Kohen and Kohenet
Since I was ordained 38 years ago, one of the major developments in Conservative Judaism has been its transformation into a predominantly egalitarian movement. There is a spectrum of practices, but the overwhelming majority of Conservative congregations grant women equal roles in ritual practice, as well as rabbinic leadership. One remaining area has been puzzling to me, and after research and reflection, I am proposing a change in our practice. That is the status of women as Kohen and Levi in terms of synagogue honors.
First, let me note that Beth David has never insisted on only calling a Kohen and a Levi for the first two Aliyot. If we did, on Shabbatot when there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, we would not have flexibility in giving out the two congregational Aliyot. However, on other Shabbatot, we do try to fill the first two Aliyot with a Kohen and a Levi.
Over the years, women who are bat-kohen or bat-levi have asked that they be called to the Torah the same way as male kohanim and levi·im. I had felt that somehow these status issues were different from other matters of equality, since they trace back to specific roles in the Temple worship that were only taken by males. The question persisted, and so I looked to the decisions of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, which is our authority on halakhah (Jewish law). There is a responsum (legal decision) from the committee that was written by Rabbi Joel Roth. Roth is one of our great experts in Jewish law and typically comes down on the stricter side. In this case, his research led him to conclude that female kohanim and levi·im should be given the same honors as males.
The discussion revolves around one key question: “whether the rights of the priests and Levites to the first two aliyot accrue to them by virtue of their general sanctity, or by virtue of their right to offer sacrifices on the altar. If we discover that their right is dependent on their sacrificial responsibilities, the daughters of kohanim are excluded from aliyot because they do not share any right to offer at the altar with their brethren. If we discover that their right is dependent upon their general sanctity, and not exclusively upon their rights to serve at the altar, we shall have to analyze whether the daughters of priests possess sanctity at all.”
Rabbi Roth then analyzes a wide variety of sources (the 14 page paper has 53 footnotes!) to show that a kohen or levi have their status not because of their roles in Temple sacrificial worship, but because of their lineage. He also presents sources that demonstrate that daughters of priests and Levites shared in some of their perquisites.
He concludes, “On the basis of the evidence adduced it seems reasonable and proper for the Law committee to decide that daughters of priests and Levites be accorded the same aliyot that are normally accorded to priests and Levites’. This should be the case whether they are single or married. Their status regarding being called to the torah should not be determined by the lineage of their husbands but by their own paternal lineage.”
Based on this, in my role as Mara D’atra (legal authority) for Congregation Beth David, I have decided that woman shall be called up as kohen and levi for the first two aliyot on those occasions when we are assigning those aliyot to a kohen or levi.
Links:
You can read Rabbi Roth’s paper on line: The Status of Daughters of Kohanim and Leviyim for Aliyot