The Significance of the Priesthood in Israel
משמעות הכהונה בישראל
To understand the significance of the priesthood in Israel, we should first explain that originally all firstborn sons were meant to be kohanim. In this way, the entire public, with all its families, would have been personally and familially connected to the men of the priesthood, which certainly would have contributed to the general spiritual level of the nation. However, after the firstborn sons also took part, together with the rest of the nation, in the sin of the Golden Calf, they fell from their level, and in their place the tribe of Levi, which did not take part in the sin, was sanctified, and from within it the members of Aharon’s family were chosen to be kohanim.
It appears that the idea of the firstborn is indeed an ideal one. Through the priesthood of the firstborn, all families would have been connected to holiness, since in every family there would have been a kohen wholly occupied with matters of holiness. And this would not have been just any representative, but the firstborn, the most honored of the sons, so that his sacred mission would also have attained an important status. In practice, however, we did not succeed in realizing this wonderful idea. Instead of the firstborn influencing the nation as a whole, the general atmosphere of the mundane blurred the uniqueness of the firstborn, and they were dragged after the nation and sinned. In order to educate kohanim who would truly be men of the spirit, uninfluenced by the tumult of mundane life, it was necessary to dedicate an entire family to the role of the priesthood – a family whose entire task would be to strengthen holiness and spirituality in Israel. Therefore, after the firstborn sinned, Aharon and his sons were chosen to be kohanim. Incidentally, it is worth noting here that some say that in the future the firstborn will return to their elevated status and will serve in the priesthood together with the kohanim.
The kohanim had two main roles. The first was to educate and to rule on halakha in Israel, as it is stated: “For the lips of the kohen guard knowledge, and they seek Torah from his mouth” (Malakhi 2:7). The second role was to be men of kindness and peace, as Aharon the kohen was “one who loves peace and pursues peace, who loves people and brings them closer to Torah” (Avot 1:12). It is related of Aharon the kohen that he knew how to make peace between one person and another and between husband and wife, and several thousand Jews were named Aharon after him, for had it not been for Aharon they would not have come into the world: he would make peace between husband and wife, and as a result they would reunite, and they would name the newborn child “Aharon.”
To enable the kohanim to develop these two foundations, wisdom and kindness, the Torah established that the kohanim would not receive a portion of land in the Land of Israel, and that their livelihood would come from the terumot and priestly gifts that the Israelites would give them. In this way the kohanim could devote themselves to Torah study and to educating and guiding the public. And by receiving their gifts from the Israelites, they would be bound to them with love and respect, and would take pains to fulfill their spiritual mission on behalf of all of Israel. Likewise, because they have no land and do not take part in economic competition, they can more easily develop within themselves love and kindness toward the entire nation.
This is the foundation of Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing): out of their love for the nation, the kohanim are worthy of being the emissaries who bless Israel in God’s name. And this is the wording of the berakha: “Who has sanctified us with the holiness of Aharon and commanded us to bless His people Israel with love.”
The poskim wrote that any kohen whom the congregation hates, or who hates the congregation, or even hates one person, is forbidden to recite Birkat Kohanim. If he blesses out of hatred, he brings danger upon himself. Therefore, he must either completely erase the hatred from his heart or leave the synagogue before Birkat Kohanim, for its essence is to bless Israel with love (MB 128:37; Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Olat Re’iya vol. 2, p. 413).