A patrilineal descendant of the biblical Aaron, a male kohen (plural kohanim) could serve in the Temple in Jerusalem when it was standing; various other laws apply to kohanim also, male and female.
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182 views
Making the Kohen's Gesture
Is it forbidden for a non-Kohen to form the hand formation that Kohanim use during their priestly blessings?
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3answers
260 views
Adoptee a Cohen or Levi?
If a Cohen or Levi adopts a non-Jew, upon their conversion are they a Cohen or Levi as well or are they a Yisroel?
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3answers
282 views
Can you become “more tamei”? If not, why do we worry about it today?
Without the temple and access to the ritual of the red heifer, we're all tamei (ritually impure) today with no way to fix it. Yet we work to avoid situations that would make us tamei (e.g. kohanim ...
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3answers
362 views
Nose Job in Halacha
Is a nose job allowed Hallachicly? Not all cosmetic surgeries, but rhinoplasty in particular, as I heard that rhinoplasty is allowed because we see by a Kohen that having an abnormally long nose is a ...
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3answers
213 views
Why do plastic bags and not fuselages protect against impurity?
In a picture on this article, we see a kohen who has enclosed himself in a plastic bag so as to avoid becoming impure as a result of flying over a cemetery. Why is it that a pressurized fuselage does ...
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2answers
686 views
Can a Cohen marry a bat niddah?
Can a Cohen marry a bat niddah? Are Cohens generally restricted from marrying baalei teshuva because of the possibility that they may be b'not niddah?
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2answers
101 views
How is a kohen allowed to go outside Israel?
There is a decree which says that all the land outside of Israel is Tamei (as there is a ch'shash that the non-Jews bury their dead outside of official cemeteries).
If so, how are Kohanim allowed to ...
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2answers
243 views
What happens to the family of a Kohen today if his wife is a victim of rape?
What happens to the family of a Kohen today if his wife is a victim of rape?
What are the steps taken and how does this come to be resolved according to halachah and in the most constructive way for ...
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2answers
147 views
Preference to Kohanim in repeating situations
Based on this question and answer, it seems that the obligation to honor the kohein is when everyone has equal rights, the kohein gets first pick, but not everything. For instance, if a host serves a ...
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2answers
401 views
Can the child of two converts marry a Cohen?
Can the child of two converts marry a Cohen? How does the situation differ if only the mother, or only the father, is a convert?
(I have read that "ideally" the child of two converts should not ...
9
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1answer
187 views
Can a kohen be a mamzer?
A friend and I were discussing this. Generally speaking, it seems that it should be impossible for a person to be a kohen (rather than a chalal) and also a mamzer, because the set of women whom a ...
8
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2answers
162 views
What did kohanim do the other fifty weeks of the year?
I remember learning (somewhere in talmud but can't remember where) that the kohanim were divided into 24 groups and they rotated service in the temple. And they went to Yerushalayim for the chagim, ...
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1answer
141 views
Spitting at the High Priest on Yom Kippur
My question might sound a little complicated, but it actually boils down to something very simple: does anybody know of any references to a kohen gadol (a high priest) performing the procedure of ...
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4answers
219 views
If Eliyahu is Pinchas and Pinchas is a Cohen how was he in the Room when he did Revival of the Dead?
In Melochim there is a famous occurance of the Eliyahu Hanavi reviving the Dead Child of Ovadiah's Hanavi's widow's child who some say was Yonah Hanavi. If Eliyahu was a Cohen how was he allowed to be ...
7
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2answers
237 views
How are we to understand Malchi-Tzedek, non-Jewish priest of God?
Malchi-Tzedek is a gentile priest who worships God. I initially read this as just saying God is not exclusive (it says somewhere in Nevi'im that God also has covenants with other peoples), but today ...
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1answer
374 views
Daughter of a Jewish woman and non-Jewish man
Is a Kohen allowed to marry a woman who is the daughter of a Jewish woman and non-Jewish man?
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2answers
207 views
Why do accidental killers sent to arei miklat go free after the Kohen Gadol dies?
When someone kills accidentaly he is sent to live in an ir miklat ("city of refuge") until the Kohen Gadol ("High Priest") dies. This seems like an arbitrary time. What does the Kohen Gadol's death ...
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1answer
132 views
Kohen Gadol Yibum
Is it ever possible for a Kohen Gadol to perform the Mitzvah of Yibum. After all, every case of Yibum involves a widow which the Kohen Gadol is not allowed to marry?
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3answers
184 views
Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol
In "Al Hanisim" we say "Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol", "in the days of Matisyahu the son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol (=high priest)".
Who was the Kohen Godol: Matisyahu or Yochnan?
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3answers
164 views
relative fractions of Kohanim and Levi'im
Does anyone have reliable statistics (and barring that, reasonable anectdotal evidence) of the fraction of Kohanim, Levi'im, and Yisraelim in various Jewish communities today. By "communities" I don't ...
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1answer
248 views
Prohibition of a Kohen marrying a Zonah
In the prohibition of a Kohen marrying a Zonah (cf. Vayikra 21:7), what defines a woman as a Zonah? Is it just having had relations with a non-Jew, or does it also include having relations out of ...
6
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3answers
149 views
What is the difference between a Kohen Gadol and a Kohen Rosh?
What is the difference between a Kohen Gadol and a Kohen Rosh?
Both titles are used in Tanakh, sometimes even to refer to the same person. For example:
Kohen HaRosh is mentioned in Ezra 7:5, Chron. I ...
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1answer
271 views
Where did the Levitical priesthood go?
Has the sacrificial system of the Torah been abandoned? Do those in the Tribe of Levi still act as priest?
I have just never seen or heard of anyone making sacrifices of animals or going to a ...
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2answers
224 views
Baldness as a disqualification for Kohanim
Is it true that most authorities say that baldness and left handedness disqualify a man for Kehunah? Does the same apply for Birchas Kohanim?
And why?
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4answers
334 views
Etymology of the surname “Katz”
Are there sources for the etymology of the surname Katz being an acronym for Kohen Tzedek?
Is that simply a backronym?
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2answers
183 views
Is Cohen who had a vasectomy allowed to Bless?
Is Cohen who had a vasectomy allowed to Bless the congregation? Also marry? What happens if he does marry?
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1answer
99 views
When there is no Levi, why do we call up the SAME Kohen “bimkom Levi” - “in place of a Levi.”
The Torah.org halakha class says,
If a kohen is present in the synagogue, he must be called to receive the first aliyah. After the Kohen, a Levi is called. If a Levi
is not present, the same ...
6
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1answer
88 views
Why did Aharon request that Hashem declare Miriam pure?
Rashi says that one of the meanings of Aharon's prayer regarding Miriam ("Let her not be like the dead, which comes out of his mother's womb with half his flesh consumed!"; Bamidbar 12:12) was that ...
6
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1answer
163 views
Washing Kohen's Hands
Following kedusha during mussaf on a day when there is birchas kohanim (duchening), the Leviyim and Kohanim assemble at the sink and a Levi washes each Kohen's hands.
What procedure of hand-washing ...
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1answer
148 views
Riddle: when do 10 Kohanim equal 1 Yisrael? [closed]
Pretty much what the title says. Where in the Torah do we find something for which we need 10 Kohanim or 1 Yisrael?
6
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1answer
95 views
Can one bring a Korban nowadays?
Assuming we don't have a problem with the Dome of the rock.
Has anyone discussed sacrifices nowadays regarding:
Can (and should) one bring sacrifices nowadays as we don't know the exact location ...
6
votes
1answer
101 views
Can/Should a Kohen Disqualify Himself from Birchas Kohanim because of Tumah?
Is it proper for a kohein to disqualify himself from duchaning if he feels that he is ritually unpure at that particular moment?
6
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1answer
135 views
Kohain First questions
1)Is there a Din that a Kohain must be allowed to cut you online in a supermarket because of "Vkidashto"?
2)Do they go first when it comes to Davening when there are two Chiyuvim?
3)When you learn ...
6
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1answer
157 views
how to call up a kohen/levi as acharon
Shulachan Aruch (OC 135:10) holds, and Rama (there) seems to also hold, that if a kohen (or levi, m.m.) is called as acharon then the gabai should say "af al pi shehu kohen". The purpose of this is to ...
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6answers
678 views
Which surnames are exclusively Kohanim's and why?
It is well known that is a person has a certain surname (last name) they are more likely to be a Kohen.
Examples:
Cohen - for obvious reasons
Kahn
Katz - stands for "Kohen Tzedek"
What are some ...
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2answers
143 views
What do you do if there is no Levi or Bechor to wash the Kohain's hands?
What do you do by Duchaning when there is no Levi or Bechor to wash the Kohain's hands?
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1answer
166 views
Is a bat kohen allowed to go to cemetery?
Besides the permitted reasons for male kohen, is a bat kohen allowed to go to cemetery for other reason?
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2answers
154 views
My father-in-law was a Cohen. Are my children Cohanim?
I seem to recall that Kehuna passes from father to son. Does it pass through the mother as well?
My father-in-law was a Cohen. That makes my wife Bat-Cohen, but what does it make my children?
...
5
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1answer
48 views
Would a replacement kohen gadol be anointed on yom kippur?
Here is what I know:
When a kohen gadol dies we replace him. In fact we've got a replacement kohen gadol waiting in the wings on yom kippur just in case
Any kohen who becomes kohen gadol gets ...
5
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1answer
102 views
Why do the Leviim wash the hands of the Kohanim when they go up to bless the people?
When the Kohanim washed their hands and feet in the Beis HaMikdosh they did not have anyone to help.
Why then do the Kohanim need others to wash their hands when they go up to bless the people?
Why ...
5
votes
1answer
254 views
If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be eligible to marry a Kohen?
If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be eligible to marry a Kohen?
Case #1 -- Assume her husband is a Jew by birth.
Case #2 -- Assume her husband converted to Judaism prior ...
5
votes
2answers
198 views
What do broken thumbs mean on a grave stone?
Often on the grave stones of kohanim there is an engraving of two hands with fingers spread as kohanim do during birchas kohanim. (For an example drawn randomly from Google Images see here.) What does ...
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2answers
121 views
Can the daughter of two people who could not marry a Cohen marry a cohen?
Can a woman whose father's father isn't Jewish, but whose father's mother is a regular Jew, and whose mother is the child of two converts marry a Cohen?
On the one hand she isn't purely from ...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
Source for bechorot losing/reclaiming priesthood
At a parshat hashavua shiur that I regularly attend, the rabbi has stated on multiple occasions that the bechorot (firstborn sons of Israel) were supposed to serve the purpose that the Leviim and ...
5
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0answers
59 views
Significance of the Kohen's hand gestures?
What is the significance of the shapes (windows?) created by the kohen during birkas cohanim? This question and the ensuant answers detail at least 3 opinions of the gesture, I would really appreciate ...
5
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0answers
108 views
Relations among King David, the Sanhedrin, and the high priest
Do we have any historical source that discusses the relations among King David, the Sanhedrin during his reign, and the high priest during his reign? Were they on friendly terms? Was there a power ...
4
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2answers
176 views
Which Yochanan Kohen Godol is in Al Hanissim?
In Al Hanissim we mention a Yochanan Kohen Gadol. Since there were several kohanim gedolim named Yochanan which one is this, historically?
4
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2answers
218 views
Is a Cohen Allowed to Perform CPR?
CPR is performed when the heart has stopped but the brain is still alive. We have a general rule that a Cohen is not allowed to come in contact with a dead body. If so, does this mean that a Kohen ...
4
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3answers
300 views
Is there a difference between a Rabbi and a Temple Priest?
I was reading about Perushim and Tzedukim on Wikipedia and the articles seems to suggest that there is a difference between them.
Is there a difference between a rabbi and a (Temple) priest?
4
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1answer
252 views
Kohen flying over a cemetery?
Is there a problem with a kohen flying in an airplane that may fly over a Jewish cemetery? If so, how can a kohen be sure that a flight does not go over a Jewish cemetery?
