[Avodah] chu'l duchening

[Isaac Balbin via Avodah]

I read a Teshuva from R Hershel Schachter where he wrote that TODAY a Mechalel Shabbos Befarhesya who happens to be a Cohen has a CHIYUV to Duchen. His arguments are cogent and I followed them in encouraging post holocaust Cohanim who had not duchened in 50 years because they 'knew' they shouldn't since they were public Shabbos profaners and had been brought up that way.

I used to travel to Bombay many times a year (and was a close friend of R' Gavriel and Rivki Holtzberg HY'D)

The Shule was an Iraqi based Shule and they duchened on Shabbos. They had no Cohanim (or Leviim) unless someone visiting was in attendance. When it came to layning, and they asked me the first time if I was a Cohen I was not about to lie or pretend I wasn't a Cohen Muchzak.

Henceforth, they used to call me 'the Cohen' because it was a matter of such excitement for them to have a Cohen and duchaning (I even wailed in a similar manner to the Chazan in time)

The suggestion of walking out could make me seem like a consistent Baal Keri or Baal Moom and I felt very uncomfortable with a charade of sheker.

Just last week, I went to an aufruf in a Sephardi Shule in Melbourne. I had never been there and I must say I didn't even think that they duchened/or about it (in reality I was lost in thoughts of Bombay and felt much emotion given the murders of the Holtzbergs by Muslim terrorists).

When it came to duchening I went robotically to have my hands washed as I did in Bombay. I must say I wasn't thinking it was forbidden for me to give brachos in the Minhag hamakom (Melbourne has no Melbourne Minhag ... It is whatever refugees brought with them upon settling therein)
I daven Nusach Sfard and it was quite similar to their mangled Nusach Eydot Hamizrach because they were a cornucopia of Egyptians, Italians, Iraqis etc

I'm now inclined to ask Mori VRabbi Rav Schachter (who is in Israel at the minute) what my hanhogo should be

Isaac Balbin