Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Søren Holst <sh AT teol.ku.dk>]

Thanks a million, Yitzhak

This would appear to be the same passage of the Zohar that Steven quoted 
yesterday (Zohar on Vayikra 102a); if it is of interest to others, I'll just 
add that Kevin Woodruff kindly sent me off-list a reference also to 67a in 
the Leviticus part of the Zohar (parashat Achrey Mot).

I admit I had a hard time ad-libbing my way through the Aramaic of the only 
Zohar edition at hand (off the Responsa CD-ROM) so your Hebrew/English 
version (as well as additional information) is a great help.

thanks again
Soren

> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> Fra:  b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org 
> [SMTP:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] på vegne af Yitzhak Sapir
> Sendt:        21. juli 2005 00:21
> Til:  b-hebrew
> Emne: Re: [b-hebrew] high priest on Yom Kippur -- no strings attached?
> 
> It appears to me that the Zohar is the earliest source that mentions this 
> phenomenon.  The quote of the Zohar in this regard that I found is at: 
> http://www.ynet.co.il/home/1,7340,L-1722-288-8021608,00.html where it 
> quotes the Zohar on Lev. (Emor):
> 
>  > ????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? 
> ????? ???????. ??? ????, ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???,
> ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? 
> = A golden chain would be tied around the leg of the High Priest when he 
> enters the Holy of Holies, so that if he dies, they can pull him out by the 
> chain and take him from there, without having to enter the Holy of Holies 
> themselves.
> 
> The following is based mainly on Joseph Tabory's, Jewish Festivals in the 
> Time of the Mishnah and Talmud, Magnes: Jerusalem (2000) [Hebrew], p. 266 
> 
> This appears to have been unknown to the Talmudic Rabbis.  See Bavli Yoma 
> 19b, where a Sadducee is described as having died as a result of not 
> performing the ritual according to law.  A discussion follows as to whether 
> he died a few days after or as he came out of the Holy of Holies: And some 
> say, as he came out he was plagued, as R' Hiyya said: A kind of cry was 
> heard in the Azara, that an angel came and hit him in the head.  And his 
> brothers, the priests, went inside and found a calf's footprint between his 
> shoulders... 
> 
> So apparently, the Talmud had no problem with priests entering the Holy of 
> Holies to take out a plagued or dead High Priest in extreme circumstances.
> 
> The following additional sources have bearing to the question: Yoma 7:4 "A 
> good day it was to his followers when [the high priest] came out well out 
> of the Holy [of Holies.]"  This is not simply because of the wellbeing of 
> the High Priest himself, but also
> because his wellbeing in the Holy of Holies reflected on the atonement that 
> the nation received.  Yoma 5:1 The prayer while lighting the incense was 
> short "so as not to worry Israel."  The dead Sadducee story - Jerusalemi 
> Yoma 1:5, 39a, Bavli Yoma 19b, Tosefta Kippurim 1:8.
> 
> Articles referenced in Tabory on the dangers of entering the Holy of Holies 
> are in Tarbiz 48, p. 201- 214, Tarbiz 51, p. 310-311/311-312.  The joy of 
> leaving the Holy of Holies [referenced to above] is probably related to Ben 
> Sira 50:6-7, "How great is it when he looks out from the Tent, and leaves 
> the House of Cover, like a star among the clouds, like a full moon amongst 
> on holidays."
> 
> Tabory doesn't mention Josephus on the paragraph of the dangers of entering 
> the Holy of Holies but mentions him in the next paragraph regarding the 
> Sadducees having been bound by Pharisee law due to public pressure so it 
> appears to me that if Josephus would have mentioned this it would have been 
> mentioned by Tabory.
> 
> Yitzhak Sapir
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