A bat-kohen or bat kohen ( he, בת כהן) is the daughter of a

kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally bel ...

(Jewish priest), who holds a special status which is governed by special regulations in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

rabbinical literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

the bat kohen is considered unique in comparison to the general population of the daughters of Israel. This uniqueness is believed to be displayed—among other attributes—by her inherent ability to cope with above average and even intense levels of spirituality ( Kedusha). The

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

instruct that the ''bat kohen'' is to be scrupulous in matters of ''

tzniut ''Tzniut'' ( he, צניעות , , ; "modesty" or "privacy"; ) describes both the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. De ...

'' ("modesty"), thereby portraying the values of maintaining a life dedicated to holiness and her father's life-work, and also that the ''bat kohen'' marry a kohen. The ''bat kohen'' is entitled to a number of rights and is encouraged to abide by specified requirements, for example, entitlement to consumption of the holy parts of

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

, lenient specifications in her preparations for immersion (

Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

Pesachim Pesachim ( he, פְּסָחִים, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jew ...

1) and an above average monetary stipulation in her

marriage contract ''Marriage Contract'' () is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Lee Seo-jin and Uee. It aired on MBC from March 5 to April 24, 2016 on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:00 for 16 episodes. Plot Kang Hye-soo ( Uee) is a single mother w ...

. In addition, the firstborn of a daughter of a Kohen or Levite is not redeemed at thirty days.

Hebrew Bible

The initial mentioning in the Hebrew Bible of a daughter of a priest as a unique personality is at the time Joseph was ordained viceroy to Pharaoh: Next in the Hebrew Bible is the marriage of Moses to

Zipporah Zipporah, or Tzipora (; he, צִפּוֹרָה, ''Ṣīppōrā'', "bird"),, ''Sepphōra''; ar, صفورة, ''Ṣaffūrah'' is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midia ...

, daughter of Jethro the priest of Midian. However, in terms of Talmud interpretation of the Torah and

Halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

, the Aramaic and Hebrew term ''bat kohen'' is used and reserved for the daughters of Jewish male priestly descendants of

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

exclusively.

Chazal Chazal or Ḥazal ( he, חז״ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha" (, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras, spanning from the times of the fina ...

recognize Tamar as a daughter of a priest, and describe her as being the daughter of Shem, who was a priest before the

priestly covenant The priestly covenant ( he, ברית הכהונה ''brith ha-kehuna'') is the biblical covenant that God gave to Aaron and his descendants, the Aaronic priesthood, as found in the Hebrew Bible and Oral Torah. The covenant is portrayed as everla ...

was given to

, and thus the Torah lists her punishment as Sreifah "burning"—a punishment given the ''bat kohen'' as described below.

Consumption of holy parts of the offering

The Torah stipulates specific birthrights and unique responsibilities of the daughter of the Jewish priest (

). In the Hebrew Bible she is granted the privilege of consuming specified parts of the sacrifice as well as

heave offering A ''terumah'' ( he, תְּרוּמָה) or heave offering is a type of sacrifice in Judaism. The word is generally used for an offering to God, although it is also sometimes used as in ''ish teramot'', a "judge who loves gifts". The word ''teru ...

, both being perishables that carry numerous rules and requirements of purity (''tohorot'') for their consumption. This right is specified in Numbers; . The types of

the bat-kohen is afforded include the breast and thigh of the

peace offering The peace offering ( he, זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים, zevah shelamim) was one of the sacrifices and offerings in the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 3; 7.11–34). The term "peace offering" is generally constructed from "slaughter offering" and the p ...

, the four loaves of the thank offering the foreleg of the Nazirite's ram offering. The bat-kohen is entitled to offer her employees to partake in her

, and, by the Law, it is permitted to bypass her father (or husband) and initially give her tithe offering and

dough offering In Judaism, the dough offering (or ''mitzvat terumat challah'', "commandment of separating ''challah''" he, מצוות תרומת חלה) is a positive commandment requiring the owner of a bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a ko ...

but

Menachem Meiri Menachem ben Solomon Meiri or Hameiri (1249–1315) was a famous Catalan rabbi, Talmudist and Maimonidean. Biography Menachem Meiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the Principality of Catalonia. He was the student of Ra ...

forbids this of concern that one may give these gifts in error to the wife of a Kohen who was initially the daughter of an Israelite post her divorce, such giving the gifts to a person who is no longer entitled to the gifts. The daughter of a priest is likewise permitted to consume the firstborn animal. Regarding the giving of the foreleg, cheeks and abomasum, there is a Tannaic dispute as to whether an Israelite performs his

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

by giving them to the bat-kohen. This is the disagreement between the School or

Rabbi Yishmael Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a rabbi of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third gener ...

and the school of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov.

Hebrew Bible penalty for adultery by the daughter of a priest

The Hebrew Bible law is stringent regarding the modesty of a daughter of a priest. In the event that the daughter of a priest engages in specified immodest behavior, such as adultery during marriage or engagement ''eirusin''; then she, as well as her father, are faced with consequences graver than those of a regular daughter of Israel. Her punishment is listed as that of '' sreifah'' "burning" (actually the pouring of hot lead down the throat), contrasted with that of a "daughter of Israel" (''bat Yisrael'', a non priestly Israelite woman) who is punished with ''chenek'' (strangulation), and her father is demoted from being honored with the sanctity afforded priests.

Preferential marriage

Although basic Torah law allows for the ''bat kohen'' to marry a challal, convert and freed slave (Hebrew ''eved me shukhrar''), the Midrash and Talmud cite

Rabbi Yochanan :''See Johanan (name) for more rabbis by this name''. Johanan bar Nappaha ( he, יוחנן בר נפחא Yoḥanan bar Nafḥa; alt. sp. Napaḥa) (also known simply as Rabbi Yochanan, or as Johanan bar Nafcha) (lived 180-279 CE) was a leading ...

's view that a daughter of a priest is best off marrying a priest. Rabbi Yochanan maintains that in the event a ''bat kohen'' marries a non-Kohen, undesired results for the groom are likely to surface, such as poverty or the demise of the groom. An exception to this taboo is if the groom is a '' Talmid Chacham''

In the Talmud

The Talmud narrates how the Tanna Rabbi Yehoshua married a non-kohen wife and then complained that it weakened him.

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

explains that the marriage of a bat kohen to a man who is not a kohen, or a '' Talmid Chacham'' ("student"), is considered a swipe at the honor of

, and Aaron himself is annoyed at the demotion of his progeny, resulting in a negative consequence.

Marriage contract

The

and

Talmud Bavli The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

both state that the

Beth din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

(prior to 70CE) would have overseen that the

Ketubah A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

of a bat-kohen would contract the amount of four hundred Zuz (an increase from the standard amount of two hundred Zuz) in the event the bat kohen would be given a bill of divorce, limited to a bat kohen virgin whereas a maiden would receive the standard one hundred Zuz, the increase was written as the base amount due the bat-kohen and not considered a bonus (J.

Ketuboth A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a Jewish views of marriage, traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the b ...

.1.5, B.Ketuboth.12b). The

opines that the bat-kohen who marries a non-Kohen receives that standard two hundred Zuz amount, as a penalty for not marrying within the greater family of priests (J.

1:5 p. 6a).

Rishonic reasoning

Among the Rishonim, Jacob ben Meir clarifies that the words in

"that which is due you" (Aramaic ''d'chazi l'chi'') are to portray that the excess amount is not considered a bonus (Aramaic ''tosefet kethuba'') but the base amount (Aramaic ''ikkar kethuba''). Also among the Rishonim,

Asher ben Jehiel Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...

likewise explain that the full amount of four hundred Zuz is collectible even in the even the original marriage contract document is lost, and even if the larger four hundred Zuz amount was not written in the ''bat kohens marriage contract all this with the intent to publicize the importance of the daughters of Kohanim. From among the

Tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

s, Jonathan ben David ha-Cohen of Lunel (c. 1135–after 1210) describes the excessive amount given the ''bat kohen'' as the rightful due to her and her family for keeping to the Torah laws and restrictions that apply to priestly families and keeping to the heritage (''yukhsin'') of priestly lineage. Jonathan of Lunel goes on to negate the notion that such excess would cause envy and jealousy from non-priestly families (who are not officially entitled to the excess amount).

Joseph ibn Habib Joseph ibn Habiba ( he, יוסף חביבא), also known as Joseph Havivah and Nimmukei Yosef, after the title of his book, was a Spanish Talmudist who flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries. He lived in Barcelona. Nimmukei Yosef Like his pre ...

justifies to excess amount listed in the bat kohen's Ketubah since it is a greater shame for the kohen where his daughter to be divorced, and the excess amount would entice the husband to reconsider divorcing his bat-kohen wife.

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of ...

stated that the marriage ceremony and feast a bat kohen to a non-kohen man is not considered a '' seudat mitzvah'', since the marriage is one that may produce negative results.

In Kabbalah

Isaac Luria explains the negative aspect of a ''bat kohen'' not marrying a kohen from the Kabbalistic view, using

gematria Gematria (; he, גמטריא or gimatria , plural or , ''gimatriot'') is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher w ...

; that since the Hebrew letters K H N ( ה,נ,ך those that spell "kohen") do not have a match using the Ayak Becher formula, therefore it is best for a kohen to marry a kohen. The formula, explains Luria, portrays that the such marriage between Kohanic families works nicely.

Daughters of Kohanim in modern era

There have been different interpretations in the modern era, such as the ruling of Chief Rabbi of the British Empire Rabbi Nathan HaKohen Adler in 1863 that the daughter of a Cohen may only marry a non-Cohen. Based on the research of Epstein (1973) the recording of Four hundred Zuz in the Ketubah of the bat-kohen was well in effect during the Amora period, but from thence onward, no mentioning of the increased amount is found in Rabbinic sources.

In literature

The expectations upon the daughter of a Kohen feature in Julian Stryjkowski's ''Voices in the Darkness.''Contemporary Jewish writing in Poland: an anthology p44 Antony Polonsky, Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska—2001 "'Does he write that Chamariem, the daughter of Reb Toyvie, leads a life unworthy of a Jewish daughter, the more so the daughter of a Cohen?' 'Uhum.' 'Does he write that Chamariem, the daughter of Reb Toyvie, is a goy's concubine and has ..."

References

{{Women in Judaism, state=expanded Judaism and women Jewish law and rituals Jewish marital law Priesthood (Judaism)