Asking the Kohen to Leave
Question: I am one of the only kohanim in my shul and regularly receive the first aliyah. Recently, I was asked to leave shul so that two people with yartzheit could receive an aliyah . Was this right? Answer: The Mishna (Gittin 59a) teaches that we give the first aliyah to the kohen because of darchei shalom , the ways of peace. Thus, the Shulchan Aruch (OC 135:3) writes that a kohen receives the first aliya . The Shulchan Aruch Harav (OC 201:3) writes that this is a mitzva mideoraisa of honouring the kohen . The Gemara (Gittin 59b) concludes that a kohen cannot concede this honour on Shabbos and Yom Tov when more people attend shul . Tosafos writes that this only applied in the times of the Gemara when people were too busy with work to attend shul during the week, but it now applies equally to Monday and Thursday, too. The Tur (OC 135:4) writes that there is a machlokes as to whether a kohen can ever forgo his honour of being called up first to the Torah. The Levush ...