A Mitzvah in Practice: Matanot Kehuna in Israel Today
The revival of Zeroa, Lechayayim and Keva is not only an idea being discussed in sefarim. It is being practiced.
In Maon, Rav Yonatan Gabbai of Order Kosher Meat has built the giving of the actual priestly portions into his meat operation — demonstrating that this ancient mitzvah can function naturally within modern life in Israel.
Why Igud HaKohanim is reporting this
Igud HaKohanim is governed and operated entirely by Kohanim. Our work concerning Zeroa, Lechayayim and Keva includes education, certification of operations that meet our institutional standard, and the development of practical systems through which the actual portions due to Kohanim can reach them. When we find a working example of that mitzvah in Israel, we believe it deserves to be seen.
From the slaughter process to the hands of a Kohen
Rav Yonatan Gabbai is both a rabbi and a trained shochet. Through Order Kosher Meat, he oversees a boutique meat operation based around the family ranch in Maon.
What is especially significant from the perspective of Igud HaKohanim is simple: the Zeroa, Lechayayim and Keva are not treated merely as a theoretical obligation or replaced with a token arrangement. The actual portions are separated and given to Kohanim.
Igud HaKohanim’s relationship with the operation reaches back to 2015, and certificates of recognition have been issued over the years for its practical implementation of Matanot Kehuna.
Three portions. Actually given.
The significance is not complicated. These are identifiable portions of the animal that the Torah designates for the Kohen.
Zeroa
The right foreleg, a substantial portion of the animal designated for the Kohen.
Lechayayim
The cheek portions, including the relevant jaw area and tongue encompassed by the priestly gift.
Keva
The abomasum, the fourth stomach chamber of the animal, given as the third of these priestly portions.
A modern Israeli operation
Order Kosher Meat describes its livestock as Israeli-born and pasture-raised, with animals spending much of their lives grazing in the fields and hills of Eretz Yisrael.
The operation states that its animals are not treated with hormones or antibiotics and describes its meat as organic. Rav Gabbai supervises the process from livestock selection through shechita, nikur and boutique butchery.
These product and husbandry descriptions belong to Order Kosher Meat itself. Igud HaKohanim’s particular interest is the part of the operation connected directly with the Kehuna: the giving of Matanot Kehuna in practice.
Rabbi Perida and long life
The connection between this mitzvah and a life lived with care for the Kehuna is not a modern marketing idea.
The Talmud records that when Rabbi Perida’s students asked him in what merit he had lived a long life, one of the practices he identified was that he never ate from an animal before its priestly gifts had been separated.
We do not present this as a promise that purchasing a particular product guarantees longevity. It does, however, show the importance that Chazal attached to being careful that these portions were properly addressed before the meat reached the table.
Talmud Bavli, Megillah 28a
Why this example matters
The importance of this story is larger than one butcher or one ranch. It demonstrates what is practically possible.
It makes the mitzvah visible
Consumers can see that Zeroa, Lechayayim and Keva are not merely historical terms in a sefer. They remain real portions capable of being given today.
It demonstrates feasibility
Modern slaughter, refrigeration, transportation and distribution make the physical delivery of priestly gifts workable.
It rewards responsible practice
When consumers support operations that build Torah obligations into their normal workflow, they create an economic reason for good practice to expand.
A model others can build on
Igud HaKohanim does not view the physical delivery of Zeroa, Lechayayim and Keva as something limited to a boutique operation.
A larger slaughterhouse or meat processor may require more organization, but the principle remains the same: identify the portions, separate them, preserve them, and establish a roster of Kohanim to whom they can be delivered.
Order Kosher Meat provides a useful living example: the mitzvah can move from source text into ordinary economic life in modern Israel.
Help build the network
Practical delivery requires both Kohanim and meat operations willing to make the mitzvah part of their ordinary process.
Are you a Kohen?
Register with Igud HaKohanim so that your lineage and location can be documented. Registered Kohanim may be considered as possible recipients when priestly gifts become available in their area. Registration does not guarantee receipt.
Join the Kohen RegistryShochet or meat operator?
If you operate a slaughterhouse, butcher shop, meat-processing business or kosher meat program, Igud HaKohanim can discuss a practical system for separation, preservation and delivery and help coordinate a roster of Kohanim.
Contact Igud HaKohanimA Torah gift can still reach a Kohen
This is what revival looks like: not simply speaking about a mitzvah, but building the ordinary structures through which it can once again be carried out.