From: hayim@locus.com (Hayim Hendeles)
Subject: Re: Adopted children
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 20:42:47 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.211610.4262@cbnews.cb.att.com> ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet) writes:
> ...
>
>Yet I wonder how come we ask people who are unsure if they are
>Kohanim, and we are unsure if they are Kohanim, to act as if they
>were.  This includes Birchat Kohanim, First aliyah, marriage
>restrictions, acting as G-d's agent for the Pidyon Haben, and
>being excused (along with male and female children of Leviim as
>well) from the need for a Pidyon Haben.
>

I have heard stories about some of our great Rabbis, who redeemed
themselves (Pudyon Haben) numerous times. Each time they met a Cohen
who had more "yichus" (pedigree ?) then the previous, they would redeem
themself again - exactly because of your argument.

For the rest of us, I THINK (and this is my 2 cents only) that this
is a standard question of money matters, were the burden of proof
always rests on the one trying to extract the money from you.
If a Kohen were to prove to you absolutely that
a) He is a Kohen, b) You are not a Kohen, c) The Kohen you redeemed
yourself with is also not a Kohen
THEN you would probably be
obligated to redeem yourself again. But until that time, you
claim you redeemed yourself - the burden of proof is on the other party.


>When I asked why we go to great lengths to wear a Tallit, the
>answers were so we can fulfill the mitzvah of tzitit.

100% on the mark here.

>But that mitzvah is to put one thread of Techeilet (blue?) in the
>threads of the tzitit so we can look at the tzitit -- and we will
>notice the techeilet - and be reminded of the commandments and keep
>them.   Yet we don't use techeilet!   The central reason for wearing
>a talit is no longer there!
>

Not quite. One of the mitzvot of tzitzit is to add the tchelet to it.
And as the commentaries point out, the absence of this tchelet does
not prevent the fulfillment of the mitzvoh. So we do it.

But IMHO, you misunderstood the relevant passage. The Torah says
"wear tzitizit, and put tchelet on it, so that when you see it
you should remember ...". This last phrase (when you see it, you should
remember ...) refers back to the entire sentence. This happens to be
one of the reasons for tzitizit, of which one of its particulars is
the tchelet. You seem to have interpreted the passage as giving the
reason for tchelet only.

Now, in general, it should be pointed out that we certainly cannot
fathom G-d, nor can we say definitively G_D GAVE US THIS MITZVOH ONLY
BECAUSE OF XXX. We can only say, that one of the reasons for the
mitzvoh may be because of XXX.  But that's irrelevant.  We do the
mitzvoh because G-d said "DO IT".  IF we can perceive some of the
intended benefit of the mitzvoh, so much the better.  But if we can't,
it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

>And when suggestions are made that we do our very best to reproduce
>the techeilet, the argument goes:  No.  Because if we are wrong --
>if the techeilet is not 100% correct -- we have done something
>wrong.
>

Once again, you are right on the mark.

>But no one would think we are 100% correct about Kohenim, not even
>some Kohanim themselves.   So why do we go along with one standard
>for accepting Kohanim and a far higher standard for accepting
>Techeilet?
>-- 
>Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus


There is a major difference. If I get the Kohen wrong, I haven't
done anything wrong. But if I get the tchelet wrong, I have messed
up the mitzvoh of tzitizit.


Chag Sameach,
Hayim Hendeles
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish