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Hilchos Tefilla 128 (page 10)
מאמצע הסעיף ואחר עד אמצע סעיף כ וכיצד
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Listening to Birkas Kohanim in the Middle of Shemoneh Esrei
A Chazan Who is a Kohein
Waiting for Amein
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Listening to birkas kohanim in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei
The
poskim discuss whether someone
davening Shemoneh Esrei should pause to listen to
birkas kohanim. All agree that if he completed
Modim along with the
chazan he should listen to the
beracha. (According to some
poskim, listening is optional.) He should not respond
Amein to the
beracha of "to bless His nation Yisrael with love," and the
poskim discuss whether he should answer
Amein to the
pesukim. If the
chazan is reading from a
siddur, he may respond
Amein after the
pesukim because the interruption will not confuse him, but he should not respond to the
beracha of "to lovingly bless His nation Yisrael" since he is in the middle of
Shemoneh Esrei.
(
סעיף יט, ס"ק עא ושעה"צ ס"ק סב; וראה שם ס"ק סא; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 81)
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If the
chazan is a
kohein, he should not recite
birkas kohanim if other
kohanim are present. He may recite the
berachos if there are no other
kohanim (according to some
poskim, if there is only one other
kohein) and he is sure that he will be able to properly resume the
tefilla when done (e.g. he is praying from a
siddur). According to some
poskim, it is preferable for a
kohein who is mourning his father or mother to recite
birkas kohanim rather than serve as
chazan. Therefore, if other
kohanim are present, he should not serve as
chazan unless he will be able to recite the
beracha at a different time (e.g. a later
minyan or
Musaf). According to other poskim, an
aveil may recite the
beracha when serving as
chazan provided that he will not get confused.
(
סעיף כ, ס"ק עב ו־עו, ושעה"צ ס"ק סא; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 82-84)
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Every member of the congregation must hear every word of
birkas kohanim. Therefore, the
kohanim may not start the
pesukim of
birkas kohanim until the congregation completes the
Amein to the preceding
beracha. In communities where the
kohanim pronounce the first word
yivarechicha without a prompt from the
chazan, they must wait until the entire congregation completed the response before they may begin. In communities where the
chazan prompts the
kohanim with the first word, the
chazan should wait until most of the congregation completes the response before beginning. Likewise, the
kohanim should wait until the
chazan completes each word before reciting it, and the
chazan should wait until the
kohanim have completed each word before beginning the next one.
(
סעיף יח וס"ק סה ו־סח)
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- The Torah uses the expression "speak to them" when discussing the mitzva of birkas kohanim. Chazal explained this to mean that the kohein must speak in an audible voice, like someone speaking with friends.
- A kohein who is unable to keep his hands elevated for the entire beracha may lower them between words. A kohein may lean on something if he would not fall if it was removed. If he is unable to stand, he may lean on something [even if he would fall without it] between uttering the words.
- Each kohein must recite the beracha independently. The Acharonim provide several reasons why the rule of shomea k'oneh (hearing is like saying) cannot be applied to birkas kohanim.
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- A beracha on a borrowed talllis
- Does a chazan kohein move to the front?
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PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.
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