studies, p. 22-26. (Conservative view prior to takkanah on Kohen marriages.)
• K. Skorecki, S. Selig, S. Blazer, R. Bradman, N. Bradman, P. J. Waburton, M. Ismajlowicz, M. F. Hammer (1997). Y Chromosomes of Jewish Priests. Nature 385, 32. (Available online: DOI | Full text (HTML) | Full text (PDF))
• Proceedings of the CJLS: 1927-1970, volume III, United Synagogue Book Service. (Conservative)
• Mishnayoth:Seder Nashim. Translated and Annotated by Philip Blackman. Judaica Press Ltd., 2000. pp. 134–135

External links

• Genetic Genealogy: Aaron and the Cohen Model Haplotype
• The Laws of Birchat Kohanim - the Priestly Blessing Chabad.org
• Holy Matrimony? All about the Kohen or Jewish priest's prohibitions in marriage.
• The Cohen-Levi Family Heritage
• High priest's official apparel depicted