139. Who to Call Up First

23:9 If a kohein is present, he is called for the first aliyah. Even if he’s not learned, the kohein has priority over a scholar so long as he’s a “mentch.” (It would be preferable to call a learned kohein before a scholar if possible – Biur Halacha 135:3 s.v. lifnei chacham gadol yisrael.) The kohein is not able to decline an aliyah. After the kohein, a Levi is called. If no Levi is present, the same kohein is called for a second aliyah announcing “bimkom Levi,” “in lieu of a Levi.” If no kohein is in shul, a Levi or a Yisrael may be called for the first aliyah; the greatest scholar present should be called. They announce “no kohein is present, therefore so-and-so the Levi (or the Yisrael) will take the place of a kohein.” If a Yisrael is called in the kohein’s place, no Levi is called after him. If a community is composed entirely of kohanim or Leviim, they must consult an authority for direction on how to proceed. 23:10 If the kohein is saying Shema or its blessings, or if he is saying Shemoneh Esrei, he is not called and the congregation need not wait for him. This is true even if no other kohein is present. In such case, we would call either a Levi or a Yisrael but we would not announce “No kohein is present…” Instead, we simply say “Let so-and-so the Levi (or Yisrael) take the place of a kohein.” If the kohein who was still praying happens to get called (even though he shouldn’t have been), if he is saying Shema or its blessings, he takes the aliyah. In such instance, he says the blessings but he does not read along. He should also try to complete the part of Shema he is saying before he goes up so that the interruption of the aliyah falls between the sections. If they call a kohein who is saying Shemoneh Esrei, he does not go up. This is also true between the blessing of “Ga’al Yisroel” and Shemoneh Esrei; he may, however, take the aliyah if he is in the middle of the prayer “Elokai, n’tzur l’shoni.” If there is only one kohein present and he is saying pesukei d’zimrah, he may be called up but he should not read along. (Mishnah Brurah 51:10 says he may read along quietly.) If another kohein is present, the one who is not saying pesukei d’zimrah should be called. All this also apples to a Levi (and a Yisrael - Mishnah Brurah 66:26).