By Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin – Rov of Anash in Petach Tikvah

The concept of selling kibudim is mentioned in the Rishonim in relation to the honor of hotza’ah and hachnasa.¹ The Shulchan Aruch also mentions that although an individual of great stature should be honored with hagba and gelila, people commonly pay high amounts for this honor, which displays their cherishment for the mitzva.²

Apparently, aliyos weren’t commonly sold in those times — with the exception of the first aliya on Shabbos Bereishis — and they followed the order set by Chazal based on levels of Torah scholarship and communal However, the Levush (16th century) mentions the common practice of selling aliyos to raise tzedaka money, and in this case, the purchasers could choose who to honor, even when it differed from the standard order.³

The Maharik (15th century) discusses a congregation that always sold the first aliya of Shabbos Bereishis, and one year, the kohen didn’t want to pay but didn’t want to forgo his automatic right either. In this case, the congregation rightfully prevented the kohen from attending shul that Shabbos.⁴

What about forcing the kohen to leave shul when he’s already there? The Magen Avraham uses the Maharik as proof that the kohen may be forced to leave, while the Teshuva Me’ahava argues that sending out a kohen already in shul is forbidden. Some contemporary poskim allow it before the congregation gets up to krias hatorah.⁵

Some hold that the Torah obligation to sanctify and give precedence to kohanim (“v’kidashto”) is only overridden by an age-old custom accepted by the kohanim for the purpose of raising important revenue for the shul, and it can’t be extended to other cases.⁶ Others, however, are more lenient, arguing that v’kidashto is only an asmachta (rabbinic halacha with a hint in a possuk),⁷ or we can assume the kohanim are mochel, ⁸ or it’s sufficient if the kohen is honored at least on certain yomim tovim.⁹

In practice, a privately owned shul has the right to do such things (and we likewise saw in 770 how the kohen aliya was given away to bar mitzva bochurim when needed).¹⁰

See Sources (open PDF)