This might be a strange question, but what would be the best way to explain to a friend of mine why i can not attend the funeral of his mother – as i am a kohen? (i just know that as a kohen i am not allowed to be near a dead body).

thank you

I would tell him that the Kohanim are God’s officer corps of the Jewish nation. Therefore they must be kept holy, ready for their mission, at all times. When a soul leaves a body, the void of a thing of such spirituality as a human soul, leaves the body in a state of utter spiritual impurity. A kohain must keep his elevated status at all times.