Avodah Mailing List

Volume 42: Number 75

Sun, 10 Nov 2024

• 1. Birchat Cohanim (Joseph Kaplan)
• 2. Birkath Kohanim (Jay F. Shachter)
• 3. Re: Birchat Cohanim (Joel Rich)

Since we?ve been discussing duchaning, simcha, and attempting to
reinstitute duchaning every day in chutz la-aretz, I thought that as a
kohen I?d add my two bits. First, I never understood the connection between
duchaning and simcha as the reason why we don?t duchan in chutz la-aretz on
yom tov. My problem was Eretz Yisrael and aveilim. AIUI, kohaning in Israel
duchan every day even if they are aveilim and there is certainly a dearth
of simcha during yud bet chodesh. Certainly on an ordinary Tuesday. So
making simcha the reason why kohanim don?t duchan in chutz la-aretz even on
yom tov during yud bet chodesh never really made much sense to me. 

Second, I?ll add a story. I was in my year of aveilut for my second parent
and someone showed me that Rav Schechter wrote in Nefesh HaRav that the Rav
said kohanim should duchan in chutz la-aretz on yom tov even during yud bet
chodesh. My rabbi was a major talmid of the Rav so I asked him if I could
duchan the next yom tov. He hemmed and hawed a bit (even after I showed him
the page in Nefesh HaRav which says this explicitly ? he wanted to see it
inside ?), but he finally said no. I asked him why he said no since he was
such a devotee of the Rav. His answer: ?The Rav had many minhagim of
tefillah, some quite unique, and while we follow some in our shul (e.g., my
rabbi reinstituted saying all the selichot on YK because that was the Rav?s
minhag) we don?t follow many. So, since it is a minhag Yisrael not to
duchan during aveilut in chutz la-aretz, I think you shouldn?t." And I
didn?t.

Joseph

I am surprised (this is a rhetorical figure, I am not) that no one in
this conversation has yet mentioned that Ashkenazim are not fit to do
birkath kohanim on any day of the year `al pi halakha, because they do
not distinguish between the alef and the `ayin (yes, I know that there
is no `ayin in birkath kohanim, nonetheless this is the undisputed
halakha, undisputed even by the Ashkenazi rishonim).  (Sadly, there is
no equivalent halakha regarding people who write "Birchat Cohanim",
transcribing a kaf like a khaf.)

What I think happened -- and this is not a rhetorical figure, I truly
and honestly think this is what happened -- is that the gdolim in the
Ashkenazi communities knew that they lacked the power to entirely
abolish birkath kohanim in their communities, just as they lacked the
power to abolish the custom of not eating kitniyyoth on Passover,
though there were certainly those who wished they could.  They
abolished birkath kohanim as much as they could, which was every day
of the year except for the festivals, but they lacked the power to
abolish birkath kohanim on the festivals.  Later, a frum explanation
arose that explained it differently, but that should surprise no one.
If Jews were to imitate non-Jewish customs and, e.g., start wearing
costumes on Purim, or, e.g., start eating milkhigs on Shavu`oth, or,
e.g., start postponing their sons' first haircuts till they were
three, I am certain that frum explanations would soon arise explaining
those things too.

               Jay F. ("Yaakov") Shachter
               6424 North Whipple Street
               Chicago IL  60645-4111
                       +1 773 7613784   landline
                       +1 410 9964737   GoogleVoice
                       j...@m5.chicago.il.us
                       http://m5.chicago.il.us

               When Martin Buber was a schoolboy, it must have been
               no fun at all playing tag with him during recess.

His answer: ?The Rav had many minhagim of tefillah, some quite unique, and
while we follow some in our shul (e.g., my rabbi reinstituted saying all
the selichot on YK because that was the Rav?s minhag) we don?t follow many.
So, since it is a minhag Yisrael not to duchan during aveilut in chutz
la-aretz, I think you shouldn?t." And I didn?t.
> 
> Joseph
> _______________________________________________
> As I once heard rav schachter say in a question and answer session. I paskin like the rav when he?s right.
Bsorot tovot 
Joel rich

------------------------------



_______________________________________________
Avodah mailing list
Avo...@lists.aishdas.org
http://www.aishdas.org/lists/avodah
http://lists.aishdas.org/listinfo.cgi/avodah-aishdas.org


------------------------------


**************************************

Send Avodah mailing list submissions to
	avodah@lists.aishdas.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://www.aishdas.org/lists/avodah/avodahareivim-membership-agreement/


You can reach the person managing the list at
	avodah-owner@lists.aishdas.org


When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Avodah digest..."

A list of common acronyms is available at
        http://www.aishdas.org/lists/avodah/avodah-acronyms
(They are also visible in the web archive copy of each digest.)