What is the status of a cohen who intermarries? He would not be able to eat Trumah, but does he continue to receive the first aliyah, and can he duchan (assuming he observes all other mitzvot)?
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1I think all his cohen privileges are suspended until he gets rid of his wife. He still has to avoid corpses. This is also technically true of a cohen who is merely not observant but many are lenient.– Clint EastwoodFeb 14, 2014 at 3:29
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In theory I would imagine @ClintEastwood is right; in practice, though, I have seen such kohanim indeed receive the first aliyah. Not clear whether this was a mistake or done for some other reason, such as not to embarrass him– SAHOct 11, 2016 at 11:37
1 Answer
A Kohein who marries a woman who is forbidden to him because he is a Kohein or a Kohein who defiles himself with corpse-related impurity does not bless the people and does not get any of the special privileges of being a Kohein (eg. called to the Torah first) until he stops doing the forbidden action and accepts to never do it again. (Shulchan Aruch OC 128:40-41)
A Kohein is forbidden to marry a non-Jew as a Zonah (Rambam Issurei Biah 17:6) so it would seem an intermarried Kohein loses all his priveleges.
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Thank you. However, is merely have relations with the non-jew considered marriage, halachically, if the relationship would otherwise be forbidden? Your sources relate to marrying a grusha, who would presumably be jewish.– cmoseFeb 14, 2014 at 15:01
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@cmose I'm not sure what your asking. The Rambam I linked to shows it's a violation of a Priestly prohibition. That should be enough to warrant not honoring him.– Double AA ♦Feb 14, 2014 at 19:41
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The source you quoted dealt with a grusha, and if he divorces her, his status returns. My original question related to a civil marriage, but I'm not sure that it is a halachic one...so if stops having relations, then does his status return?– cmoseFeb 16, 2014 at 2:25
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@cmose He needs to divorce (where applicable) and also "accept[] never [to] do it again", in this case, in the form of a public vow prohibiting anew to himself all the women he was forbidden to already.– Double AA ♦Feb 16, 2014 at 2:28