Today’s daf TB Yoma 8 gives a different reason why the High Priest was sequestered seven days before Yom Kippur. “…that the sequestering of this High Priest prior to Yom Kippur is for the purpose of sanctity, i.e., to ensure that he appreciates the gravity of the occasion and to fill him with reverence in preparation for entering the Holy of Holies. His brethren, the priests, may touch him, as the objective of his sequestering is unrelated to any concern of impurity.” (Sefaria.org translation translation) The seven days of sequestering gave the High Priest time to prepare himself mentally for the awesome task of representing the people Israel on Yom Kippur.
The Mishna teaches: The High Priest was
removed from his house to the Chamber
of Parhedrin. Nobody is allowed to sit or sleep in the Temple’s
courtyard because of its sanctity. How could the sequestered High Priest live
in Chamber of Parhedrin for
seven days without sitting or sleeping?! That will be humanly
impossible. Tosefot (ד"ה
דאי רבי חנינא) answers our question. The entrance to
this chamber open up on to the Temple Mount. Since it open up on to the Temple
Mount, this chamber was considered part of the Temple Mount and not the Temple’s
courtyard thus allowing the High Priest to sit and sleep in it.
“Rather,
initially, during the era
of Shimon HaTzaddik and his colleagues, who were rewarded with long lives due
to their righteousness, they would call it the Chamber of Balvatei,
a term connoting significance, since it was a place designated for the High
Priest. However, because people were giving money in order to be fifth
appointed to the High Priesthood, the position was filled by unworthy
individuals. Due to their wickedness, they did not survive the year, and they
were replaced every twelve months like the parhedrin who are replaced
every twelve months. Therefore, the chamber was called disparagingly the
Chamber of Parhedrin. Since the High Priest was replaced every
year, the new appointee would renovate the chamber to reflect his own more
elaborate tastes.” (Sefaria.org translation translation)
Obviously the word Parhedrin is a Greek word.
“The term parhedrin referred
to a Roman official who was appointed to a position for a single year term.
This was commonplace whether the individual was elected by the Senate or if he
acquired the position by paying off the right people. Among the officials
appointed by this method were those who were responsible for controlling prices
on a variety of goods and services. It was not uncommon for people in this
position to try to acquire significant wealth by collecting exorbitant taxes
during their short terms, well beyond the amount prescribed by Roman law.
“The baraita refers to a period during the
Second Temple when the Kohen Gadol was appointed based on the amount
paid to the person in charge; during that period a different person was
appointed every year, leading to the comparison with the Roman official.
According to Rashi,
the need to appoint a new Kohen Gadol every year stemmed from the fact that
such people, who aspired to a position for which they were not worthy,
invariably died during the course of the year. The
Rid explains that it was simply like the case of the Roman officials –
the appointments were paid for only for a single year.
“Some
commentaries argue that it was not the Kohen Gadol who was replaced every year,
but rather it was the office itself. Since the occupants of the position of
Kohen Gadol were more “interested in their honor than in the spiritual
importance of the position, each of them tore down the office and rebuilt it to
show off their wealth and position of authority.
This
essay is based upon the insights and chidushim of Rabbi Steinsaltz, as published in the English version of the Koren Talmud
Bavli with Commentary by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, and edited and
adapted by Rabbi Shalom Berger.” https://steinsaltz.org/daf/yoma8/
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