Chalal (חלל)

Priestly status, lineage, transmission through generations, and the unusual law of a chalal who performed the Temple service.

What Is a Chalal?

A chalal (חלל) is a descendant of Kehuna whose priestly status has been impaired because he was born from a union prohibited to a Kohen specifically because of the requirements of Kehuna. A classic example is the son of a Kohen and a divorced woman. The sources include additional prohibited relationships, including a convert or emancipated woman according to the applicable rules.

Chalal status therefore generally arises from lineage and the circumstances of birth, rather than from an act committed by the chalal himself.

A chalal must be distinguished from a Kohen who himself violated a priestly prohibition.

Chazal teach: “כהנת מתחללת, כהן אין מתחלל” — a woman may acquire chalalah status, but a Kohen does not thereby become a chalal. A Kohen born with valid priestly status does not permanently lose that status merely because he committed such a violation. When he separates from the violation, he returns to his proper standing.

The Status of a Chalal

A definite chalal is treated in many areas as a non-Kohen and does not possess the full rights and status attached to a valid Kohen.

Terumah and Sacred Foods

A chalal does not eat Terumah or sacred foods by virtue of priestly status.

Laws of Kehuna

For many priestly laws, the chalal is treated like an Israelite rather than a valid Kohen.

Tzara’at

A chalal may not issue the priestly ruling that determines the status of a lesion. A knowledgeable chalal may examine it in the same way that a learned Israelite may assist in examining it, while the authoritative declaration belongs to a qualified Kohen.

A Remarkable Exception

A Chalal Who Performed the Temple Service

A chalal may not perform the priestly Temple service in the first instance. If he nevertheless performed the service, however, the service is valid.

“ברך ה׳ חילו ופועל ידיו תרצה”
Devarim 33:11

Chazal derive from this verse: “אפילו חולין שבו תרצה” — even the profaned among them are accepted with respect to the service they performed.

The distinction is therefore precise: a chalal should not serve going forward, but if he performed the service, his chalal status did not invalidate it.

Chalal Status Through the Paternal Line

The status of a male chalal continues through his male descendants. The Mishnah states:

“בת חלל זכר פסולה מן הכהונה לעולם.”

The son of a chalal is a chalal, and the same status continues from father to son through subsequent generations. A daughter born within that paternal line is a chalalah and may not marry a Kohen.

The reverse is different: if an Israelite man marries a chalalah, their daughter is eligible to marry a Kohen. Chalal status therefore does not pass through the mother in the same manner that it continues through the paternal chalal line.

Chalalah

Chalalah (חללה) is the corresponding female status. A woman may be born a chalalah through a union prohibited to Kehuna, and in certain circumstances a woman may acquire chalalah status through a prohibited relationship.

The sources distinguish between a woman born with chalalah status and a woman who acquires that status later. The rules are therefore not identical in every case.

Principal Sources

Vayikra 21 — priestly marriage restrictions and “ולא יחלל זרעו בעמיו”.
Sotah 23b — “כהנת מתחללת, כהן אין מתחלל”.
Kiddushin 77a — “בת חלל זכר פסולה מן הכהונה לעולם”.
Tosafot, Taanit 17b, s.v. דבר זה — “אפילו חולין שבו תרצה”.
Rambam, Hilchot Issurei Biah, Chapter 19 — chalal and chalalah status and its transmission through generations.
Rambam, Hilchot Biat HaMikdash 6:10 — the status of Temple service performed by a chalal.
Sifra, Parashat Emor — the status of a chalal in relation to laws reserved for Kohanim.

In Summary

A chalal is a descendant of Kehuna whose priestly standing has been impaired through a lineage created by a relationship prohibited to a Kohen. Chalal status continues through the paternal male line. Although a chalal does not possess the full standing of a valid Kohen, Temple service presents an important exception: he should not serve in the first instance, but if he did serve, the service is valid.

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