{"id":8457,"date":"2016-02-20T13:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-02-20T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=8457"},"modified":"2018-05-24T13:04:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T10:04:50","slug":"03-20-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/03-20-13\/","title":{"rendered":"13. The Audience of Birkat Kohanim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Sefer \u0124aredim<\/em> (12:18) states that not only the <em>kohanim<\/em> fulfill a mitzva by blessing the congregation, but the Jews who stand before them in intent silence and respond \u201camen\u201d also participate in the fulfillment of this biblical commandment.<\/p>\n<p>When the <em>kohanim<\/em> perform <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em>, the congregation must stand in front of them, as it is written: \u201cThis is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them\u201d (Bamidbar 6:23). The Sages interpret this to mean that <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em> must be performed in the same way that people talk to their friends \u2013 by standing face to face and speaking aloud so that all those receiving the blessing can hear them. Although technically the audience may sit, it has become customary that all stand for <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em>. Still, an ill or weak person who has difficulty standing may sit (MB 128:51; <em>Tzitz Eliezer<\/em> 14:18).<\/p>\n<p>One who cannot come to the synagogue due to matters out of his control \u2013 for instance, one who must go to work \u2013 is still included in the <em>berakha<\/em>. Similarly, women and children who are not required to come to the synagogue are included in the <em>berakha<\/em>. Only men who can go to the synagogue but neglect to do so are excluded from the <em>berakha<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>One who comes to the synagogue but stands behind the <em>kohanim<\/em> during <em>Birkat Kohanim <\/em>is not included in the <em>berakha<\/em>. If he is standing directly alongside them, he must turn toward them to be included in the <em>berakha<\/em>. Those sitting in the first pews of the synagogue must measure where they are in relation to the <em>kohanim<\/em>. If they are in front of them or even directly to the side of them, they may remain in place and turn toward the <em>kohanim<\/em>. However, if they are slightly behind the <em>kohanim<\/em>, they must move elsewhere for <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em>. The same ruling applies to women in the women\u2019s section at the sides of the synagogue (SA 128:24).<\/p>\n<p>Anyone standing in the synagogue facing the <em>kohanim<\/em> is included in the <em>berakha<\/em>. Even if there are taller people or pillars in front blocking the <em>kohanim <\/em>from view, she is indeed included in the <em>berakha<\/em> since she is on the side that faces the <em>kohanim<\/em>. However, one who turns her back to the <em>kohanim<\/em> is not included.<\/p>\n<p>If one is in the middle of the <em>Amida<\/em> when the <em>kohanim<\/em> start to bless, she waits a bit and listens to <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em>, which is a biblical commandment, and then she continues praying. However, she must take care not to answer \u201camen\u201d to <em>Birkat Kohanim<\/em>, so as not to interrupt her <em>Amida<\/em> (<em>Peninei Halakha: Prayer<\/em>, ch. 20 n. 2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sefer \u0124aredim (12:18) states that not only the kohanim fulfill a mitzva by blessing the congregation, but the Jews who stand before them in intent silence and respond \u201camen\u201d also participate in the fulfillment of this biblical commandment. When the kohanim perform Birkat Kohanim, the congregation must stand in front of them, as it is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-03-20"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>13. The Audience of Birkat Kohanim - 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\/03-20-13\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"13. 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