[Avodah] Women at Duchenen

[Simon Montagu]

On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 6:11 PM, Prof. Levine <llevine at stevens.edu> wrote:
> I received the message below from someone on my list who lives in
> Switzerland. Does anyone have any information about it? YL
>
> Dear Prof. Levine,
>
> There is a strange Minhag here in Zurich:
>
> Some women during Duchenen (Birkat Kohanim) on Yom Tov turn to side
> (90 degrees) or turn their back to the Kohen (turn of 180 degrees).

This practice was quite common, among both men and women, in England
thirty years or so ago, in spite of the fact that rabbis invariably
condemned it as Minhag Shtut. I don't know if it still happens today.