Kohen

A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן, "priest", pl. כּהנִים, kohanim or cohanim), is assumed to be a direct male descendant of the Biblical Aaron, brother of Moses.

During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, kohanim performed specific duties vis-à-vis the daily and festival sacrificial offerings. The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) played a special role during the service of Yom Kippur. Today, kohanim retain a distinct personal status within Judaism and are still bound by special laws in Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, in Conservative Jewish communities.

Biblical origins

The status of kohen was first conferred on Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his direct male descendants, by God (Exodus 28:1, 2–4) as an "everlasting office". During the 40 years in which the Jews wandered in the wilderness and until the Holy Temple was built in Jerusalem, kohanim performed their service in the portable Tabernacle (Numbers 1:47–54; 3:5–13,44–51; 8:5–26). 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, located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel. They were divided into 24 work groups of seven to nine priests each. Those who served changed every Shabbat, but on the biblical festivals all twenty-four were present in the Temple.

Because Aaron was a member of the Tribe of Levi, all kohanim are levites, as tribal membership passes via patrilineal descent. However, not all levites are kohanim. Most of the Temple service (i.e. the korbanot) could be conducted only by kohanim. Non-kohen levites (i.e. all those who descend from Levi, the son of Jacob, but not from Aaron) assisted the kohanim by washing the latters' hands and feet before services and providing music and song to accompany the Temple ceremonies. During the era of the Tabernacle, the levites were employed in caring for and transporting the Tabernacle between travel destinations.

Qualifications and disqualifications

In biblical times, kohanim assumed their duties at the age of 20 and retired from active service at the age of 60.

Certain imperfections could disqualify a kohen from serving in the Temple. Since the Temple was a place of beauty and the services that were held in it were designed to inspire visitors to thoughts of repentance and closeness to God, a less than physically perfect kohen would mar the atmosphere.

These blemishes include:

blindness
lameness
an excessively low nasal bridge (such that a straight brush could apply ointment to both eyes simultaneously)
one with disproportionate limbs
a crippled foot or hand
eyebrows that grow profusely
cataracts
a white streak that transverses the junction between sclera (white part of they eyeball) and iris
certain types of boils
crushed testicles

This, however, is not a comprehensive list (Lev. 21:18-20, and Rashi, ibid.) A kohen who was afflicted with one of these imperfections was held unfit for service. However, should it be a correctable imperfection, the kohen would become eligible for service should the defect be corrected. At any time, he was permitted to eat of the holy food (same source as above, including adjacent verses and commentaries). In addition, kohanim with these blemishes would be assigned to secondary roles in the Temple outside of performing the service itself.

The kohanim were rewarded for their role in the Temple and their special status through 24 special "priestly gifts." These were:^*

Gifts given in the Temple area were portions of:

an animal brought as a sin-offering
a bird brought as a sin-offering
a burnt-offering
an offering for uncertain guilt
a peace offering
the olive oil offering of a metzora
the two loaves of bread brought on Shavuot
the Showbread
the Mincha offerings
the Omer offering

Gifts given within the walls of Jerusalem were:

the firstborn of any domestic kosher animal
the Bikkurim (first fruits)
the inner organs of certain offerings
the skins of certain offerings

Gifts which could be given inside or outside Jerusalem were:

Terumah (a portion of the harvest)
Terumat Ma'aser (a tithe of the levite’s tithe
Challah (a portion of dough)
the first shearing of the sheep
the right front leg, the jaw, and the stomach of all non-sanctified, ritually slaughtered domestic animals
Pidyon HaBen (five silver shekels for the redemption of a firstborn Israelite son
a sheep or goat redeemed for a firstborn donkey
a property or possession dedicated to the Temple without specifying to which use it is to be given
inherited fields that were dedicated to the Temple and not reclaimed
the theft repayment to a convert who has died, leaving no heirs.

Females were never allowed to serve in the Tabernacle or the Temple. They were permitted to consume or derive benefit from some of the 24 priestly gifts. If a kohen's daughter married a man from outside the kohanic line, she was no longer permitted to consume these priestly gifts.

Kohen Gadol

(See main article: Kohen Gadol)

In every generation, one kohen would be singled out to perform the functions of Kohen Gadol (High Priest). His main job was the Yom Kippur service, but he did offer a daily meal sacrifice, and he had the prerogative to supersede any kohen and offer any offering he chose.

Ritual defilement

The kohanim formed a holy order. For the purpose of protecting them against ritual defilement, the Torah imposed on the following rules for ritual purity. (According to Orthodox Jewish law, these rules are still in force today.)

Kohanim are forbidden to come in contact with dead bodies, nor are they permitted to perform the customary mourning rites. They are commanded, however, to become defiled for their 7 closest relatives: father, mother, brother, sister, child or wife. (They may only become defiled for a sister who is unmarried.)
A kohen is forbidden to enter any house or enclosure, or approach any spot, in which a dead body, or part of a dead body, may be found (Lev. 10:6, 21:1–5; Ezek. 44:20, 25). Practical examples of these prohibitions include: not entering a cemetery or attending a funeral; not being under the same roof (i.e. in a home or hospital) as a dead body. The exact rules and regulations of defilement are quite complex, but a cursory rule of thumb is that they may not enter a room with a dead person or come within a few feet of the body. Proximity to the corpse of a non-Jew is less serious and may only be an issue if actual contact is established. A competent Orthodox halachic authority should be consulted for each and every situation.
A kohen is forbidden to touch anyone or anything that has been made ritually unclean through contact with the dead.
A male kohen may not marry a divorcee, a prostitute, or a dishonored woman (Lev. 21:7). Any kohen who enters into such a marriage loses his priestly status while in that marriage. The kohen is not allowed to "choose to forgo his status" and marry a woman prohibited to him (Lev. 21:6–7).
According to the Talmud, if a kohen marries in disregard of the above prohibitions, his marriage is still effective. Any children born of the union are legitimate and not mamzer. However, these children are termed chalal ("defiled") and lose their kohen status permanently.
The Kohen Gadol must marry a virgin.
During the period of the Holy Temple, kohanim were required to abstain from wine and all strong drink while performing their priestly duties (Lev. 10:9; Ezek. 44:21).

Exceptions to rules of defilement

The Talmud prescribes that if any kohen—even the Kohen Gadol—finds a corpse by the wayside, and there is no one else in the area who can be called upon to bury it, then the kohen himself must perform the burial (meis mitzvah).

The Talmud also orders the kohen to defile himself in the case of the death of a nasi (rabbinic leader of a religious academy). The Talmud relates that when Judah haNasi died, the priestly laws concerning defilement through contact with the dead were suspended for the day of his death.

Kohanim today

Today, the status of kohen is assumed by anyone who has a family tradition to that effect. Until the eighteenth century in Europe (nineteenth century in Yemen) many kohanim could accurately trace their lineage back to a verifiable Kohen such as Ezra. Today, families may verify their priestly lineage via the tombstones of deceased ancestors, as the universal symbol of the hands arranged for the Priestly Blessing is a time-honored engraving for the tombstones of kohanim. Simply having the family name of "Cohen" or "Kahanowitz" ("son of Cohen") is not proof enough, as emigration, assimilation and intermarriage have deferred the name on non-priestly individuals (and even non-Jewish descendants) as well.

Orthodox Judaism maintains a belief in and hope for a restoration of a Third Temple in Jerusalem, and Kohanim are regarded as retaining their original sanctity, and some elements of their original roles and responsibilities, and having a status of waiting in readiness for future service in a restored Temple. Other denominations of Judaism have different attitudes towards Kohanim, depending on their attitudes towards a Temple and Temple worship.

In Orthodox Judaism and to some extent in Conservative Judaism, Kohanim maintain their special status in the following areas of modern life:

Synagogue aliyah

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). 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.

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. It is considered beneath the kohen's dignity to call him up for any of the other aliyot, although he may be called for maftir, which is not technically one of the seven aliyot. In Orthodox Jewish circles, this custom has the status of law. The late 12th and early 13th century Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg 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. Rabbi Joel Wolowelsky of the Rabbinical Council of America 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. Joel B. Wolowelsky, "On Kohanim and Uncommon Aliyyot", Tradition 39(2), Summer 2005

TheConservative 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.

The CJLS has also issued differing positions on whether a bat kohen (daughter of a kohen) may claim the kohen's honorary role in synagogue prayer services. According to one position, a bat kohen or bat levi (daughter of a levite) can be accorded the honor of reading publicly from the Torah, whether they are single or married. Moreover, married women's tribal status under this Conservative view is not determined by the lineage of their husbands (as it is in Orthodox Judaism), but solely by their own paternal lineage (Rabbi Joel Roth "The status of daughters of kohanim and leviyim for aliyot" 11/15/89). Another Conservative position is that women do not receive such aliyot. The law committee of the Masorti movement (Conservative Judaism in Israel) has also ruled that women do not receive such aliyot (Rabbi Robert Harris, 5748). The CJLS holds that where the law committee has validated more than one possible position, a congregation must follow the ruling of its own rabbi.

Priestly blessing

All of the kohanim participating in an Orthodox prayer service must also deliver the Priestly Blessing, called Nesiat Kapayim, during the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei. The text of this blessing is found in Numbers 6:23-27. They perform this rite by standing in the front of the synagogue, facing the congregation, with their arms held outwards and their hands and fingers in a specific formation. In Israel, the Priestly Blessing is delivered daily; outside of Israel, it is delivered only on Shabbat and Jewish holidays of biblical origin.

Orthodox Judaism does not permit a bat kohen (daughter of a kohen) or bat levi (daughter of a levite) to participate in Nesiat Kapayim. The reason is that Nesiat Kapayim ("the raising of the hands") performed today is a direct continuation of the Temple ritual, and should be performed by those who were authentically eligible to do so in the Temple.

Regarding the ritual of the Priestly Blessing, the Conservative Movement's CJLS has also approved two positions. One view holds that a bat kohen may deliver the blessing; another view holds that a bat kohen is not permitted to participate in the Priestly Blessing because it is a continuation of a Temple ritual which women were not eligible to perform (Rabbis Stanley Bramnick and Judah Kagen, 1994; and a responsa by the Va'ad Halakha of the Masorti movement, Rabbi Reuven Hammer, 5748)

The majority of Reform Jews and Reconstructionist Jews consider all rules and ceremonies regarding the priesthood to be outdated. Many consider it to be anti-egalitarian, and thus discriminatory against Jews who are not kohanim. Therefore the honors given to the kohen during the Torah reading and in the performance of the Priestly Blessing are not observed in Reform or Reconstructionist Jewish communities. Many Reform and Reconstructionist Temples effectively forbid the practice of these laws and customs.

Pidyon Haben

Outside the synagogue, kohanim serve the unique distinction of leading the Pidyon Haben, the symbolic Redemption of the First-born ceremony for first-born male sons. This mitzvah is based on the Torah commandment, "and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons." (Exodus 13:13)

In Orthodox and Conservative circles, this ceremony is conducted as part of a festive meal. The kohen first washes his hands and breaks bread, then calls for the father and the baby. The baby is typically brought in dressed in white and bedecked with gold jewelry, which the women in attendance contribute to beautify this mitzvah. The kohen then engages the father in a formal dialogue, asking him whether he prefers to keep his money or his son. At the end of this exchange, the father (usually!!) hands over five silver coins (There is a debate about how much this should be in contemporary money. According to some calculations, this would be equal to approximately 101 grams of silver. It is a general custom to give a value more than what this would be worth, to enhance the mitzvah), and the kohen blesses him and his son. Though this ceremony should be conducted when the child is 31 days old, a first-born male who was never redeemed via Pidyon Haben may redeem himself later in life through a similar interaction with a kohen.

Orthodox Judaism requires that the ritual be performed by male kohanim.

According to the Conservative Jewish view, there are some rabbinic sources that allow women to perform this ritual, and thus a bat kohen (daughter of a kohen) may perform the ceremony for a newborn son. However, it is forbidden to perform this ceremony on a first-born daughter.

Reform and Reconstructionist Jews generally do not perform this ceremony.

Personal Status

Orthodox Jewish view

According to Orthodox Judaism, Kohanim are going to be needed again to perform their traditional roles in a future rebuilt Third Temple, and hence have a responsibility to stand in readiness, including maintaining their prescribed qualifications to the extent possible under diaspora conditions. Because of this requirement, according to Orthodox Jewish practice, modern-day kohanim are obligated to guard against ritual defilement as prescribed by the Torah. In order to protect them from coming into contact with or proximity to the dead, Orthodox cemeteries traditionally designate a burial ground for kohanim which is at a distance from the general burial ground, so that the sons of deceased kohanim can visit their fathers' graves without entering the cemetery. They are also careful not to be in a hospital, airplane, or any enclosed space where dead bodies are also present.

Modern-day kohanim are also prohibited from marrying a divorcee (even their own divorced wife), a woman who has committed adultery, been involved in incest, or had relations with a non-Jew. In compliance with Talmudic law, they also may not marry a female convert, out of concern for what may have occurred to her while she was a gentile. A born-Jewish woman who has had premarital relations may marry a kohen if and only if all of her partners were Jewish.

The child of two converts is considered "born Jewish" and thus may marry a kohen. A child of a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father, while halakhically Jewish, is prohibited from marrying a kohen, by rabbinic law.

In Orthodox Judaism, the special functions of the Kohanim are performed by men.

Conservative Jewish view

Conservative Judaism believes in a rebuilt Temple, but does not believe in restoring the system of korbanot that the Kohanim used to perform in days past, and hence does not believe in a need for Kohanim to perform their traditional roles. Accordingly, Conservative Judaism holds that while, in general, Jewish law is still binding, the restrictions against whom a kohen can marry are no longer applicable today. The movement allows a kohen to marry a convert or divorcee for these reasons:

Since the Temple in Jerusalem no longer extant and korbanot should not be restored, kohanim are no longer needed to perform Temple services in a state of ritual purity.
The priestly status of most modern-day kohanim is doubtful at best. The frequent persecutions and expulsions of Jews throughout history have caused kohanim to lose track of their genealogy.
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. Arnold Goodman, "Solemnizing the Marriage between a Kohen and a Convert" Goodman, "Solemnizing the Marriage between a Kohen and a Divorcee"

Conservative Judaism also permits local Rabbis to permit a bat kohen (a woman whose father is a Kohen) to perform some of the functions of a Kohen, such as having the first aliyah to the Torah and performing the Priestly Blessing, and the Pidyon Haben ceremonies, in congregations where these functions are performed by Kohanim. The Conservative movement is divided as to what functions, if any, a bat kohen can perform. The Masorti movement (Conservative Judaism in Israel) does not permit a bat kohen to perform these functions.Rabbi Meyer Rabbinowitz, "Women Raise Your Hands"

Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish views

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism consider halakhah no longer binding, and believe the entire ancient sacrificial system to be incompatible with modern sensibilities. They also believe that caste or gender-based distinctions such as having a caste of kohanim with distinct roles and obligations derived from heredity is morally incompatible with the principle of egalitarianism.

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 (Phineas) had already been born, and did not receive the priesthood until he killed the prince of the tribe of Simon and the princess of the Midianites (Numbers 31:11–12).

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.

The kohen gene

Recently the tradition that kohanim are descended from a common ancestor was supported by genetic testing (Skorecki et al., 1997). Since all direct male lineage shares a common Y chromosome, testing was done across sectors of the Jewish population to see if there was any commonality between their Y chromosomes. There was proven to be certain distinctions among the Y chromosomes of kohanim, implying that the kohanim do share some common ancestry. This information was used to support the claim of the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) that they were in fact, a tribe of Jews. See also Y-chromosomal Aaron.

Cohen as a surname

Descendants of kohanim often bear surnames that reflect their genealogy, often corrupted by translation or transliteration into other languages, as examplified below (not a complete list).

Russian: Kagedan (in Hebrew, this name is spelled "kaf-shin-daled-nun" and is an acronym for "Kohanei Shluchei DeShmaya Ninhu" i.e. "priests are the messengers of heaven")
English: Conn, Conway, Cohan (Cohan is also an Irish surname and Conway is also a surname of Welsh origin)
Slavic: Kogan, Kagan, Kahn
Polish: Kaplan (Polish for "priest")
German: Kohn, Coen, Katz (short for Kohen Tzedek, i.e. "authentic Kohen")
Dutch: Katten (translated as "Kohen")
French: Cahen, Cohen
Italian: Coen, Sacerdote (Italian for "priest")
Arabic: al-Kohen
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.

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

Outside Judaism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gives legal right of kohen to constitute the Presiding Bishopric under the authority of the First Presidency (). When and where Church kohanim are not available, Melchizedek Priesthood holders substitute. To date, all men who have served as the Presiding Bishop have been Melchizedek Priesthood holders, and none have been publically identified as kohanim. See also Mormonism and Judaism.

Trivia

The positioning of the kohen's hands during the Priestly Blessing was Leonard Nimoy's inspiration for Mr. Spock's Vulcan salute in the The Original Series. Nimoy, a non-observant kohen, decided to integrate this hand signal with the words, "Live long and prosper," into the show because of its novelty effect.

Footnotes

Bibliography

Isaac Klein A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, p.387-388.
Isaac Klein Responsa and Halakhic Studies, p.22-26.
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.

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