priestly

[The Mishnah quoted above states :] Then they read the Decalogue, "Hear, O Israel," "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently," "And the Lord said," "True and firm," "Accept, O Lord our God," and the Priestly Benediction.

He who steps before the Ark should not respond "Amen" after [the benedictions of] the Kohanim because it might cause him confusion. If there be no other Kohen there but himself he does not raise his hands [for the priestly benediction] ; but if he is confident that he can raise his hands and return to the Tefillah, he is permitted.

When Rabin came he said : Jannaeus the king had a tree on the king's mountain from which they took down forty Saot of young pigeons monthly from three broods. When R. Isaac came he said : There was a city in the land of Israel named Gofnit in which were eighty pairs of brothers of a priestly family married to eighty pairs of sisters of a priestly family ; and the Rabbis searched from Sura to Nehardea and could not find [a similar case] with the exception of the daughters of Rab Hisda who were married to Rammi b. Hamma and Mar 'Ukba b. Hamma ; but although the women belonged to a priestly family, the men did not.

When Rabin came he said : Jannaeus the king had a tree on the king's mountain from which they took down forty Saot of young pigeons monthly from three broods. When R. Isaac came he said : There was a city in the land of Israel named Gofnit in which were eighty pairs of brothers of a priestly family married to eighty pairs of sisters of a priestly family ; and the Rabbis searched from Sura to Nehardea and could not find [a similar case] with the exception of the daughters of Rab Hisda who were married to Rammi b. Hamma and Mar 'Ukba b. Hamma ; but although the women belonged to a priestly family, the men did not.

When Rabin came he said : Jannaeus the king had a tree on the king's mountain from which they took down forty Saot of young pigeons monthly from three broods. When R. Isaac came he said : There was a city in the land of Israel named Gofnit in which were eighty pairs of brothers of a priestly family married to eighty pairs of sisters of a priestly family ; and the Rabbis searched from Sura to Nehardea and could not find [a similar case] with the exception of the daughters of Rab Hisda who were married to Rammi b. Hamma and Mar 'Ukba b. Hamma ; but although the women belonged to a priestly family, the men did not.

Amemar, Mar Zotra and Rab Ashe were sitting together; they said: Let each one of us relate something which the others have not heard. One of them commenced and said : He who has seen a dream and knows not what he has seen, let him stand before the Kohanim at the time that they spread their hands [to pronounce the priestly benediction] and utter the following : "Lord of the universe ! I am Thine and my dreams are Thine ; a dream have I dreamed and I know not what it is. Whether I dreamed concerning myself, or my fellows dreamed concerning me, or I dreamed concerning others, if they be good dreams, strengthen and fortify them [and may they be fulfilled] like the dreams of Joseph ; but if they require to be remedied, heal them as the waters of Marah [were healed] by the hands of Moses our teacher, as Miriam [was healed] from her leprosy, as Hezekiah from his illness, and like the waters of Jericho [sweetened] by the hands of Elisha. And as Thou didst turn the curse of the wicked Balaam into a blessing, so do Thou turn all my dreams for me into good." He should conclude [his prayer] simultaneously with the Kohanim, so that the Congregation responds "Amen." But if not, let him say the following: "Thou majestic One in the heights, Who abidest in might, Thou art peace and Thy name is peace. May it be Thy will to grant us peace."

It has been taught: R. Elazar b. Zadok stated: This was the custom of the men of Jerusalem. When a man left his house he carried his lulav in his hand; when he went to the synagogue his lulav was in his hand, when he read the Shema and prayed his lulav was still in his hand, but when he read Torah or recited the priestly benediction he would lay it on the ground. If he went to visit the sick or to comfort mourners, he would go with his lulav in his hand, but when he entered the Bet Midrash, he would send his lulav by the hand of his son, his slave or his messenger.

If [the minor] knows how to take care of his body we may eat food that has been prepared in ritual purity though his body [touched it]; If he knows how to take care of hands, we may eat food that has been prepared in ritual purity even though his hands [touched it]. If he knows how to answer [questions on whether he touched any ritual uncleanliness], a doubtful case on his part that occurs in a private domain is regarded as unclean, but if in a public domain as clean. [If he knows how] to spread out his hands [in priestly benediction] they may give him terumah on the threshingfloors.

This dispute is like the one between the following Tannas as we have learned: [The flute players in the Temple] were the slaves of the priests, the words of R. Meir. R. Yose says: They were the families of Beth Ha-Pegarim, and Beth Zipporia who hailed from Emmaus and were married into the priestly stock.

Mishnah. On the first festival day of Sukkot there were thirteen bulls, two rams and one goat. Fourteen lambs remained for the other eight priestly watches. 1) On the first day, six [watches] offered two each and the remaining [two] one each.

1) At three periods in the year all the priestly watches shared equally in the festival sacrifices and in the division of the showbread.

When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom (Esther 1:4): R. Yose b. Hanina said: This shows that he arrayed himself in priestly robes. It is written here, “And the riches of his glorious [tif’eret] kingdom,” and it is written elsewhere [in connection with the priestly garments], “For splendor and for glory, [tif’eret]” (Exodus 28:2).

When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom (Esther 1:4): R. Yose b. Hanina said: This shows that he arrayed himself in priestly robes. It is written here, “And the riches of his glorious [tif’eret] kingdom,” and it is written elsewhere [in connection with the priestly garments], “For splendor and for glory, [tif’eret]” (Exodus 28:2).

Carshena: the ministering angels said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, did they ever offer before you lambs of the first year [karim bene shanah] as Israel offered before You? Shethar: did they ever offer before You two pigeons [shte torim]? Admatha: did they ever build before You an altar of earth [adamah]? Tarshish: did they ever minister before You in the priestly garments, of which it is written [that they contained] a beryl [tarshish], an onyx and a jasper? Meres: did they ever stir [mersu] the blood [of the sacrifice] before You? Marsena: did they ever stir [mersu] the grain-offerings before You? Memukhan: did they ever prepare [hekhinu] a table before Thee?

What was their reason for saying the priestly blessing after thanksgiving? Because it is written, “And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them and he came down from offering the sin-offering and the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings” (Leviticus 9:22).

What was their reason for saying “give peace” after the priestly blessing? — Because it is written, “So they [the priests] shall put my name on the children of Israel, and [then] I shall bless them” (Numbers 6:27) and the blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He, is peace, as it says, “The Lord shall bless His people with peace” (Psalms 29:11).

What do these three, five and seven represent? This was a dispute between R. Isaac b. Nahmani and one who was with him, and who was he, R. Shimon b. Pazzi, or, according to others, by R. Shimon b. Pazzi and one who was with him, and who was with him, R. Isaac b. Nahmani, or according to others, R. Shmuel b. Nahmani. One said that [these represent] the [number of Hebrew words in the three verses of the] priestly blessings, while the other said "the three keepers of the door" (II Kings 25:18); [the five represent] "five of them that saw the king's face" (II Kings 25:19) [and the seven] "seven men of them that saw the king's face" (Esther 1:14).

A priest whose hands are deformed should not lift up his hands [to say the priestly blessing]. Rabbi Judah says: also one whose hands are colored with woad or madder should not lift up his hands, because [this makes] the congregation look at him.

The priestly blessing is read but not translated. What is the reason? —... Because it contains the words, “May God show favor to you.”

Elazar b. Shammua was asked by his disciples: How have you lived so long? He replied: Never in my life have I made a short cut through a synagogue, nor have I stepped upon the heads of the holy people, nor have I lifted my hands [to say the priestly blessing] without reciting a blessing.

nor did I bless [birkat hamazon] before a kohen, nor did I eat from an animal from which the priestly dues were not take out,

as R. Yitzchak said in the name of R. Yohanan: It is forbidden to eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been taken out; and R. Yitzchak further said: To eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been taken out is like eating untithed produce. The halakhah does not follow him.

as R. Yitzchak said in the name of R. Yohanan: It is forbidden to eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been taken out; and R. Yitzchak further said: To eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been taken out is like eating untithed produce. The halakhah does not follow him.

It is taught four things regarding false witnesses [that are exceptions to the rule] We don't [revoke the priestly status in the case of] a son of a divorcee or a son of a Levirite marriage, and we don't exile to a city of refuge, and we don't [make them] pay atonement and we don't make them slaves. They said in the name of R' Akiva, they do not pay under self-confession.