Hebrew Bible
At the time of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, the sacrificial activity of the Jewish nation was conducted by the firstborn of Israel. After the sin of the Golden calf, God recounted the privilege of priesthood from the firstborn and gave it to Aaron, and his sons, as an everlasting priestly covenant.
Generally, the duties of Kehuna are not restricted to sacrificial offerings alone but include various other forms of service to the nation of Israel. These forms of service include Torah instruction [2] and managing tzaraath . [3]
Along with the commandment that God commanded Moses to confer the priesthood to Aaron came along the commandment which involves the participation of the nation of Israel in maintaining and creating a state of holiness and sanctification of their priests. Examples of this sanctification include assisting the priest in abstaining from forbidden marriages, to maintain a general state of purity, and to furnish the priest with gifts (later in rabbinical sources, counted as Twenty-four priestly gifts) to carry out his required duties.
The inauguration of Aaron and his sons to perform the holy service in the tabernacle is related in Exodus and Leviticus:
- And Aaron and his sons I will sanctify to serve me. And I will dwell amidst the children of Israel and I will be to them for a God. [4]
- And you should sanctify him since the bread of your God he sacrifices. Holy he should be to you, since holy I am the God who makes you holy. [5]
According to the Sifsei Kohen to the Chumash since the priest or kohen is chosen by God to perform direct service to God, doing acts of sanctification to and honoring the Kohen demonstrate the sanctification of God himself in a practical setting. [6] In a somewhat radical explanation Abraham ibn Ezra contends that the personality traits of the priest, given to him by God, are superior to those of the rest of the nation of Israel. Hence, the power to administer the priestly blessing and to be successful at prayer rests with the Kohen, thereby justifying preferential treatment from amongst the nation. [7]
The Talmud understands "you shall make holy" to refer to sanctifying the Kohen in all matters of Kedushah:
- The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: "you shall make holy" refers to all matters of holiness: to open first (at addressing a gathering), to bless first (at Birchat HaMazon), and to take a fine portion first. [8]
Addressing a crowd
As part of the school of Rabbi Yismael's explanation, the Mitzvah includes sanctifying the Kohen with the first slot in delivering Torah instruction from amongst other Jews who are on the/a panel of speakers. Rabbinic authorities explain that this sanctification is only applicable in the event where the Kohen is greater or equal in Torah knowledge to the other Jews present. In the event that he is not greater in Torah knowledge, this first slot is afforded the Rabbi who is superior.
The kohen giving grace after meal
The Kohen is given the honor to initiate grace after the meal provided three adult male Jews have dined together. The Kohen may allow a non-Kohen to initiate the blessing instead, but his permission must be explicit. [9] Rashi interprets the requirement to sanctify the kohen at mealtime as affording him the initiation of making the Bracha of HaMotzi at the start of the meal. [10]
Priority to the choicest portion
With two honors being interpreted by the school of Rabbi Yishmael to mean spiritual forms of honor, the third is interpreted as a physical one; here, the requirement is to give the Kohen the first choice when choosing portions of equal size and value. [11]
The first Aliyah
When the Torah reading is performed in synagogue, it is customary to honor the kohen for the first reading (aliyah), and a Levite for the second reading (if a kohen and Levite are present in synagogue). The third reading, and any later readings (on Shabbat and holidays), are given to individuals who are not kohanim or Levites.
Nowadays, this practice is followed in Orthodox synagogues and some Conservative synagogues. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have abolished special ritual roles for kohanim and Levites.
The pidyon haben or redemption of the first-born son is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is "redeemed" by use of silver coins. Interpretations differ in what the firstborn son is to be redeemed from, ranging from being redeemed from their firstborn status, which was stigmatized after the Ten Plagues, or their obligation to serve as a priest.
Levites or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname Halevi, which consists of the Hebrew definite article "ה" Ha- ("the") plus Levi (Levite) is not conclusive regarding being a Levite; a titular use of HaLevi indicates being a Levite. The daughter of a Levite is a "Bat Levi".
Kohen is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed and halakhically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the biblical Aaron, brother of Moses, and thus belong to the Tribe of Levi.
A terumah, the priestly dues, or more typically, heave offering, is a type of offering in Judaism. The word is generally used for an offering to God, although it is also sometimes used as in ish teramot, a "judge who loves gifts".
The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction,, also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands or rising to the platform or dukhanen or duchanning, is a Hebrew prayer recited by Kohanim. The text of the blessing is found in Numbers 6:23–27.
Emor is the 31st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the Book of Leviticus. The parashah describes purity rules for priests, recounts the holy days, describes the preparations for the lights and bread in the sanctuary, and tells the story of a blasphemer and his punishment. The parashah constitutes Leviticus 21:1–24:23. It has the most verses of any of the weekly Torah portions in the Book of Leviticus, and is made up of 6,106 Hebrew letters, 1,614 Hebrew words, 124 verses and 215 lines in a Torah Scroll.
The first tithe is a positive commandment in the Torah requiring the giving of one tenth of agricultural produce to charity, after the giving of the standard terumah, to the Levite. This tithe is required to be free of both monetary and servicial compensation.
An aliyah is the calling of a member of a Jewish congregation up to the bimah for a segment of the formal Torah reading. A person receiving an aliyah is called an oleh (male) or olah (female).
The gift of the foreleg, cheeks and maw of a kosher-slaughtered animal to a kohen is a positive commandment in the Hebrew Bible. The Shulchan Aruch rules that after the slaughter of animal by a shochet, the shochet is required to separate the cuts of the foreleg, cheek and maw and give them to a kohen freely, without the kohen paying or performing any service.
Mnachem (Mendel) HaKohen Risikoff, was an orthodox rabbi in Russia and the United States, and a prolific author of scholarly works, written in Hebrew. Risikoff used a highly stylized and symbolic pen-name, יאמהדנונחהים, made up of the Hebrew letters of his first name, the Hebrew word for Lord, and the Tetragrammaton, one of Judaism's terms for God. It is not clear whether this pen name was used in conversation, or whether it was used only in his writings.
In Judaism, the presumption of priestly descent is the presumption that a Jewish man is a priest (kohen), based not on genealogical records of descent from Aaron or on Jewish court rulings, but rather by observation of his priestly behavior as recognized by his peers and community. Such an individual is called a kohen muhzak.
In Judaism, the instructions of the priests are the rulings and teachings of the priests that are addressed to the Jewish people. Numerous Biblical passages attest to the role of the priests in teaching Torah to the people and in issuing judgment. Later rabbinic statements elaborate on these roles. However, the priest's religious authority is not automatic: even a bastard who is a scholar takes precedence over an ignorant high priest.
In Judaism, the dough offering is an assertive command requiring the owner of a bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a kohen. The obligation to separate the dough offering from the dough begins the moment the dough is kneaded, but may also be separated after the loaves are baked. This commandment is one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts, and, by a biblical injunction, is only obligatory in the Land of Israel, but from a rabbinic injunction applies also to breadstuffs made outside the Land of Israel.
According to Judaism, the priestly covenant is the biblical covenant that God gave to Aaron and his descendants, the kohanim. This covenant consisted of their exclusive right to serve in the Temple, and to consume sacrificial offerings and receive other priestly gifts.
A bat-kohen or bat kohen is the daughter of a kohen, who holds a special status in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinical texts. She is entitled to a number of rights and is encouraged to abide by specified requirements, for example, entitlement to consume some of the priestly gifts, and an increased value for her ketubah.
The Sons of Zadok are a family of priests (kohanim), descended from Zadok, described in the prophecies of Ezekiel.
In Judaism, the priestly court was a court of Jewish law, composed of priests descended from Aaron, which operated at the Temple in Jerusalem and oversaw matters related to the priesthood and Temple rituals.
In the Tanakh, the term herem is used, among other meanings, for an object or real property to be devoted to God, with God authorizing a kohen to be its receiving agent.
The prohibition of Kohen defilement to the dead is the commandment to a Jewish priest (kohen) not to come in direct contact with, or be in the same enclosed roofed space as a dead human body.
