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A Kohen (or Cohen, Hebrew "priest," pl. Kohanim or Cohanim) is a direct male descendent of the biblical Aaron, brother of Moses, and has a distinct personal status in Judaism.

1 The priesthood in the Bible

The Torah appoints Aaron, brother of Moses, and Aaron's descendants as Kohanim ( Numbers 3:1-4). They were given duties associated with the Tabernacle (Numbers 1:47-54; 3:5-13,44-51; 8:5-26), primarily the daily and Jewish holiday offerings of various sacrifices, collectively known as the korbanot in Hebrew.

Since Aaron was a Levite, this means that all Kohanim are Levites. Most of the service, mainly of the korbanot, in the Temple could be conducted only by Kohanim. Non-Kohen Levites assisted in the services of the Temple.

Biblical Judaism saw in the Temple the manifestation of God's presence among His people, and in the Kohanim (priests) a vehicle of divine grace. According to the Talmud, "the priests were the emissaries, not of the people, but of God"; hence, a person who had sworn that he would not accept a service from a priest might nevertheless employ him to offer sacrifices and might make atonement for sin through him (Talmud, Yoma 19a; and Nedarim)

2 Importance of Pedigree

Later Judaism enforced rigidly the laws relating to the pedigrees of priests, and even established similar requirements for the women they married. Proof of a spotless pedigree was necessary for admission to priestly service. Anyone unable to establish their status as a Kohen was excluded from the priesthood.

Unless a woman's pedigree was known to be unimpeachable, a Kohen, before marrying her, was required to examine it for four generations on both sides, in case she was of priestly lineage; for five generations if she was not of priestly descent.

A Kohen may not marry a proselyte or a freedwoman. Regarding a daughter of such persons, opinion in the Mishnah is divided as to whether or not it was necessary that one of the parents should be of Jewish descent. The decision of later authorities was that, in case both of the woman's parents were proselytes or freed persons, a priest should not marry her, but if he had done so, then the marriage should be considered legitimate.

A Kohen not complying with these requirements is not allowed to give the priestly blessing.

Talmudic law prescribes that the honor of being first called upon for the reading of the Torah should belong to the priest.

According to the Talmud, the regulations demanding an unimpeachable pedigree continued to be binding, even after the Temple had been destroyed. The reason is that eventually the messiah will arrive, gather the Jews back to the land of Israel, rebuild the Temple, and resume the priestly service; at such a time Kohanim of unimpeachable status will be required for such service.

3 Rules protecting against ritual defilement

The Kohanim formed a holy order. For the purpose of protecting them against all ritual profanation and defilement they were to follow many rules.

• Kohanim were forbidden to come in contact with dead bodies, except in the case of their nearest kin, nor were they permitted to perform the customary mourning rites. A Kohen is forbidden to enter any house or enclosure, or approach any spot, where a dead body, or part of a dead body, may be found. (Lev. x. 6, xxi. 1-5; Ezek. xliv. 20, 25).

• A Kohen is forbidden to touch any one or anything that is ritually unclean through contact with the dead.

• They were not allowed to marry harlots, nor dishonored or divorced women (Lev. xxi. 7).T

• They were required to abstain from wine and all strong drink while performing sacerdotal duties (Lev. x. 9; Ezek. xliv. 21).

• Any priest having incurred Levitical defilement was excluded, under penalty of death, from priestly service and from partaking of holy food during the time of his uncleanness (Lev. xxii. 2-7, 9; Ezek. xliv. 26 et seq.).

• If afflicted with any bodily blemish the priest was held permanently unfit for service; however, they were still permitted to eat of the holy food (Lev. xxi. 17-23). The Talmud specifies what constitutes a bodily defect sufficient to render a Kohen unfit for priestly service.

3.1 Exceptions to rules for contact with the dead

In contradistinction to Lev. 21:2-4, the Talmudic includes a Kohen's wife and children among the persons of immediate relationship. Thus, it specifies that a Kohen must take care of and bury his dead wife and children, even though a strict reading of the Torah would mean that this renders the Kohen ritually impure.

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

The Talmud 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 ha-Nasi died the priestly laws concerning defilement through contact with the dead were suspended for the day of his death.

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Topics: Kohen Kohanim Jewish Temple Torah Priestly Judaism Status Law...

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