Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I have done years of research on this topic and found a website that someone else made which is very useful. I am not going to get into a halachic debate on this site but you can go to kohenlevi.org
The MA writes that people in Europe were not makpid on treating kohanim as kohanim bec they do not have yichus. Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz says there is still a big machloches about this and it is not pashut at all. I have a friend for instance who was always a yisroel but is now a kohen after his cousin was nifter and they found a document implying he was a kohen so now he tells everyone he is a kohen, gets first alliya and so on. Rav Moshe though says you need edim mamish and what he had is only a ksav. There are BT all over the world who mistakenly do this and they have children and so on.
Rav Moshe even said you cannot use a tombstone to say one is a kohen.
Even families who claim to have yichus is not enough according to many poskim. So you can quote the Rambam who was nifter 809 years ago but there is a big machlochet about kohanim today. I have asked numerous poskim about this personally.
What are people talking about political opinions regarding toeva?
That’s like saying political opinions regarding murder. There are no valid opinions saying toeva should be tolerated by klal yisroel or umos haolam. Read Derech Hashem if you want to know about individual providence vs communal providence.
Rav Moshe considered kmat no one to be a real kohen today.
see kohenlevi.org
“It also includes giving him first choice in many other situations. The fact that people don’t do it is — to use the popular parlance — no rayah.”
That is not true, the Magen Avraham noticed it was the minhag where he was and most other places the people were not giving kohanim kedimah in such situations. He says it is because kohanim today do not have yichus like they used to and therefor they are not entitled to such honors.
There is a great shiur on YU you can listen to about this. just type in yichus of kohanim today.
see also kohen.co.uk
“If a kohen should be served first at meals, does that mean that a host should serve the children, who are also kohanim, before her adult guests (who are not kohanim)? Wouldn’t that be outright disrespectful??”
Yes, indeed I would consider that extremely disrespectful and there are many poskim (such as the Magen Avraham) that say Kohanim do not have the same yichus they used to and are no longer entitled to these kibudim. I have asked Rab Forst shlita and he said that Kohanim today should not take priority in the meal or tzedaka. go to http://www.oraltorah.org to hear a great shiur from YU Rabbi Michael Taubes on this.
Be careful not to impose your chumras on other people!