Levite Explained

Group:Levites
Native Name:לויים
Native Name Lang:he
Population:~500,000–600,000 worldwide
Region1: Israel
Pop1:240,000
Pop2:200,000
Region3: France
Pop3:16,000
Region4: Canada
Pop4:12,000
Region5: India
Pop5:3,000
Languages:Vernacular:
Hebrew, English and numerous other languages in the Jewish diaspora
Historical:
Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic
Religions:Judaism, Samaritanism
Related:other Jews, Samaritans
Footnotes:Total percentage of Levites among Jews is about 4%.

Levites (; Hebrew: לְוִיִּם|Lǝvīyyīm) or Levi[1] are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi.[2] The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname Halevi, which consists of the Hebrew definite article "Hebrew: ה" Ha- ('the') plus Levi ('Levite'), is not conclusive regarding being a Levite; a titular use of HaLevi indicates being a Levite. The daughter of a Levite is a (Bat being Hebrew for 'daughter').

The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political (administering cities of refuge) and educational responsibilities as well. In return, the landed tribes were expected to support the Levites with a tithe (18:21–25 ), particularly the tithe known as the First tithe, ma'aser rishon. The Kohanim, a subset of the Levites, were the priests, who performed the work of holiness in the Temple. The Levites, referring to those who were not Kohanim, were specifically assigned to:

When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan (Joshua 13:33), the Sons of Levi were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel Himself is their inheritance" (Deuteronomy 18:2).[4]

In modern times, Levites are integrated in Jewish communities, but keep a distinct status. There are estimated 300,000 Levites among Ashkenazi Jewish communities,[5] and a similar number among Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews combined. The total percentage of Levites among the wider Jewish population is about 4%.

In contemporary Jewish practice

Today, Levites in Orthodox Judaism continue to have additional rights and obligations compared to lay people, although these responsibilities have diminished with the destruction of the Temple. For instance, Kohanim are eligible to be called to the Torah first, followed by the Levites. Levites also provide assistance to the Kohanim, particularly washing their hands, before the Kohanim recite the Priestly Blessing.[6] [7]

Since Levites (and Kohanim) are traditionally pledged to Divine service, there is no Pidyon HaBen (redemption of the firstborn) ceremony for:

Orthodox Judaism believes in the eventual rebuilding of a Temple in Jerusalem and a resumption of the Levitical role. A small number of schools, primarily in Israel, train priests and Levites in their respective roles.[10]

Conservative Judaism—which believes in a restoration of the Temple as a house of worship and in some special role for Levites, although not the ancient sacrificial system as previously practised—recognizes Levites as having special status. Not all Conservative congregations call Kohanim and Levites to the first and second reading of the Torah, and many no longer perform rituals such as the Priestly Blessing and Pidyon HaBen in which Kohanim and Levites have a special role.

Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism do not observe distinctions between Kohanim, Levites, and other Jews.

Relationship with Kohanim

See main article: Kohen and Priesthood (Ancient Israel). The Kohanim are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the biblical Aaron of the Tribe of Levi. The origins of the name/term "Levy" in Hebrew remain unclear. Some hypotheses link this name with the Hebrew root lwh, the Aramaic root lwy, or the Arabic root lwy.

The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, both Israelite and non-Israelite, such as the Israelite nation as a whole,[11] as well as the priests (Hebrew kohanim) of Baal. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, Kohanim performed the daily and holiday (Yom Tov) duties of sacrificial offerings.

Today kohanim retain a lesser though somewhat distinct status within Judaism, and are bound by additional restrictions according to Orthodox Judaism. During the Priestly Blessing, the Levites traditionally wash the hands of the Kohanim prior to the blessing of the House of Israel.[12] ("A first-born son washes the Kohen's hands if there is no Levite".[13] [14])

Bat Levi

In Orthodox Judaism, children of a Bat Levi, like those of a Bat-Kohen, regardless of the child's father's tribe or the mother's marital status, retain the traditional exemption for their children from the requirement of being redeemed through the Pidyon HaBen.[15]

Conservative Judaism permits a Bat Levi to perform essentially all the rituals a male Levi would perform, including being called to the Torah for the Levite aliyah in those Conservative synagogues which have both retained traditional tribal roles and modified traditional gender roles.[16] In Israel, Conservative/Masorti Judaism has not extended Torah honors either to a bat Kohen or to a bat Levi.[17]

The Levites and the Holocaust

See main article: Holocaust theology.

In 1938, with the outbreak of violence that would come to be known as Kristallnacht, American Orthodox rabbi Menachem HaKohen Risikoff wrote about the central role he saw for Priests and Levites in terms of Jewish and world responses, in worship, liturgy, and teshuva, repentance. In The Priests and the Levites (1940),[18] he stressed that members of these groups exist in the realm between history (below) and redemption (above), and must act in a unique way to help move others to prayer and action, and help bring an end to suffering. He wrote, "Today, we also are living through a time of flood, Not of water, but of a bright fire, which burns and turns Jewish life into ruin. We are now drowning in a flood of blood. ... Through the Kohanim and Levi'im help will come to all Israel."[19]

Levite population

Levite Y-chromosome studies

A 2003 study of the Y-chromosome by Behar et al. pointed to multiple origins for Ashkenazi Levites, who comprise approximately 4% among the Ashkenazi Jews. It found that Haplogroup R1a1a (R-M17), uncommon in the Middle East or among Sephardic Jews, is present in over 50% of Ashkenazi Levites, while the rest of Ashkenazi Levites' paternal lineage is of certain Middle Eastern origin, including Y-chromosome haplogroups E3b, J2, F, R1b, K, I, Q, N and L. Haplogroup R1a1a is found at the highest levels among people of Eastern European descent, with 50 to 65% among Sorbs, Poles, Russians, and Ukrainians.[20] In South Asia, R1a1a has often been observed with high frequency in a number of demographic groups, reaching over 70% in West Bengal Brahmins in India and among the Mohani people in Sindh, Pakistan. Behar's data suggested a founding event, involving an 'introgression' of anywhere from one to fifty non-Jewish European men, occurring at a time close to the initial formation and settlement of the Ashkenazi community as a possible explanation.[21] As Nebel, Behar and Goldstein speculate:

A 2013 paper by Siiri Rootsi et al. confirmed a Near or Middle Eastern origin for all Ashkenazi Levites, including the R1a Y-chromosome carriers, and refuted the Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry:

In a later 2017 study Behar et al. revised their initially mitigated position, concluding that a "Middle Eastern origin of the Ashkenazi Levite lineage based on what was previously a relatively limited number of reported samples, can now be considered firmly validated", precising that a "rich variation of haplogroup R1a outside of Europe which is phylogenetically separate from the typically European R1a branches", referring to the R1a-Y2619 sub-clade.[5]

Lineage

Having a last name of Levi or a related term does not necessarily mean a person is a Levite, and many well-known Levites do not have such last names.[22]

Levitical status is passed down in families from father to child born from a Jewish mother, as part of a family's genealogical tradition. Tribal status of Levite is determined by patrilineal descent, so a child whose biological father is a Levite (in cases of adoption or artificial insemination, status is determined by the genetic father), is also considered a Levite. Jewish status is determined by matrilineal descent, thus conferring levitical status onto children requires both biological parents to be Israelites and the biological father to be a Levite.

Accordingly, there is currently no branch of Judaism that regards levitical status as conferrable by matrilineal descent. It is either conferrable patrilineally with a Jewish mother, in the traditional manner, or it does not exist and is not conferred at all.

Levite surnames

Some Levites have adopted a related last name to signify their status. Because of diverse geographical locations, the names have several variations:[23]

Modern Levites

The following are some Levites with non-Levite-like last names in modern times:

Notable Levites

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Levite synonyms, Levite antonyms. freethesaurus.com. Synonyms for Levite ... noun a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi … the branch that provided male assistants to ....
  2. "Membership in the Levites is determined by paternal descent." Web site: Medical Definition of Levite . 2017-02-19.
  3. Web site: The Holy Temple Music . tractate Arachin (11a) that oral music was never to be uttered by anyone other than a Levite.
  4. Joshua 13:33, cited in
  5. 10.1038/s41598-017-14761-7. The genetic variation in the R1a clade among the Ashkenazi Levites' y chromosome. 2017. Behar. Doron M.. Saag. Lauri. Karmin. Monika. Gover. Meir G.. Wexler. Jeffrey D.. Sanchez. Luisa Fernanda. Greenspan. Elliott. Kushniarevich. Alena. Davydenko. Oleg. Sahakyan. Hovhannes. Yepiskoposyan. Levon. Boattini. Alessio. Sarno. Stefania. Pagani. Luca. Carmi. Shai. Tzur. Shay. Metspalu. Ene. Bormans. Concetta. Skorecki. Karl. Metspalu. Mait. Rootsi. Siiri. Villems. Richard. Scientific Reports. 7. 1. 14969. 29097670. 5668307. 2017NatSR...714969B.
  6. Web site: YUTorah.org. The Levi Washing the Hands of the Kohen . Rabbi Isaac Rice . June 22, 2017.
  7. Web site: Kohanim and Leviim - Jewish Essentials . Nissan Dovid Dubov . chabad.org . In preparation for Duchaning, the Kohen has his hands washed by a Levi.
  8. Web site: Who Is Obligated in Pidyon Haben? – Lifecycle Events . The son of a Levi's daughter does not have a pidyon haben.
  9. Web site: Pidyon Ha'ben – Redemption of First Born . 15 February 2010 . Pidyon Ha'Ben, the "redemption of the first born son," takes place when a ... 4) The father of the baby is not a Kohen or a Levi, and the mother's father is ....
  10. Web site: March 8, 2016. Temple Institute announces school to train Levitical priests – Israel. The Temple Institute, dedicated to reestablishing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, announces school for training Kohanim. ... on the Temple service.
  11. MamLeChes KoHaNim – ממלכת כהנים
  12. Web site: The general procedure of the Priestly Blessing is: After *Kedushah the priests prepare themselves, removing their shoes and washing their hands with the assistance of the levites, whereafter they ascend the platform before the Ark.. Priestly Blessing . Jewish Virtual Library . https://web.archive.org/web/20140427010612/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_16089.html . 2014-04-27 . deviated.
  13. Book: Let's Ask the Rabbi . 163. Raymond Apple . 2011.
  14. Web site: Duchening: The Basics.
  15. "Rivash" 15; "Divrei Yatziv" by R' Y. Halberstam, E.H. 6; "Yechaveh Da'at" by R' O. Yosef, V 61)
  16. http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/roth_daughtersaliyot.pdf Joel Roth, The Status of Daughters of Kohanim and Leviyim for Aliyot, Rabbinical Assembly
  17. Web site: See: Robert A. (Rafael) Harris, Rabbinical Assembly of Israel's Law Committee Teshuvah: "The First Two Aliyot for a Bat Kohen and a Bat Levi." pp. 31–33 in Responsa of the Va'ad Halacha of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel 5748–5749 (1989). Volume 3. Jerusalem: The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and the Masorti Movement (Hebrew; English Summary, vii–viii). . 2013-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130926141046/http://responsafortoday.com/vol3/3.pdf . 2013-09-26 . dead.
  18. https://www.hebrewbooks.org/36377 הכהנים והלוים HaKohanim vHaLeviim (1940)
  19. Gershon Greenberg, "Kristallnacht: The American Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Theology of Response," in Maria Mazzenga (editor), American Religious Responses to Kristallnacht, Palgrave MacMillan: 2009, pp. 158–172.
  20. 2987245 . 19888303 . 10.1038/ejhg.2009.194 . 18 . 4 . Separating the post-Glacial coancestry of European and Asian Y chromosomes within haplogroup R1a . 2010 . Eur. J. Hum. Genet. . 479–484 . Underhill . PA . Myres . NM . Rootsi . S . Metspalu . M . Zhivotovsky . LA . King . RJ . Lin . AA . Chow . CE . Semino . O . Battaglia . V . Kutuev . I . Järve . M . Chaubey . G . Ayub . Q . Mohyuddin . A . Mehdi . SQ . Sengupta . S . Rogaev . EI . Khusnutdinova . EK . Pshenichnov . A . Balanovsky . O . Balanovska . E . Jeran . N . Augustin . DH . Baldovic . M . Herrera . RJ . Thangaraj . K . Singh . V . Singh . L . Majumder . P . Rudan . P . Primorac . D . Villems . R . Kivisild . T.
  21. Behar DM, Thomas MG, Skorecki K, etal . Multiple origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y chromosome evidence for both Near Eastern and European ancestries . American Journal of Human Genetics . 73 . 4 . 768–779 . October 2003 . 13680527. 1180600 . 10.1086/378506.
  22. Some examples of having the title HaLevi, but not in their last name are: Baruch Epstein, Yisroel Belsky, Abraham Fraenkel, Shmuel Wosner, Meir Abulafia, Samuel ibn Naghrillah, Yehuda Ashlag, Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, Pinchas Horowitz, Hillel Paritcher, The Chozeh (seer) of Lublin, Shmuel Schecter, Joseph Weiler, Yom-Tov Lipman Heller, Abraham ibn Daud, Salomon ibn Parhon, Shlomo Wahrman, Salomon Alkabetz, Issachar Berend Lehmann, Avraham Bromberg, Max Letteris, Joseph ibn Migash, Yechezkel Landau, Jacob Moelin, Luis de Torres, Chaim Herzog,Avraham Gombiner
  23. Web site: What's in a name?. 18 October 2014. Levi not only has variations like Lewita (Polish) and Loewe (German/Swiss), but also Segal and Zemmel. They sound nothing like the original name, and that’s because they’re acronyms in the Hebrew alphabet – a great way to hide your Jewish heritage while keeping true to the family identity. Segal stands for 'SeGan Leviyyah', which is roughly translated as 'deputy Levite', since Levites served as deputies to kohanim. Segal itself has variations too, like Chagall (French)..
  24. Web site: Don Judah de la Cavalleria Ha Levi (Benveniste "Cavalier") (c. 1227 – 1286). 2 February 2024 .
  25. Web site: BENVENISTE . JewishEncyclopedia.com . Joseph ben Ephraim ha-Levi Benveniste.
  26. PBS Show Finding Your Roots broadcast February 2, 2016
  27. Web site: Chaim Herzog . The son of the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog.
  28. PBS Show Finding Your Roots broadcast January 26, 2016

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