The Service of
the High Priest
A prominent element of the Yom
Kippur service is the Avodah, the poetic description of the tasks of the
High Priest in the Beit HaMikdash on Yom HaKippurim.
Recounting the service in the Beit HaMikdash remains
profoundly significant for us, since the offering of a sacrifice was far more
than a physical activity. Every activity carried
out in the Beit HaMikdash is paralleled within the spiritual sanctuary of every
believer’s heart.
The physical procedure of offering a sacrifice, for
example, is an external manifestation of a certain process of spiritual growth.
Although the sacrifices bore spiritual significance throughout the year, their
effect was heightened on Yom HaKippurim, when they were offered by the High
Priest as the emissary of the entire congregation:
Seven days before Yom
HaKippurim the high priest was taken away from his home and placed in the
Chamber of the Counselors, and another priest was
prepared to take his place, in case something should happen to him and he
should become unfit for the service.
All seven days the High Priest would sprinkle the
blood of the daily sacrifices, and burn the incense,
and trim the lamps, and sacrifice the head and the hind leg of the sacrificial
animals. On all other days if he wished to sacrifice he could; for the High
Priest was the first to sacrifice a portion, and had first choice in taking a
portion.
The High Priest would be given Court elders to read
before him daily for seven days out of the Order of the day. They would say to
him: My lord High Priest, read yourself with your own mouth; perhaps you have
forgotten, or perhaps you did not study.
On the morning of the eve of Yom HaKippurim, they
would have him stand in the Eastern Gate and have oxen,
rams, and sheep pass before him that he might know and be familiar with the
service.
Neither food nor drink would
be kept from him all the seven days. But he would not be allowed to eat much toward nightfall of the eve of Yom HaKippurim,
for eating brings about sleep.
The Court elders would pass him over to the elders
of the priesthood, and they in turn would take him
up to the upper chamber of the house of Abtinas [which prepared the incense],
and adjure him, and take their leave, and go their way saying:
"My lord High Priest, we are the messengers of
the Court, and you are our messenger and the messenger of the Court. We adjure
you by Him who rested his Name in this house to alter
nothing of all that we have said to you." He would turn aside and weep, and they would turn aside and weep.
If the High Priest was a sage, he would expound, and
if not, the disciples of the sages would expound before him. If he was familiar
with the reading of the Holy Writ, he would read; if not they would read before
him. The would read before him from the Books of Job and Ezra, and Chronicles.
Zechariah ben Kebutal said: Many times I read before him out of the Book of
Daniel.
When the High Priest seemed to be about to fall asleep, the young priests would snap their middle
fingers before him and say to him: "My lord High Priest, stand up and
drive sleep away by walking on the pavement." They would divert him until
the time came for the slaughtering of the daily morning offering.[1]
It has been taught: They did not entertain the High
Priest with their harps or with their lyre, but with the music of their voices.
And what they sang was: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in
vain that build it" (Psalms 127:1). Some of the worthiest people in Jerusalem would not sleep all
that night, in order that the High Priest might hear the sound of people
talking, and sleep might not overtake him.[2]
On ordinary days the altar would be cleared of ashes
at cockcrow, or near that time, either before or after it, but on Yom HaKippurim it was cleared of ashes at midnight and
on the Three festivals at the first watch. Before
the cock crew the Temple Court would be full of
Israelites.[3]
The officer would say to them: Go out and see if the
time has come for the slaughter of the continual morning offering. If it had
come, he who saw it would cry: "Daylight!" Mattiah ben Samuel said:
He who saw it would cry: "All the east is lit
up!" "As far as Hebron?" - And he would
say: "Yes." Now the reason why that question was necessary was
because once the moon came up and they imagined that
it was the dawn and slaughtered the continual morning offering, which later had
to be taken out to the place of burning.
The High Priest would then be taken to the place of immersion. This was the rule in the Sanctuary ... no one
entered the Temple Court for the service until he had immersed himself, even if
he was clean. On this day the High Priest would immerse himself five times and make ten
sanctifications. ...
A linen sheet would be spread between him and the
people. The High Priest would take off his clothing, go down, and immerse
himself. Then he would come up and dry himself. He would be brought the
garments of gold and would dress. Then he would sanctify his hands and feet.
The continual offering would be brought to him. He would make the incision and
someone else would finish it for him. He would receive the blood and sprinkle
it. He went on to burn the morning incense, and to trim the lamps; afterward,
to offer up the head, and the limbs, and the pancakes, and the wine-offerings.[4]
The morning incense would
be burned between the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the limbs of
the sacrificial animal, that of the afternoon between the burning of the limbs
and the offering of the drink-offerings. If the High Priest was either old or a
weakling, some water would be warmed up and poured into the cold water to
dissipate the coldness.
The High Priest would be brought to the Parvah
Chamber which was on holy ground. A linen sheet would be spread between him and
the people. He would sanctify his hands and his feet and strip... Then he would
go down, and immerse himself, and come up, and dry. He would be brought white
clothing, would dress, and sanctify his hands and feet...In the morning he
would put on Pelusium linen worth eighteen minas, and in the afternoon Indian
linen worth twelve minas, together worth thirty
minas, all told. The thirty minas came from the public funds, and if he wished
to spend more, he could add some of his own money to the public funds.[5]
The High Priest would come to his bullock. His
bullock would be standing between the hall and the altar, it's head to the
south and it's face to the west. The High Priest would stand in the east facing the west, and press his two hands upon it, and
make confession. And this is what he would say: "O Lord, I have committed
iniquities, I have transgressed, I have sinned before you, I and my house. O Lord,
forgive, I pray, the iniquities, the transgressions, and the sins
which I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house, as
it is written in the Torah of your servant Moses: 'For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all
your sins shall ye be clean before the Lord'" (Leviticus 16:30). And the
priests and the people would answer him: "Blessed be His Name whose
glorious kingdom is for ever and ever!"
He would then go back to the east of the Temple court, to the north of the altar. The Deputy High
Priest would be on his right and the head of the
family [ministering that week] on his left. There would be two he-goats, and an
urn would be there, and in it two lots. They were of boxwood, and Ben Gamala
made them of gold, for which he was praised...King Monobaz of Adiabene had all
the handles of the vessels used on Yom Kippur made of
gold...for which he was praised.[6]
The High Priest would shake the urn and take up the two lots. On one would be written, "For the
Lord," and on the other, "For Azazel." The deputy High Priest
would be on his right hand and the head of the [ministering] house on his left.
If the lot "For the Lord" came up in his right hand, the Deputy High
Priest would say to the High Priest: "My lord High Priest, raise you right
hand." And if "For the Lord" came up in his left hand, the head
of the [ministering] house would say to him: "My lord High Priest, raise
your left hand." Then the High Priest would lay the lots on the two
he-goats and say: "A sin offering to the Lord!" . . . And the people
would answer him: "Blessed be his Name whose glorious kingdom is for ever
and ever!"
The High Priest would tie a thread of crimson wool
on the head of the he-goat to be sent forth, and stand it [at the gate] where
it was to be sent, and stand the he-goat to be slaughtered facing the place
where it was to be slaughtered. He would go to his bullock a second time and
press his two hands on it and make confession. And this is what he would say: "O Lord, I
have committed iniquities, I have transgressed, I have sinned before you, I and
my house and the children of Aaron, your holy people. O Lord, forgive, I pray,
the iniquities, the transgressions, and the sins which I have committed,
transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house and the children of Aaron,
your holy people. As it is written in the Torah of your servant Moses: 'For on this
day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse
you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the Lord'" (Leviticus
16:30). And the priests and the people would answer
him: "Blessed be His Name whose glorious kingdom is for ever and
ever!"
The High Priest would slaughter the bullock and
receive its blood in a bowl and give it to the one who was to stir the blood on
the fourth terrace of the Sanctuary that it might not congeal. He would take
the coal-pan and go up to the top of the altar, and clear the coals on either
side, and scoop out some of the glowing cinders at the bottom. Then he would go
down and lay the coal-pan on the fourth terrace in the
On every other day he would scoop up the cinders
with a coal-pan of silver and pour them into one of gold; but on this day he
would scoop up the cinders with a pan of gold, in which he was to bring them
[into the Inner Temple]. On every other day he used
to scoop up the coals with a pan holding four kabs...but on this day he would
scoop up the cinders with a pan holding three kabs. On
every other day the pan would be heavy, on this day it would be light. On every
other day the handle of the pan was short, on this day it was long. On every
other day the gold was yellow, on this day it was red...On every other day he
would offer up a portion in the morning and a portion in the afternoon, but on
this day he would also add his two palmfuls. On every other day the priests
would go up on the east side of the ramp and come down on the west side, but on
this day the High Priest would go up the middle and come down the middle....On
every other day the High Priest would sanctify his hands and his feet from the
laver, but on this day from a golden ladle....On every other day there were three piles of wood, but on this day there were four.[7]
The ladle and the pan would be brought out to him,
and he would take two palmfuls [of incense] and put
them into the ladle. Tall High Priests would take large palmfuls and short High
Priests would take small; that was the measure. The High Priest would take the
pan in his right hand, the ladle in his left. Then he would go through the Holy
until he would come to the place between the two curtains which separated the
Holy from the Holy of Holies, and there was a cubit between them. The outer
curtain was held back by a clasp on the south side; and the inner curtain by a
clasp on the north side. He would walk along between them until he would reach
the north side. When he would reach the north side , he would turn to the
south. Then he would go on to his left along the curtain, until he reached the
After the
He would take the blood from the one who was
stirring it, and re-enter the place where he had entered [the Holy of Holies],
and stand in the place where he had stood [between the bars of the Ark], and
sprinkle of the blood once upward and seven times downward, but not as though
he wished to sprinkle either upward or downward, but motioning as though he
were cracking a whip. And thus he would count: One, one and one, one and two,
one and three, one and four, one and five,
one and six, one and seven.
Then he would come out and lay the bowl on the golden stand in the Holy.
Then they would bring him the he-goat. He would
slaughter it and receive the blood in a basin. He would then enter the place
where he had entered [the Holy of Holies], and stand again in the place where
he had stood [between the bars of the Ark], and sprinkle of the blood once
upward and seven times downward, but not as though he wished to sprinkle either
upward or downward, but motioning as though he were cracking a whip. And thus
he would count: One, one and one, one and two ...Then he would come out and lay
the basin on the second golden stand in the Holy...
Then the High Priest would take the blood of the
bullock ...and sprinkle of it on the outside curtain facing the Ark once upward
and seven times downward, but not as though he wished to sprinkle either upward
or downward, but motioning as though he were cracking a whip. And thus he would
count [see above].
Then he would deposit the blood of the bullock and
take the blood of the he-goat and sprinkle it on the outside curtain facing the
"And he shall go out unto the altar that is
before the Lord"[9]
- that is, the golden altar. He would begin to sprinkle downward from the
northeast horn of the altar, then the northwest, then the southwest, then the
southeast. There where he began the sprinkling of the outer altar he would
finish sprinkling of the inner altar. And he would sprinkle every horn of the
altar from below upward, except for the horn where he was standing, which he
would sprinkle from above downward. He would sprinkle on the top of the altar
seven times, and the remainder of the blood he would pour on the western base
of the outer altar.[10]
....He would then go up to the scapegoat and press
two hands on it and make confession. And thus he would say: "Pray, O Lord, your people, the house of
And the priests and the
people standing in the Temple Court, when they heard
the explicit Name coming from the mouth of the High
Priest, would bend the knee and bow and fall on their faces and cry:
"Blessed be His Name whose glorious kingdom is for ever and ever."
The scapegoat would be delivered to him that was to
lead it away. Anyone was allowed to lead it away, but the High Priests made it
a rule not to allow an Israelite to lead it away. Rabbi Yose said: It once
happened that Arsela of Sepphoris led it away, although he was an Israelite.
And a special passageway was made for the scapegoat, because of the
Babylonians, who used to pull its hair and cry: Take our sins
and begone, take our sins and begone!
Some of the worthiest men in Jerusalem
would accompany him to the first booth. There were ten booths between
What the priest would do was to divide the thread of
crimson wool, tie half of it to the rock and half between the two horns of the
scapegoat, and push the scapegoat from behind, and it would fall down the Peak.
Its limbs would be smashed to bits before it was halfway down the hill.[12]
Then the High Priest would come to the bullock and
the he-goat that were to be burned, cut them open and take out the sacrificial
parts, put them on a tray and burn them on the altar. He would twist the limbs
on poles and have them taken out to the place of burning...
They would say to the High Priest: "The he-goat
has reached the wilderness." How would they know that the he-goat had
reached the wilderness? They used to set up guards at stations on the way, who
would wave cloths; and so it would be known when the he-goat had reached the
wilderness.[13]
Then the High Priest would come to read. If he
wished to read wearing linen clothing, he could read in that dress. If not, he
could wear his own white vestments when he read.
The attendant of the House of Prayer
would take the Torah Scroll and give it to the head
of the House of Prayer, and the head of the House of Prayer would give it to
the deputy High Priest and the Deputy High Priest would give it to the High
Priest, and the High Priest would stand and receive it. And he would read the
sections beginning, "After the death of the two sons of Aaron"[14]
and "Howbeit on the tenth day"[15].
Then he would roll up the Torah Scroll and lay it in his bosom and say:
"There is more written here than I have read to you." Then he would
recite by heart the section beginning, "And on the tenth day," which
is in the Book of Numbers (29:7-11). Then he would recite the eight benedictions...
Those who saw the High Priest reading would not see
the bullock and the he-goat being burned, and those who saw the bullock and the
he-goat being burned would not see the High Priest reading. Not that it was not
permitted, but because the distance was great and both rites were carried out
at the same time.
If the High Priest had read wearing linen clothing,
he would sanctify his hands and feet and strip and go down and immerse himself
and come up and dry. He would be brought golden clothing and put them on and
sanctify his hands and his feet. Then he would go out and offer up his own ram
and the ram of the people and the seven he-lambs of the first year and without
blemish.
The High Priest would then sanctify his hands and
his feet and strip and go down and immerse himself and
come up and dry. He would be brought white clothing and would put them on and
sanctify his hands and his feet. Then he would go in to
bring out the ladle and the fire-pan. He would sanctify
his hands and his feet and strip and go down and immerse himself. Then he would
come up and dry. He would be brought golden clothing and he would dress and sanctify his hands and his feet and go in to burn the
afternoon incense and to trim the lamps and to
sanctify his hands and his feet, and would strip. Then he would go down,
immerse himself, come up and dry himself.
Then he would be brought his own clothing and he
would dress. He would be accompanied to his home. There he would make a feast
for his friends when he came out of the Sanctuary in peace.[16]
Ten times would the High
Priest pronounce the Name of God on Yom Kippur: six
times in connection with the bullock, three times in connection with the he-goat, and once in
connection with the lots. Those who were near him would fall on their faces,
and those who were far from him would say: "Blessed be his Name whose
glorious kingdom is for ever and ever." Neither those who were near nor
those who were far would move from their places until he had disappeared.
ORDER of
EVENTS:
The
high priest would:
1. Remove the ashes from the outer altar. (1:8)1
2. Immerse (baptize)
himself for the first time. Put on the golden vestments. (3:4)
3. Slaughter the daily morning elevation (burnt) offering. (3:4)
4. Receive and throw the blood of the elevation
(burnt) offering. (3:4)
5. Prepared the five
lamps of the menorah. (3:4)
6. Offered the daily incense.
(3:5)
7. Prepare the remaining two
lamps of the menorah.
8. Burn the limbs of the daily morning elevation
(burnt) offering on the outer altar. (3:4)
9. Offer the daily meal offering. (3:4)
10. Offer the Chavitin
offering. (3:4)
11. Offer the wine libation
(drink offering). (3:4)
12. Offer the Mussafim: The
ox and the seven lambs - all elevation (burnt) offerings, along with their meal
and drink offerings. (7:3)
13. Immerse (baptize)
himself for the second time and then don the linen vestments. (3:6)
14. Do the first confession
on the Kohen Gadol's (High Priest) ox offering. (3:8)
15. Draw the lots to select
the he-goats 'For HaShem' and 'To Azazel'. (3:9, 4:1)
16. Do the second confession
on the Kohen Gadol's (High Priest) ox sin offering.
(4:2)
17. Slaughter his ox sin
offering. (4:3)
18. Perform the service of
the special Yom HaKippurim incense: (a) scoop up some coal; (b) scoop up the
incense into the ladle; (c) burn the incense in the Holy of Holies. This was
his first entry into the Holy of Holies. (4:3, 5:1-2)
19. Sprinkle the blood of
his ox in the Holy of Holies. This was his second entry into the Holy of
Holies. (5:3)
20. Slaughter the he-goat
'For HaShem'. (5:4)
21. Sprinkle the he-goat's
blood in the Holy of Holies. This was his third entry into the Holy of Holies.
(5:4)
22. Sprinkle the blood of
his ox, on the curtain, of the Holy place. (5:4)
23. Sprinkle the he-goat's
blood, on the curtain, in the Holy place. (5:4)
24. Mix the blood of his ox
and the he-goat. (5:4)
25. Sprinkle the mixture on
the inner altar. (5:5-6)
26. Do the confession on the
he-goat 'To Azazel' and present the he-goat, to the designated person, for
dispatch to azazel. (6:2) (This was not
a sacrifice.)
27. Remove the entrails of
his ox and the he-goat and place them in a utensil. (6:7)
28. Prepare the limbs of his
ox and the he-goat for removal to the burning place. (6:7)
29. Read from the Torah.
(7:1)
30 Immerse (baptize)
himself for the third time, then don the golden vestments.
31. Perform the service of
the he-goat sin offering of the Mussafim. (7:3)
32. Offer his ram. (7:3)
33. Offer the people's ram.
(7:3)
34. Burn the entrails of the
ox and he-goat on the outer altar. (6:7)
35. Immerse (baptize)
himself for the fourth time, then don the linen vestments. (7:5)
36. Remove the incense ladle and the shovel with burnt coals from the
Holy of Holies. This was his fourth and final entry into the Holy of Holies.
(7:4)
37. Immerse (baptize)
himself for the fifth time, then don the golden vestments. (7:5)
38. Offer the daily
afternoon elevation (burnt) offering. (7:3)
39. Burn the daily afternoon
incense. (7:4)
40. Light the Menorah. (7:5)
* * *
Finally, the Zohar
teaches us that when the Kohen Gadol performed his service that a rope was tied
around his leg to facilitate the removal of his body if
his service was not accepted by HaShem:
Soncino Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, Page 102a ‘On this day the priest is crowned with superior crowns and stands
between heavenly and earthly beings and makes atonement
for himself and his house and the
priests and the sanctuary and all Israel. We have
learnt that at the moment when he enters with the blood of the bullock he
concentrates his thoughts on the highest principle of faith and sprinkles with
his finger, as it is written, “and he shall sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat and
before the mercy-seat”’ He used to dip the top of his finger in the blood and
sprinkle, going lower and lower each time, at the side of the mercy-seat. He
began to count one[17]-the
first “one” by itself, one being the sum of all, the glory of all, the goal of
all, the beginning of all. Then “one and one”, joined together in love and
friendship inseparable. When he had passed this “and one” which is the mother
of all, he began to count in pairs, saying, “one and two”, “one and three”, “one and four”, “one and five”, “one and six”, “one and seven”, so as to draw down this “one” which is the
supernal Mother by certain grades to the crown of the lower Mother[Tr. note: Al.
“to illumine the lower Mother”.] and to draw deep rivers from their place to
the Community of Israel. Hence on this day two luminaries diffuse light
together, the supernal Mother giving light to the lower Mother.’ R. Isaac said: ‘A cord was tied to the feet of the High
Priest before he entered the Holy of Holies, so that if he died suddenly within
they should be able to draw him out. They used to know by a certain
thread of scarlet if the priest had been successful in his intercessions. If
its colour did not change, they knew that the priest within was not free from sin, but if he was to issue in peace, it was known by the
thread changing its colour to white, when there was rejoicing above and below.
If it did not, however, all were distressed, knowing that their prayer had not
been accepted.’ [Tr. note: v.. T.B. Yoma, 39a.] R. Judah said: ‘When he went in
and closed his eyes so as not to see what he had no right to see, and heard the
voice of the Cherubim chanting praises, he knew that all was in joy and that he
would come out in peace, and another sign was if his words came forth joyfully,
so as to be accepted and blessed.’
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet address:
gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
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