ANYONE WHO HAS EVER PEEKED at cohenim (cohens) as they bless the congregation may wonder why they turn slightly north and south during the blessing.
There is a reason and an order for this.
CAVEAT: I am not a rabbi and I don’t play one on tv.
IT IS CUSTOMARY TO stand in front of the cohenim as they bless the congregation. Since this usually is impossible to for everyone to do this, the cohenim turn slightly to each side to include people to the left and right of center.
My primary source is R. Mordechai Eliyahu’s Kitzur Shulhan Aruk with Nikud. the former Rishon l’Zion (Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Israel).
under the heading Laws of Waving (the) Hands, or cohenic blessing, in footnote טו on Page 352 we read:
| When the cohen says | The cohen turns |
|---|---|
| וישמרך | Slightly to his right (north) |
| יאר ה’ פניו | Toward the center (west) |
| אליך ויחונך | Slightly to his left (south) |
| ישא ה’ פנין וישם לך שלום | Toward the center (west) |
GRANTED, not all cohenim turn from side to side. This may be strictly a Sefardi/Mizrahi “thing.”
The Hakham’s kitzur also notes that with the exception of fathers covering their children’s heads, men normally do not cover their heads with a tallit during the cohens’ blessing.. This “cover your head” tradition probably comes from the admonishment not to look at the cohenim during the blessing. Since the cohenim have THEIR heads and hands covered, the redundancy is not deemed necessary.
Why do Sefardim & Mizrahim do it every day?
The Torah tells cohenim to bless the people. Period. Beginning at Numbers (במדבר) 6:23, Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. The Sefardim and Mizrahim fail to see an option, no “if you feel like it” choice.
Most Ashkenazim outside of Israel only have birkat haCohenim (cohenic blessing) on holidays, feeling that the blessing should be said only on happy occasions.
On the other hand, many Sefardi and Mizrahi congregations insist that a cohen has to be married in order to “dunkin.” An unwed cohen cannot be happy, according to those who hold the “married men only” opinion. There are differing opinions.
The blessing is not said in the home of a mourner.
Those who may not bless
A “disqualified” cohen does not bless the people. There are a number of things that may disqualify a cohen, including maimed hands, although a marred face, since it is covered by the cohen’s tallit, does not disqualify the person. For some unexplained reson, the cohen’s hands, although also covered, may not be malformed.
A cohen loses his status as a cohen, and all the honors due a cohen, if he
* Marries a non-Jewish woman or a convert
* Marries a divorcee
* Is inebriated
and a few other disabilities; some from the Torah, some from the rabbis. (See http://tinyurl.com/y2wnomdh )
On the other hand, a cohen need not be particularly knowledgeable in Judaism to bless the congregation. (The reader recites the blessing word-for-word and the cohen(im) repeat it word-for-word in all congregations.)
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