Genetic Links Among Modern-Day Priests

The director of the Tissue Typing and Bone Marrow Donor Registry at Hadassah Ein Kerem led a genetic study over several years, uncovering a common gene among Kohanim—descendants of Aaron—regardless of their origins, be it Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemeni, Russian, or Tunisian. Among 70-80% of them, a shared gene appears in the D.N.A at a frequency unparalleled in any other population group. This genetic marker is found in only 5% of non-Kohanim Jews and gentiles. The gene indicates that Kohanim are descendants of a common ancestor. Anyone who reads the Torah knows that the priesthood starts with Aaron the Priest, with his sons and their descendants following in his footsteps. Aaron and his descendants were chosen by Hashem to be Torah teachers for Israel and to serve Him in the Temple on behalf of all people, continuing today in the form of the priestly blessing given to worshippers.

The research was conducted by Dr. D. Goldstein from Oxford University and Dr. H. Ben Ami from Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The project in Israel was headed by Professor Karl Skorecki, head of nephrology at Rambam Hospital and head of molecular biology at the School of Medicine. The study's findings, published in the scientific journal "NATURE," confirm what is known from the Torah about the priestly lineage, passed down exclusively from father to son and so forth. A daughter of a Kohen who marries a non-Kohen does not have sons who are Kohanim. Indeed, in these cases, the common gene will not be found, because this gene is located only on the male Y chromosome.

The child inherits this Y chromosome solely from his father and passes it on only to his sons. Thus, only the grandsons on the father's side carry the gene that marks their belonging to the Kohanim family. The Torah's halachic ruling finds its expression in the D.N.A present in every cell of a Kohen who carries the genetic marker. Kohanim worldwide in all Jewish diaspora carry the mark of the priesthood in their bodies. This is a discovery made by genetics recently, yet there's more. The science of genetics tells us that the gene changes slightly as it passes from one generation to the next. This change can be observed, enabling scientists to determine the number of generations that have passed since the original family ancestor. Anyone familiar with Torah doesn't need scientific research to know that Aaron the Priest, Moses' brother, who was 83 at the time of the Exodus, is the ancestor of all Kohanim.

We are curious to see if genetics experts will reach the same conclusion. Well, a meticulous study suggests that, on average, 106 generations have passed from the ancestor of the Kohanim to today. To reach the ancient ancestor, one must multiply this number by the average lifespan of a generation. This isn't a fixed number, as one Kohen might be born to a 20-year-old father while another to a 40-year-old. It's customary to calculate an average generation at 30 years. Multiplying 30 years by 106 generations equals 3,160 years, while the Exodus took place approximately 3,300 years ago. The study's (average) calculation nearly matches the life of Aaron the Priest as described in the Torah tradition. Anyone who refuses to believe in the traditions of the Jewish people must bow to the scientific proofs of the truth and reliability of the Torah tradition, passed meticulously from generation to generation.