The eight garments of the Kohen Gadol: the four of every priest — kutonet, mikhnasayim, avnet, headdress — and the tekhelet me'il hemmed with pomegranates and bells, the ephod of gold and woven wools with its cheshev, the choshen with twelve stones, the gold tzitz on the forehead. On Yom Kippur he wears them for the daily service: the morning tamid after the first immersion, his rams and the evening after the third and the fifth. The tour shows him so in the Parhedrin chamber, on the Water Gate and at the Beit HaParva, and nowhere else at the same time.
Dimensions
- eight garments
- five immersions, ten sanctifications
- twelve stones on the choshen
Sources
- Rambam, Hilchot Klei HaMikdash 8:2“בִּגְדֵי זָהָב הֵן בִּגְדֵי כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל וְהֵם שְׁמֹנָה כֵּלִים. הָאַרְבָּעָה שֶׁל כָּל כֹּהֵן. וּמְעִיל וְאֵפוֹד וְחשֶׁן וְצִיץ”
- Rambam, Hilchot Klei HaMikdash 8:11“לֹבְשָׁם בְּיוֹם עֲבוֹדָתוֹ וַאֲפִלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא בִּשְׁעַת עֲבוֹדָה חוּץ מִן הָאַבְנֵט”
- Yoma 3:4“פֵּרְסוּ סָדִין שֶׁל בּוּץ בֵּינוֹ לְבֵין הָעָם. פָּשַׁט, יָרַד וְטָבַל, עָלָה וְנִסְתַּפֵּג. הֵבִיאוּ לוֹ בִגְדֵי זָהָב, וְלָבַשׁ וְקִדֵּשׁ יָדָיו וְרַגְלָיו”
- Rambam, Hilchot Avodat Yom HaKippurim 2:2“וְחָמֵשׁ טְבִילוֹת וַעֲשָׂרָה קִדּוּשִׁין טוֹבֵל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל וּמְקַדֵּשׁ בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם”
Project decisionTour's choice: for the seven days in the Parhedrin chamber, no source says which garments he wears; the tour shows him in the golden ones, which he may wear on a service day even outside the service. The colours of the twelve stones, the cut of the ephod and the seat are choices. The avnet, tied under the me'il, is not shown.