עברית
Halachot and Customs
Is a Daughter of a Cohen Allowed to Enter a Cemetery?
Question
A girl with the last name Cohen, can she enter a cemetery or is the prohibition only for men? Thank you very much
Answer
Greetings,
Only priests (kohanim) are warned against becoming impure from the dead, and therefore they are forbidden to enter a cemetery. However, a daughter of a Cohen is permitted to become impure from the dead and enter the cemetery. This is learned from what is stated in the Torah (Leviticus 21:1) "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron... they shall not become impure for the dead among their people," and our sages derived that it refers to the "sons of Aaron" and not the "daughters of Aaron."
Sources: Sifrah on Parshat Emor there, and Mishnah in the tractate Sotah (23a) and Gemara there (b). Likewise, the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah (Siman 376:2) rules this way.
Best regards,
Hillel Meirs
