Letter from a Roman Citizen

Rabbi Yaakov Emden includes in his Siddur (after the Tashlich prayer) the following account authored by a Roman citizen who witnessed the procedure in which the Kohain Gadol was taken to the Bais Hamikdash seven days before Yom Kippur.

...The second service is the coming of the Kohain Gadol to the Bais Hamikdash. They did not tell me how he served in the Bais Hamikdash, but they told me about his going in and of his departing from the Bais Hamikdash. I saw some of it with my own eyes and was astonished. I then said "Blessed is the One who shared His Honor with these people."

Seven days before the ( special ) day called Yom Kippur ( which is the most honorable of all days for the Jewish people ), they prepared in the Kohain Gadol's house seats for the Bais Din, the Kohain Gadol, the deputy to the Kohain Gadol and the king. Aside from these, seventy chairs were prepared for the seventy members of Sanhedrin.

An old sage of the Kohanim would stand up and say to the Kohain Gadol words of admonishment. He said: "Be aware before Whom you are entering. Consider that if you don't perform as intended, you will fall and die. Consequently, the forgiveness of all of Yisrael will be lost. Behold, the entire nation of Yisrael is turned towards you. Scrutinize your ways lest you have even a small sin, for sometimes one sin can outweigh many Mitzvos. The balance is known only to Hashem, the lord of all thoughts. Also, inquire of the Kohanim, your brothers, and purify them. Pay heed that you are coming before the King of Kings who sits on a throne of judgement and seeks out with His eyes all evil. How can you come if the enemy is with you?"

The Kohain Gadol then answered that he had already scrutinized himself and repented from anything which seemed a sin. The sage also gathered his brothers the Kohanim in the Azarah of the Bais Hamikdash and made them swear in the Name of the One who dwells in the Bais Hamikdash that everyone should report whatever wrong he sees in his friend or whatever fault he himself has. The sage would assign to each of them the method to achieve proper atonement.

The king encouraged the Kohain Gadol and assured him of honor upon his peaceful departure from this holy place.

After this, they would announce in which direction the Kohain Gadol would go to his special room in the Bais Hamikdash. Then all the people would go out to accompany him. They walked in a certain order. This is the order in which I saw them walk before him:

• First went the descendents from the Kings of Yisrael, because those closer to the Kohain- in the procession are more important.
• After them went members of the royal family of Dovid, all in a proper order, one after the other. A crier went before them and proclaimed: "Give honor to the royalty of the House of Dovid."
• After them came the House of Levi and the crier proclaimed: "Give honor to the House of Levi." They numbered thirty-six thousand. Their deputies wore blue silk clothing. The Kohanim wore white silk. These numbered twenty-four thousand.
• Then came those Leviim who sang in the Bais Hamikdash, followed by musicians, trumpet blowers, the keepers of the gates, the makers of the perfumes for the incense, the makers of the Paroches, guards, officers and a group called Cratophilus.
• They were followed by anyone who worked in the Bais Hamikdash, the Sanhedrin of seventy and one hundred police who held silver rods in order to make a path.
• After them walked the Kohain Gadol.
• He was followed by the elders of the Kehunah who walked in pairs.

At the entrance to each street the Roshei Yeshivah rose saying: "Sir, Kohain Gadol, may you come in peace. Pray to our Creator that He should sustain us in order that we should be able to learn Torah."

When the procession reached the gate of the Har Habayis, they first prayed that the Kingdom if Dovid should continue and then they prayed for the welfare of the Kohanim and for the Bais Hamikdash. The sound of the multitudes was so powerful that when they answered "Amein," flying birds fell to the ground. Then the Kohain Gadol bowed towards the people and turned away in tears and awe. Two deputies of the Kehunah walked him to his room where he was separated from all his brothers the Kohanim.

This took place when he entered. However, when he left, the honor he received was double as much, for all the people in Yerushalayim passed before him. Most of them had torches of flaming white wax. All wore white clothes. All the windows were decorated with embroidery and full of lights.

The Kohanim told me that many years the Kohain Gadol couldn't reach his house before midnight because of the great numbers of people who came and the great congestion. Even though the people were all fasting, they would not go to their houses till they tried to reach and kiss the hand of the Kohain Gadol.

The following day, the Kohain Gadol hosted a great feast. He invited his friends and relatives and made a day of festivity to celebrate his safe emergence from the Kodesh Hakodoshim. Afterwards, he would have a craftsman make a golden tablet and engrave it to read: "I, So-and-So, the Kohain Gadol, the son of So-and-So, the Kohain Gadol, served as Kohain there, in Such-and-Such a year after creation. May the One who granted me the merit of this service also grant the merit to my children after me to stand in the service of Hashem."

This is the full text of the account. May it serve as a reminder of what we have lost and may we be inspired to implore Hashem that He gather in our exiles and restore the Avodah of the Bais Hamikdash as it once was.

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All text and graphics are from the book "The Yom Kippur Avodah," by Rabbi Menachem Moshe Oppen, illustrations by Shepsil Scheinberg, © C.I.S. Publishers,1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. We welcome your questions and comments .