Status of Kohen Attending Funerals
Question
I am a kohen. I was raised orthodox and went to yeshiva. Then I rebelled and was not observant for many years. During that time, I attended a lot of funerals. Now I am getting interested in orthodoxy once again. Since I was at some funerals knowingly in violation of my kohen restrictions, does that disqualify me from Birkat Kohanim? Does it affect the kohen status of me and any sons I may have in the future?
Answers
Your attending funerals has not negated your being a Kohen. What attending funerals does mean is that you have now been exposed to the spiritual impurity – Tumat Met – that death brings with it. There is no real recourse as of now because the Red Heifer is required to purify from Tumat Met. B’Ezrat Hashem the Mashiach will announce his arrival very, very soon and we will all be purified.
In practical terms, your exposure to Tumat Met has not changed your status and you are certainly able to join your fellow Kohanim in the beautiful and poignant Mitzvah of Birkat Kohanim. In addition, any sons of yours should be able to have the same holy status of Kohen as you did when you were born.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team