The High Priest (Kohen Gadol) is the supreme liturgical figure of the Hebrew tradition — the one human being authorized to enter the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple, once a year on Yom Kippur. In that moment, standing before the Ark of the Covenant in the presence of God's Shekhinah, the High Priest embodies the union of heaven and earth.
The Vestments
The High Priest's garments. Each element corresponds to an aspect of creation:
- The Ephod — a richly woven garment of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, representing the four elements
- The Breastplate of Judgment (Hoshen) — bearing twelve precious stones, one for each tribe of Israel. The High Priest carries all of Israel on the heart when entering the divine presence.
- The Urim and Thummim — mysterious objects placed within the breastplate, used for divination and discernment of God's will. "Lights and Perfections."
- The Robe of Blue (Me'il) — entirely blue (the color of heaven), with golden bells and pomegranates on its hem. The bells ring as the priest moves.
- The Turban (Mitznefet) with the Golden Plate (Tzitz) — inscribed Kodesh l'YHWH ("Holy to the Lord"), worn on the forehead.
- The Linen Undergarments — pure white linen worn next to the skin.
Josephus and Philo both interpreted the vestments as a microcosm — the High Priest, fully robed, is a walking temple, a living cosmos.
Entry into the Holy of Holies
Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest removes the golden vestments and enters the Holy of Holies clothed only in simple white linen. This is the supreme act of the Hebrew liturgical year: the moment when the veil between worlds is drawn aside.
The High Priest carries incense (so that the cloud of smoke covers the Kapporet — the Mercy Seat — lest the priest die from seeing God directly) and the blood of the sin offering. The blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat — the lid of the Ark — seven times.
In this act, the sins of the entire nation are atoned. The High Priest descends into the most sacred space, performs the most sacred act, and returns.
Christ as Eternal High Priest
The Epistle to the Hebrews (chapters 4-10) develops the typology explicitly: Christ is the High Priest who enters not the earthly Holy of Holies but the heavenly one, not with the blood of goats and bulls but with his own blood, not once a year but once for all.
"We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven — Jesus the Son of God." (Hebrews 4:14)
The entire priestly system of the Hebrew tradition is, in this reading, a shadow cast backward in time by the Christic event — the eternal liturgy enacted provisionally in history until its fulfillment.