Full-Dress Kohen Sighted on Temple Mount
The Temple Institute announced a remarkable development that brought Israel one step closer to the Third Temple. For the first time since the Temple stood in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, a kohen (male descendant of Biblical Aaron the High Priest) ascended to the Temple Mount wearing the Biblically mandated Kohanic garments. While on the mount, the Kohen joined in a prayer quorum and gave the priestly blessing to those gathered.
The Temple Institute prepared the garments in preparation for the return of the Temple service.
This impressive feat was accomplished despite the numerous extra-legal restrictions placed on Jews at the site. There is no law preventing Jews from praying on the Temple Mount, and the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Jewish prayer several times. Jews do pray at the site in inconspicuous manners and out of sight from the Arabs, but the police frequently prevent this from happening. On Tuesday, Jews prayed freely in minyanim (quorums of ten).
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, a group of Jews smuggled shofarot (ritual rams’ horns) onto the Temple Mount and, despite police efforts to stop them, blew all of the requisite shofar blasts for the holiday. Jews have recently begun performing the commandment of prostrating themselves on the stones of the Temple. In June, a Jewish man wore tefillin (phylacteries) at the site.
In August, the Biden State Department issued a statement condemning Jewish prayer at the site.
There are, in fact, three types of priestly garments:
An ordinary priest (known in Hebrew as Kohen Hedyot) wore four garments:
- Ketonet: A long linen tunic that reached until the heels.
- Avnet: A long sash made of linen and red, purple and blue wool, worn over the heart.
- Migbaat: A linen turban wound around the head.
- Michnesayim: Knee-length, linen trousers.
In addition to the four garments worn by every priest, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) wore four more of his own.
- Choshen: Often referred to as a “breastplate,” it was a rectangular piece of cloth, folded and hung on the chest of the High Priest. Nestled within the fold was the Urim V’Tumim, through which G‑d would communicate. The choshen was decorated with 12 stones, each engraved with the name of one of the 12 Tribes.
- Ephod: Resembling a backward apron, the ephod was made from blue, purple, and crimson wool; linen; and fabric spun of gold.
- The choshen was suspended from the ephod’s shoulder straps, each holding a stone with the names of six tribes.
- Me’il: This was a blue wool robe worn under the ephod. A special mitzvah required that the neckline of the email not be torn. Its hem was decorated with alternating bells and “pomegranates” made from blue, purple, and crimson wool.
- Tzitz: The High Priest’s turban, called the migbaat, was slightly different from the cone shaped headgear of his colleagues. On it was affixed the tzitz, a golden plate engraved with the words: “holy to God”.
The High Priest wears these “golden garments” all year. The High Priest had two tunics, which he wore on the Day of Atonement; one for the morning, and the other in the evening (Exodus 28:4).
Five different materials were used to create the priestly garments:
- gold
- techelet, sky-blue wool
- dark-red wool
- crimson wool
- twisted linen
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