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n. "A male descendent of the family of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. Aaron and his descendants were consecrated to the service of God... in the Tabernacle... in the desert and later the Holy Temple" (Steinmetz). Often poorly translated as "priest," though the term "Levite" or "Aaronite" is more accurate, especially due to Christian usage (Steinmetz).
"He can't go into the cemetery, can he, if he's a Kohen?" (Glinert)
"Is anyone in the room a Kohen for Rishon [first aliyah to the Torah reading]?"
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Hebrew כהן kohen, Yiddish כּהן koyen.
Koyhayn, Coyhayn, Koyheyn, Coyheyn, Coyhein, Koyhein, Koyhen, Coyhen, Koyayn, Coyayn, Koyeyn, Coyeyn, Coyein, Koyein, Koyen, Coyen, Kohayn, Cohayn, Koheyn, Coheyn, Cohein, Kohein, Kohen
The term kehuna / kahuna is the form of the word that means that someone is a kohen, used in the form of "they have kehuna," they have 'Levitehood.' The plural is kohanim (Hebrew), or Koyanim/Kehanim (Yiddish).
Today, the functions of a Kohen are mostly merely hereditary (Steinmetz), though a Kohen is preferred for the first aliyah of a Torah reading, traditionally should not enter a cemetery (unless for the funeral of an immediate family member) or marry a divorcée (Rosten), and they can perform the Priestly Blessing (Cf. duchen). "The Reform movement does not make distinctions as to heritage when it calls congregants for an aliyah" (Eisenberg).
The phrase "big kahuna" comes from Hawaiian, not Hebrew or Aramaic.
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