Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email - 5 Iyar/April 26

 

May a Kohein pronounce the words differently than the tzibur?

A Kohein who cannot pronounce the words of Birchas Kohanim properly should not duchen. Examples of mispronunciations mentioned in the poskim include a lack of differentiation between aleph and ayin, hei and ches, and shin and sin. If, however, a particular mispronunciation is common among the local populace, they will not become distracted by the Kohein’s dialect and he may duchen. Similarly, since most people cannot distinguish between an aleph and an ayin, a Kohein is not disqualified for being unable to do so. A Kohein who has a different havarah from the people whom he is blessing may still duchen. Since it is common for people to have different havaros, this is not considered distracting. Some poskim say that it is appropriate for the makri to have the same havarah as the Kohanim. סי' קכ"ח סל"ג ס"ק ק"כ ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 127

How often may a teenager duchen?

Regarding children or teenagers duchening, there are three categories: 1) A child under the age of bar mitzvah may only duchen together with an adult. This can be done regularly. 2) A young man who is bar mitzvah but has not yet grown facial hair may duchen by himself (or together with young men at the same stage) occasionally. Duchening on a steady basis would not be respectful for the tzibur. If the tzibur is comprised mostly of these young men, the poskim disagree about whether they may duchen steadily. 3) Once a young man reaches the stage where he can grow a full beard, or turns eighteen and has a sparse beard, he may duchen regularly on his own. סל"ד ס"ק קכ"א-קכ"ו ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 132

May a Kohein who has shamed another person still duchen?

A Kohein who has murdered another person may not duchen. Even if it was done unintentionally, he may not duchen. The poskim disagree about whether this halacha applies if he killed a non-Jew. If he was forced to kill, he is not disqualified from duchening. If he was conscripted into an army and killed someone while serving as a soldier, he is not disqualified. The poskim also disagree about whether a Kohein who killed someone would still be disqualified after doing teshuvah. Practically, if he has already gone up to duchen he does not have to step down. Although publicly shaming is akin to murder, a Kohein who has shamed another person may still duchen. סל"ה ס"ק קכ"ז-ק"ל ביה"ל ד"ה אפי' ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 133, 134 all credit goes to Dirshu | 911 County Line Rd. , Suite 205, Lakewood, NJ 08701