Bircas Cohanim

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20 Mar 2008 14:38 #190 by Melech
Bircas Cohanim was created by Melech
When I listened to the recording of Birchas Cohanim, I was a little suprised to here the standard Israeli rendering of Yvarechecha. The musical mode used, while used every weekday among B'nei Polin for the general nusach of davening, was, as far as I can tell, restricted among those of Minhag Ashkenaz to Tish'ah B'av, due to its very somber nature. After the very upbeat nature of the nusach used for the birchas hamitzvah, it would seem to me to be almost anti-climactic to have a very downtrodden sounding nusach for the words of birchas cohanim. I also wonder whether its use might partially interfere with the simcha required when performing the mitzvah, a simcha felt so essential by b'nei Ashkenaz that their Rabbonim felt it prvented the kiyyum of the mitzvah in chutz la'aretz except on Yomim Tovim. While there is no mesorah on how to recite birchas cohanim among b'nei Ashkenaz when not on a Yom Tov, I was wondering if it would perhaps be better to employ one of the following alternatives to the practice that seems to be currently in use:

1) Picking a short quick niggun or musical nusach that might better encapsulate the words, perhaps even different ones for weekday and Shabbos (we could even perhaps use a third niggun/nusach for weekdays without tachanun!), or

2) Using an already existing mode with a mesorah to it found among some other group. I can personally testify having davened in a shul on Shabbos that followed minhogei Teiman, and the nusach employed for birchas Cohanim seemed to fit the words particularly well, and its mode would seem to transfer almost perfectly into a shul using German Niggunim. In any event, it seemed far more makbil to the masores Bnei Ashkenaz than the niggun amployed by the Yotz'ei Polin in Eretz Yisroel.

Just a thought, but hopefully one that can enhance the dignity of Birchas Cohanim according to the understanding of Masores Ashkenaz.

Melech

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21 Mar 2008 01:55 #195 by Michael
Replied by Michael on topic Bircas Cohanim
You pointed out the problem, Bircas Cohanim is something done in Eretz Yisro'el every day unlike Chutz Lo'oretz where Bircas Cohanim was done only on Yomim Tovim and Yomim Noro'im. (Beside the fact that saying Bircas Cohanim daily is considered to be one of the few "minhogei Eretz Yisro'el", and one should not be poresh from the tzibbur, one of the reasons given to the Minhag in Chu"l not to say Bircas Cohanim every day is because we can't be in proper "simcha" in Chu"l only in E"Y, and therefore in EY there's no reason not to say Bircas Cohanim daily).
Since we have no massorah on how to do bircas Cohanim when they're not sung, we just had to pick a simple melody from our neighbors. If you have any better suggestions (that you can send for us to hear), maybe we could do something about it!

Michael

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12 Aug 2009 03:09 #1269 by MPerlman
Replied by MPerlman on topic Bircas Cohanim

Michael wrote: Bircas Cohanim is something done in Eretz Yisro'el every day unlike Chutz Lo'oretz where Bircas Cohanim was done only on Yomim Tovim and Yomim Noro'im.

If I remember correctly. R' Hamburger has stated that historically certainly in Rashi's time Bircas Kohanim was said every day in Ashkenaz. Could you please check it with him.

MPerlman

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12 Aug 2009 17:45 #1281 by Michael
Replied by Michael on topic Bircas Cohanim
It seems that it was said daily until around the year 5000, as all the Rishonim till then bring Hilchos Nesias Kapayim, mentioning one should say Birkas Kohanim every day, without saying that the Minhag is not to do so.

Michael FRBSH

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