The Kohen Gene :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Kohen GeneIn a world where Jews have assimilated so much into other cultures, is it possible to trace the lineage of an elite grouping of Jewish men all the way back to a while who lived trinity-thousand and five-hundred years ago? According to Karl Skorecki, a scientist at the Israel Institute of applied science in Haifa, and Michael Hammer, a constituentticist from the University of Arizona at Tuscan, the possibility is alive (1). In Jewish tradition, as written in the Hebrew Bible, the Children of Israel were split into three groups. The Kohanim (the singular is simply Kohen) were the priests. The first Kohen was Moses brother, Aaron, and all Kohanim since thence are verbalize to be descendants of Aaron. The second group was the Levis, of which Moses himself was a part of, and the tercet group was compiled of the remaining eleven tribes (of which ten have said to be lost), simply called the Israelites. Since the Kohanim were the priests among the Jewish people, their du ties were the holiest and most important. They were in charge of the sacrifices brought to the Temple, and hence had the most intimate relationship with God, aside from the prophets such as Moses. afterwards the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., and thus the sezession of sacrificial offerings, the role of the priests became ceremonial. However, despite the fact that their strict duties do not apply today, all Kohanim, according to Jewish tradition, must still succeed many commandments that pertain directly to them. The hope is that one day, a unseasoned Temple will be built, and their service will be involve once again (1). According to Jewish tradition, the role of each person (Kohen, Levi, or Israelite) is passed down patrilineally from forefather to son. In traditional and Orthodox Judaism, a woman is known as the daughter of a Levi (if her father is a Levi) until she marries, and then she is the wife of a Levi. So, the concept of a kohen gene can only pertain t o Jewish men who have not converted into the faith (1). A gene is a sequence of desoxyribonucleic acid that is used by cells to create protein. It has all of the information needed to wanton a protein. It knows when to make these protein and where to begin and end. The functions of a cell are then carried out by the proteins.