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Abat-kohen orbat kohen (Hebrew:בת כהן) is the daughter of akohen (Jewish priest), who holds a special status in theHebrew Bible andrabbinical texts. She is entitled to a number of rights and is encouraged to abide by specified requirements, for example, entitlement to consume some of thepriestly gifts, and an increased value for herketubah.
In the Bible, bothJoseph[1] andMoses[2] married daughters of non-Jewish (Egyptian and Midianite) priests. However, inrabbinic literature the termbat kohen refers exclusively to daughters of Jewish priests, the descendants ofAaron.
If the daughter of a priest engaged in illicit sexual relations, her penalty was to be burned;[3] in contrast to the usual penalty which was strangulation.[4]
Daughters of priests were allowed to eat the sanctified gifts to priests (terumot hakodashim), just as sons of priests, and priests themselves, were allowed to.[5]
Rabbinic sources describeTamar as the daughter ofShem, and consider Shem have been a priest before thepriestly covenant was given toAaron.[6] This explains whyJudah suggested she be burned to death for her alleged sexual affair,[7] as burning is a form of punishment which the Torah generally reserves for daughters of priests.[3]
The term "daughter of Aaron" is given to several women in theNew Testament,[8] among themElizabeth, mother ofJohn the Baptist,[9] and it was not considered unusual for "daughters of Aaron" to marry someone of the priestly tribe.[10]
Although basic Torah law allows for thebat kohen to marry achallal, convert and freed slave (Hebreweved me shukhrar), the Midrash and Talmud citeRabbi Yochanan's view that a daughter of a priest is best off marrying a priest. Rabbi Yochanan maintains that in the event abat kohen marries a non-Kohen, undesired results for the groom are likely to surface, such as poverty or the demise of the groom. An exception to this taboo is if the groom is aTalmid Chacham.[11]
The Talmud narrates how theTannaRabbi Yehoshua married a non-kohen wife and then complained that it weakened him.Rashi explains that the marriage of a bat kohen to a man who is not a kohen, or aTalmid Chacham, is considered a swipe at the honor ofAaron, and Aaron himself is annoyed at the demotion of his progeny, resulting in a negative consequence.[12]
British Chief RabbiNathan Marcus Adler ruled in 1863 that the daughter of a Cohen may only marry a non-Cohen.[13][verification needed]
The types ofsacrifices the bat-kohen is afforded include the breast and thigh of thepeace offering, the four loaves of thethank offering, and the foreleg of theNazirite's ram offering.
The bat-kohen may offer her employees to partake in herterumah.[14] Technically, she may bypass her father (or husband) and initially give her tithe offering anddough offering, butMenachem Meiri forbids this of concern that one may give these gifts in error to the wife of a Kohen who was initially the daughter of an Israelite post her divorce, such giving the gifts to a person who is no longer entitled to the gifts.[15]
The daughter of a priest is likewise permitted to consume thefirstborn animal. Regarding theforeleg, cheeks and maw, there is aTannaitic dispute (between the schools ofRabbi Yishmael andRabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov) as to whether an Israelite performs hismitzvah by giving them to the bat-kohen.
Thepriestly court (prior to 70 CE) established that a virgin bat-kohen would receive aketubah of 400Zuz (rather than the standard 200 Zuz for a Jewish virgin).[16] (However, theTalmud Yerushalmi opines that the bat-kohen who marries a non-Kohen receives that standard 200 Zuz, as a penalty for not marrying within the priesthood.[17]) A widowed bat-kohen would receive the standard 100 Zuz for widows, though at one point this sum had been raised to 200 Zuz.[16]
Rabbeinu Tam clarifies that the words inKetuboth "that which is due you" (Aramaicd'chazi l'chi) are to portray that the excess amount is not considered a bonus (Aramaictosefet kethuba) but the base amount (Aramaicikkar kethuba).[18] Likewise,Asher ben Jehiel explain that the full amount of 400 Zuz is collectible even in the even the original ketubah document is lost,[19] and even if the larger 400 Zuz amount was not written in the ketubah,[20] all this with the intent to publicize the importance of the daughters of Kohanim.[21]
Shneur Zalman of Liadi stated that the marriage ceremony and feast a bat kohen to a non-kohen man is not considered aseudat mitzvah, since the marriage is one that may produce negative results.[22]
The 400-Zuz ketubah was practiced during theamoraic period, but from then onward, no mention of the increased amount is found in rabbinic sources.[23][24][25]
Jonathan of Lunel describes the excessive amount given thebat kohen as the rightful due to her and her family for keeping to the Torah laws and restrictions that apply to priestly families and keeping to the heritage (yukhsin) of priestly lineage. He rejects the notion that such excess would cause envy and jealousy from non-priestly families (who are not officially entitled to the excess amount).[26]
Joseph ibn Habib justifies the excess amount by saying it is a greater shame for a kohen if his daughter is divorced, and the higher ketubah value discourages husbands from divorcing their bat-kohen wives.[27]
When a priest's daughter committed adultery, not only did she suffer the special penalty of burning (rather than strangulation), but her father was demoted from being honored with thesanctity afforded priests.[28]
The bat-kohen receive lenient specifications in her preparations forimmersion.[29]
The firstborn of a daughter of a Kohen or Levite is not redeemed at thirty days.
One author has suggested that a bat-kohen should have priority in leading a women'szimmun just as a kohen does for a men's zimmun.[30]
In modern times, Orthodox and many Conservative rabbis maintain the position that only a man can act as a kohen, and that a daughter of a kohen is recognized as abat kohen only in those limited ways that have been identified in the past. Accordingly, in Orthodox Judaism only men can perform thePriestly Blessing and receive the firstaliyah during the public Torah reading, and women are generally not permitted to officiate in aPidyon HaBen ceremony.
Similarly, the Conservativehalakha committee in Israel has ruled that women do not receive suchaliyot and cannot validly perform such functions,[31] and many traditionalist Conservative synagogues have retained traditional gender roles and do not permit women to perform these roles at all.[32]
Other Conservative rabbis, along with someReform andReconstructionist rabbis, are prepared to give equal kohen status to the daughter of a kohen. The US Conservative movement, consistent with the view that sacrifices in the Temple will not be restored and in light of many congregations' commitment to gender (but not caste) egalitarianism, interprets the Talmudic relevant passages to permit elimination of most distinctions between male and femalekohanim in congregations that retain traditional tribal roles while modifying traditional gender roles. They base this leniency on the view that the kohen's privileges come not from offering Temple offerings but solely from lineal sanctity, and that ceremonies like the Priestly Blessing should evolve from their Temple-based origins. (The argument for women's involvement in the Priestly Blessing acknowledges that only malekohanim could perform this ritual in the days of the Temple, but that the ceremony is no longer rooted in Temple practice; its association with the Temple was by rabbinic decree; and rabbis therefore have the authority to permit the practice to evolve from its Temple-based roots).[33] As a result, some Conservative synagogues permit abat kohen to perform the Priestly Blessing and the Pidyon HaBen ceremony, and to receive the firstaliyah during the Torah reading.
Many egalitarian-oriented Conservative synagogues have abolished traditional tribal roles and do not perform ceremonies involvingkohanim (such as the Priestly Blessing or calling a kohen to the firstaliyah).[32] MostReform andReconstructionist temples have taken a similar position.
Some women's prayer groups that practice under the halakhic guidance of non-Orthodox rabbis, and which conduct Torah readings for women only, have adapted a custom of calling abat kohen for the firstaliyah and abat levi for the second.[34]
Isaac Luria explains the negative aspect of abat kohen not marrying a kohen from the Kabbalistic view, usinggematria; that since the Hebrew letters K H N ( ה,נ,ך those that spell "kohen") do not have a match using theAyak Becher formula, therefore it is best for a kohen to marry a kohen.
| "Ayak Becher" formula | ||
|---|---|---|
| א | י | ק |
| ב | כ | ר |
| ג | ל | ש |
| ד | מ | ת |
| ה | נ | ך |
| ו | ס | מ |
| ז | ע | ן |
| ח | פ | ף |
| ט | צ | ץ |
The formula, explains Luria, portrays that the such marriage between Kohanic families works nicely.[35]
The expectations upon the daughter of a Kohen feature inJulian Stryjkowski'sVoices in the Darkness.[36]
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