It is common practice amongst many Jewish communities to travel to Israel for a gap year experience before attending college. After a year or two in Israel, students returning from their gap year(s) are often overcome with a yearning for what once was. This experience creates a very physical and emotional connection to the Jewish homeland. Therefore, reacquainting with diaspora can be challenging for many reasons, a very tangible one being the differing daily prayer. Israeli modern Orthodox synagogues generally pray according to nusach Sefard (a prayer formulation combining Ashkenazi and kabbalistic customs). While there are an abundance of textual differences, perhaps the most pronounced is Birchat Kohanim (commonly referred to as duchening, Birchat Kohanim in Yiddish), the priestly blessing, which is neglected in diaspora.
In parshat Naso, God commands the Jewish Nation, saying, “Thus you shall bless the people of Israel. Say to them… Thus they shall place My name with the people of Israel.” The Gemara in Sotah 38b, quoting Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, explained that every Kohen (Jewish Priest) who does not ascend to bless the nation transgresses three positive commandments. Positive commandments are ones that God demands the Jewish nation to perform, as opposed to a prohibition.
Rambam (1138–1204), one of the greatest Jewish scholars of all time, writes about this priestly blessing in a few places. In his book codifying Jewish law, called the Mishna Torah, he noted that a Kohen who does not ascend for Birchat Kohanim is like he has transgressed three positive commandments. However, in another of his famous works, titled Sefer Hamitzvot, Rambam listed the commandments of the Torah, but only counted the Kohen’s ascension to perform this blessing as a singular positive mitzvah (commandment). The consensus among scholars seems to be that a Kohen who does not ascend to perform Birchat Kohanim is transgressing one Mitzvah like three. Most are not sure exactly what that means.
Furthermore, the Gemara, Sifri, Rambam, and Sefer Hachinuch (a famous book on the 613 commandments, written in the late 1200s by an unknown author), note that the blessing of the Kohanim applies equally outside of the Mikdash and Israel. A logical train of thought could be that perhaps Birchat Kohanim, due to its origin in the temple and centrality of priests, would be unique to the temple. Thus it is important to clarify, a claim that Birchat Kohanim is biblical only when performed in the temple, would go against all Jewish classical sources and commentators.
The question then becomes: how can it be that there is no daily Birchat Kohanim in diaspora? When did transgressing a positive commandment become normative? In Naftalie Weinberg’s book, The Priceless Treasure of Birchat Kohanim, he suggested the Maharil (1365-1427), a late medieval Jewish authority, was the first recorded instance of this new practice: refraining from Birchat Kohanim.
The Maharil, one of the greatest recorders of medieval customs, as mentioned by Weinberg, wrote that the reason for omitting Birchat Kohanim was cold weather. An important aspect of this blessing is immersing oneself in the Mikvah, a water-purification ritual bath, which would be unrealistic in weather too cold.
This novel idea is questioned by Rav Yosef Cairo (1488-1577), one of the only Rabbis to receive rabbinic ordination, in his book the Beit Yosef (1542). Firstly, there is no place in the Gemara that informs us of this required immersion for blessing. Furthermore, it is a logical argument to make that it is better to fulfill three biblical commandments, even if it is done without Tevillah (ritual bath). Other Rabbis, such as the Taz (1586 –1667), a notable commentary on the Shulchan Aruch (the other renowned book by Rav Yosef Cairo, compiling all of Jewish law), affirm that this immersion claim is astonishing. The Mishna Berura (1907), the code of law Orthodox Jews rely on today, written by the Chofetz Chaim, codifies that Tevillah is never a prerequisite to duchening.
The next reason is brought by the Rema (1530-1572), a contemporary of Rav Yosef Cairo. He states that Birchat Kohanim requires a certain level of joyfulness, which is unattainable during the week or even on Shabbos. We are constantly preoccupied by our external thoughts, and this level of preoccupation can only be bypassed on holidays: a time when the Jewish people are commanded to rejoice.
This notion of a required happiness lacks any basis. Roughly 300 years before the Rema, the Rashba (1235–1310), a towering Talmud scholar who answered hundreds of questions from surrounding Jewish communities, was asked if an unmarried Kohen can bless the congregation, as he may be disheartened by his single status. The Rashba responded he had never heard of any idea like this and that obviously the disheartened Kohen should duchen (Responsa Rashba 1:85).
The final difficulty is pertaining to lineage. Rav Ephraim Zalman Margolis (1762 –1828), after listing all the other commonly quoted reasons, points out that in our times, Kohanim can no longer trace their lineage back to Aharon, the original Kohen. This is a unique position as even the Rema, who codified the fact that Kohanim in diaspora don’t duchen, writes clearly that today Kohanim have a complete legal presumption for Birchat Kohanim (EH 3:1). Furthermore, the Gemara is Shabbos 118b tells of Rabbi Yossi who would go up to bless the congregation even though he was not even a Kohen! This claim about the lineage of Kohanim in diaspora being different to the point of a Halachic ramification between Israel and diaspora is completely novel to everybody.
Rav Yechiel Michal Epstein (1829–1908), author of the Aruch Hashulchan, the main source of modern Jewish law until the Mishna Berura, summarizes what everybody until his time has been saying: “certainly there is no single correct reason for our custom to nullify the positive commandment of Birchat Kohanim the entire year. It is described as a lesser custom. But what can we do, it is as if there has been a heavenly voice that has come out telling us not to do it. Two greats in the previous generation wanted to institute Birchat Kohanim every day…but this matter was messed up and it did not end up [instituted] and they said it was decreed from the heaven” (Aruch Hashulchan OC 128:4). The two greats he is likely referring to are the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) and his student Chaim Volozhiner (1749-1821). Troubled by the weird reality of neglecting a positive mitzvah without any clear basis, they tried to reinstitute it in their town. When the Vilna Gaon was supposed to institute it, he was arrested. When Chaim Volozhiner was supposed to begin, there was a fire that burned down most of Volozhin. The two took this as a sign from heaven that they were not supposed to reinstitute Birchat Kohanim. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter rejected the possible implications this fire could carry, as we learn in Bava Metzia “it is not in the heaven,” meaning we don’t lean on signs and wonders when dealing with Halacha (Teshuvot Vehanhagot 1:431).
Some argue that the Vilna Gaon’s and many others’ ambivalence to reinstitute Birchat Kohanim was also somehow tied to Shabtai Tzvi (1626-1676). In an attempt to prepare for the coming of Mashiach, Shabtai Tzvi had his congregation recite Bircha Kohanim every day (Responsa Ohel Ya’akov 68). It is sensible that an ambivalence would follow, as the main firebrand of the reinstitution of duchening in diaspora was not exactly a Jewish hero. Nonetheless, this clearly did not stop anybody who took real issue with the halting of Birchat Kohanim.
There is no reason we should not do birchat Kohanim in diaspora. We should really take all the holiness we can get! Upon looking at all the literature on this topic, it is clear that a custom began, and Rishonim (early Jewish commentators and authorities) and Achronim (later Jewish commentators and authorities) worked backwards to find a justification for an already established norm. The only words of comfort for Kohanim are the opinions that state that a Kohen is only transgressing if he is called up by the chazzan. Those who do not hold this way are conceding that Kohanim and possibly even all of the congregation are missing out on one mitzvah every day, or even three.
