{"id":6410,"date":"2010-01-20T02:00:26","date_gmt":"2010-01-20T00:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=6410"},"modified":"2018-05-24T12:08:08","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T09:08:08","slug":"02-20-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-20-02\/","title":{"rendered":"02 – Yisrael\u2019s Kavanah"},"content":{"rendered":"

During Birkat Kohanim<\/i>, each and every Jew must stand opposite the Kohanim<\/i> and have kavanah<\/i> to accept the blessing. He should not look at the Kohanim<\/i> or at anything else, so as not to distract his thoughts from the berachah<\/i> (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 128:23; Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 89).[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The Chachamim<\/i> established that a Kohen<\/i> who has an abnormality on his body that would likely cause people to stare at him, and divert their thoughts from the berachah<\/i>, may not ascend to bless the people. Therefore, before the Kohanim<\/i> became accustomed to covering their faces and hands with their tallitot<\/i>, any Kohen<\/i> who had a deformity on his face or hands, such as unusual facial freckles or crooked fingers, would not ascend the duchan<\/i> to bless the nation. However, today, when all Kohanim<\/i> are accustomed to covering their faces with a tallit<\/i>, a defect on one\u2019s face or hands does not prevent a Kohen<\/i> from reciting the blessing. Nevertheless, even today, if the Kohen<\/i> has a noticeable deformity on his leg, he should not ascend the duchan<\/i> to bless the people, for it might distract the minds of the listeners. However, if he is a permanent resident of the community, such that his defect no longer makes people curious, he may ascend to bless the nation, for it most likely will not distract the listeners (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 128:30 and 31).<\/p>\n

Similarly, a Kohen<\/i> who has a strange accent, such as one who confuses the pronunciation of the letters alef<\/i> and ayin<\/i>, may not bless the nation, since such a thing will distract the thoughts of the listeners from the berachah<\/i>. However, a person who speaks in the accepted accent, even if he does not emphasize the ayin<\/i> and the chet<\/i> properly, does not distract the listeners\u2019 thoughts. Likewise, all the known accents \u2013 Ashkenazic, Yemenite, etc. \u2013 do not divert attention from the berachah<\/i> because they are known and familiar. Only someone who greatly confuses or garbles the pronunciation more than is acceptable, or stutters excessively, may not bless the people (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 128:33; Mishnah Berurah<\/i> there).<\/p>\n

In summary, the Chachamim<\/i> enacted that any Kohen<\/i> possessing something that might distract the people from their kavanah<\/i> may not ascend the platform to bless; from these laws we understand how important it is that the listeners concentrate during Birkat Kohanim<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
[1]<\/a>.\u00a0After Birkat Kohanim<\/i> some are accustomed to recite a prayer intended for communal recital, \u201cAdir BaMarom<\/i>,\u201d although the poskim<\/i> disagree as to when it is recited. The Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 130:1 maintains that when the prayer to transform and rectify an ominous dream into a favorable one (hatavat chalom<\/i>) is recited in Birkat Kohanim<\/i>, then Adir BaMarom<\/i> is recited after it, as can be inferred from Berachot<\/i> 55b. Kaf HaChaim<\/i> 130:9 writes, based on the Zohar<\/i> that it should not be recited in Birkat Sim Shalom<\/i>. The Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 130:6 writes that there are those accustomed to reciting Adir BaMarom<\/i> following each time the Kohanim<\/i> bless the nation, and that it is said as the chazan<\/i> recites Sim Shalom<\/i>. The source for this opinion can be found in the Rif<\/i>, Rosh<\/i>, and Taz<\/i>. In practice, it is best for every person to follow his own custom.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During Birkat Kohanim, each and every Jew must stand opposite the Kohanim and have kavanah to accept the blessing. He should not look at the Kohanim or at anything else, so as not to distract his thoughts from the berachah (Shulchan Aruch 128:23; Mishnah Berurah 89).[1] The Chachamim established that a Kohen who has an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-20-birkat-kohanim-the-priestly-blessing"],"yoast_head":"\n02 - Yisrael\u2019s Kavanah - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-20-02\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"02 - Yisrael\u2019s Kavanah - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During Birkat Kohanim, each and every Jew must stand opposite the Kohanim and have kavanah to accept the blessing. 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