10 votes
Accepted

Ayin or Aleph, blessing or curse?

Rashi says why this change turns the blessing into a curse pretty clearly in his comment on Megillah 24b. He says: מפני שקורין לאלפין עיינין ולעיינין אלפין. ואם היו עושין ברכת כהנים היו אומרים יאר ...
ezra's user avatar
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9 votes

Source for not looking at a kohens hands.

This idea is brought down in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 128:23: בשעה שהכהנים מברכים העם לא יביטו ולא יסיחו דעתם אלא יהיו עיניהם כלפי מטה כמו שעומד בתפלה והעם יכוונו לברכה ויהיו פניהם כנגד פני הכהנים ...
Salmononius2's user avatar
  • 6,791
9 votes

Is a kohen who embarrasses someone publicly prohibited to duchen?

Responsa Shevet Halevi 8:172 rules that such a person is allowed to duchen, because the verse that is the source of the prohibition, as well as the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch imply that the issue is ...
Jay's user avatar
  • 6,497
8 votes

Birkas Kohanim when wife is a niddah

This is cited by Raavad in his commentary to Tamid (end, s.v. He'chelu): ובספר מקצועות מצאתי כתוב היכא דאיכא נדה בביתא דכהן אסור אסור ליה למסיק לדוכן כל אימת דאיתא בנדתה דחייש דלמא נגע במידי דנגעה ...
Oliver's user avatar
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8 votes
Accepted

Why do kohanim make a bracha on birkat kohanim if they are safek kohanim?

This question is addressed by several acharonim. R. Jacob Reischer argues that since a kohen who does not perform the blessing is as if he has violated three positive commandments, the Sages said that ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 49.2k
7 votes
Accepted

In birkat kohanim, who calls out "kohanim"?

The Rambam (Tefillah 14:8) says explicitly it's the Chazzan who calls. Tosfot (Berachot 34a) quote Rabbeinu Tam who says that the Chazzan cannot call out "Kohanim" as it is a Hefsek. He proves this ...
Double AA's user avatar
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7 votes

Duchaning without a talis

See SA OC128, 23 in annotation of the Rama. הגה: וגם הכהנים לא יסתכלו בידיהם על כן נהגו לשלשל הטלית על פניהם וידיהם חוץ לטלית. ויש מקומות שנהגו שידיהם בפנים מן הטלית שלא יסתכלו העם בהם (בית יוסף):&...
kouty's user avatar
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6 votes

Duchaning without a talis

Chashukei Chemed - Megila - page 314 says that it is better for the Kohain not to Duchan rather than covering himself with another object. Yalkut Yosef 5764 edition - Tefila Volume 2 - 128:100 also ...
Gershon Gold's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Socks versus shoes for the priestly blessing

The reason kohanim remove shoes before nesiat kapayim is due to a concern that a strap may break while the kohen is going up, causing him to stop to fix it and thus miss nesiat kapayim (Sotah 40a). ...
Joel K's user avatar
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5 votes

Birkat Kohanim for a Kohen who was very far from Judaism and decided to be a good Jew

Can a Kohen converted to Christianity or married with a non-Jewish woman recite the Birkat Kohanim after Teshuva? This answer is referenced, but an explicative part is based on personal reflection, ...
kouty's user avatar
  • 22.7k
5 votes

If a kohen participates in a stoning is he still allowed to bless the people?

R. Ephraim Bilitzer (Yad Ephraim no. 5), in addressing the question how could Phineas perform the priestly service after killing Zimri & Kosbi, admits as obvious that only a kohen who was not ...
Oliver's user avatar
  • 12k
5 votes
Accepted

How does saying "pasim" help us safely enunciate the name of Hashem?

If you open for example the Artscroll siddur (in my case p. 698 of the Ashkenaz-English version), you'll see that there's a 22 letter Divine Name hidden in it that is not read, but just scanned with ...
Kazi bácsi's user avatar
  • 7,579
5 votes

Birkas Kohanim when wife is a niddah

Piskei Teshuvot 128:92 quotes a discussion and recommends being machmir, whereas Yalkut Yosef 128:87 recommends not.
MDjava's user avatar
  • 2,222
5 votes

Kohanim names. Am I a Kohan

The definition of a Kohain is someone whos father is a kohain and so forth dating back to Aharon the brother of Moses. There were three families in our synagogue named Cohen. One was a Kohain, one was ...
sabbahillel's user avatar
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5 votes
Accepted

Heter for only doing birkat kohanim on Yom Tov

R Ari Henkin (here) brings two reasons for the custom you mention There are a number of reasons why Ashkenazi congregations in the Diaspora only perform Birkat Kohanim on Yom Tov. The most celebrated ...
mbloch's user avatar
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4 votes

Why do we say כן יהי רצון in response to each blessing of Birkat Kohanim?

Mishnah Berurah 127:10 explains that it is because the chazzan is not actually blessing the congregation, which only the kohanim do. Instead, he is requesting of G-d that He bestow those blessings on ...
Joel K's user avatar
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4 votes
Accepted

Birkat Kohanim in Chutz Laaretz

See RM Issarles on SA OC 128, 44: נהגו בכל מדינות אלו שאין נושאים כפים אלא ביום טוב משום שאז שרויים בשמחת יום טוב וטוב לב הוא יברך מה שאין כן בשאר ימים אפילו בשבתות השנה שטרודים בהרהורים על מחייתם ...
kouty's user avatar
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4 votes
Accepted

A minyan made entirely of cohanim

I'm summarizing some points found in the text as well as Mishnah Berurah commentary to O.C. 128:25 If there are only 10 people and they are all Cohanim, all of them duchen and they bless those that ...
DanF's user avatar
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4 votes

Duchaning without a talis

http://etzion.org.il/en/birkat-kohanim-priestly-blessing-part-iv According to this article on the Yeshivat Har Etzion Virtual Beit Midrash there are achronim who hold that If one does not have a ...
Yosef Mordechai Coleman's user avatar
4 votes

Why not remove shoes before washing hands for the priestly blessing?

Actually Mishna Berura 128:15 suggests that the shoes should be removed prior to Netilas Yadayim. It says he may remove it after the Netila also.
Gershon Gold's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Priestly blessing for a different minyan - any need for kohen to participate?

It's strongly implied (S"A O"C 128:2) that if a Kohen is in the room when the Chazzan calls "Kohanim" (or some other form of the Kohen being called up to give the blessing), he has an obligation to ...
Salmononius2's user avatar
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4 votes
Accepted

Can a Kohen wear striped socks?

While my gut feeling per my understanding of Chayei Adam 32:4 was that 'distracting' clothing would prevent a Kohen from doing Birkas Kohanim, Rav Moshe Feinstein in Igros Moshe OC 2:32 (credit to @...
Salmononius2's user avatar
  • 6,791
4 votes
Accepted

A Kohan married to a Convert Blessing the People

No a kohen is not allowed to perform birkat kohanim if he is married to a convert or even if he is no longer married to one until he swears not to do it again as the shulchan aruch paskens in OC 128:...
Yosef Mordechai Coleman's user avatar
4 votes

Birkas Kohanim when wife is a niddah

The Raavad at the end of Mesechta Tamid quotes the Sefer Hamiktzo'os (assumed to be authored by Rabeinu Chananel): When there is a niddah in the home of a cohen he may not ascend the duchan [for ...
RibbisRabbiAndMore's user avatar
4 votes

Birkas Kohanim when wife is a niddah

R. Eliezer Waldenberg has a responsum which discusses this. He cites the Sefer Hamiktzo'os (mentioned in other answers) and then quotes a bunch of sources (some cited in the above answers as well) ...
Alex's user avatar
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3 votes

Duchaning without a talis

The sefer נשיאת כפים כהלכתא writes in perek 10 (12) that if one cannot obtain a tallis one should not duchan since the custom today is that ll the kohanim cover themselves with a tallis and one is not ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
3 votes

Quiet Birchas Kohanim

It would at least be a waste of time since holding up the arms and reciting the blessing aloud are required (ShA OC 128:14). In any event so long as no one called him up to bless, he isn't violating ...
Double AA's user avatar
  • 98.7k
3 votes

Birkat Kohanim in entirely Israeli minyan in chutz laaretz

The minhag of those from Eretz Yisrael is to say birchath kohanim daily. While many Ashkenazim in Europe had a controversial practice of refraining from birchat kohanim during the year, this custom ...
Loewian's user avatar
  • 17.7k
3 votes
Accepted

Why not remove shoes before washing hands for the priestly blessing?

As a kohain who does this myself, I can explain why we do it this way. There are three reasons that I know of. These are reasons I have personally found in common all over the USA and Israel. (There ...
Moshe Katz's user avatar
3 votes

How did the “custom” of not duchaning on Yom Tov that falls on Shabbos arise

The Beit Yosef says that the reason he heard that ashkenazim do not duchan daily is that the kohanim have the custom of going to the mikvah before saying birkat kohanim and it is too hard for them to ...
Yosef Mordechai Coleman's user avatar

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