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Back to Question of the Week Y. Cohen |
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A: In other words, "we've read over and over in the "Parashah Puzzler" about the function of the Priestly descendents of Aaron, the kohanim, in the Torah. What's their role, now?" One of them wants to know. Fair enough. Most (but not all) people with the last names Cohen, Kohn, etc, come from families that claim descent from Aaron, the biblical High Priest. Also families named Katz, which stands for Kohen Tzedek ("righteous kohen"). Occasionally, also families with non-descript names like Schwartz. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E., the kohanim were pretty much out of a job, since their main function had been to conduct the sacrificial rites in the Temple. The rabbis who reinvented Judaism in the ensuing few centuries vigorously opposed serious communal leadership on the part of the kohanim. They thought scholarship, not heredity, should be the qualification for leadership, and they reserved some of their most mocking derision for the priestly Hasmonean rulers, descendants of the Maccabees, who knew no Torah. At the same, the rabbis did maintain certain ceremonial functions for the kohanim. They were to be in charge of the redemption of the first-born and of pronouncing the special "Priestly Blessing" in a particular fashion and on particular occasions during synagogue worship. A kohen was also honored by being the first to be called to recite the blessing over the weekly Torah reading. The rabbis also maintained certain biblical restriction pertaining to kohanim: they were not to come near to a dead body, except their nearest relatives, and male kohanim could not marry a divorcee. In Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, all these roles and restriction for kohanim remain in force. Neither Reform nor Reconstructionist Judaism make any practical distinction between kohanim, leviyim (those descended from the tribe of Levi, but not from Aaron), and Yisrael (the rest of us). Their positions arise from two main considerations. First, these two movements are clear that they do not hope for a restoration of a Temple on the model of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem where the priests will officiate. This was a traditional hope that remains clearly stated in Orthodox prayerbooks and almost-as-clearly stated in the Conservative prayerbook. The second consideration for the abolition of practical priestly distinctions is the long movement toward democratization in Judaism. This movement started in the Torah itself, which insisted that leaders and rulers were human beings, not divine beings, and that they were subject to the restrictions of law. Of particular relevance here is the tension between a verse in Exodus (19:6), which states that Israel is to become a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation," and the story of the rebellion of Korakh (Numbers 16-17), in which Korakh denies the special status of Moses and Aaron, because "this whole people is holy." In the latter story, God kills Korakh and his followers and sends a couple of miracles to reconfirm the status of Aaron and his sons. But Judaism has gravitated toward the mission expressed in the first verse. I've mentioned the democratizing rabbinic replacement of heredity with scholarship as the prerequisite of leadership. The rabbis also, in certain circumstances, legislated halakhah (Jewish law) by majority vote (amongst themselves). And the rabbis decided that certain priestly rituals, especially those surrounding the consumption of food, should be practiced by all Jews. This tendency has been carried even farther by Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism. Reform has tended to emphasize the priestly mission of the whole people as expressed in Exodus 19:6, cited above. This is the reason that many Reform synagogues, especially in the US, are called "temple" -- every Jewish place of worship is a restored Temple, where, in place of animal sacrifice, Jews ready themselves for the self-sacrifice necessary to fulfill their ethical role as a "kingdom of priests" and "a light unto the nations." Reconstructionists, on the other hand, tend to emphasize that democracy is a value which, being consistent with the best of our Jewish heritage, should be explicitly integrated into Judaism. Still, Y, it must be neat having a family memory that stretches back to the time when your ancestors were the head honchos in the Temple in Jerusalem. And that's okay with me. written by Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz |
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