Yoma 19 - The oath of the High Priest

Just before the Yom Kippur, the Sages of the Sanhedrin would turn the High Priest over to the Sages from among the priests. They would administer an oath, "Our Master High Priest, we adjure you, by the Name of He who makes His Presence dwell in this Temple, that you will not change a thing from the proper service." After that, he would turn away and cry - because they suspected him of being a deviant. They would also turn away and cry. Why? - because anyone who suspects a righteous one will be punished.

Throughout the night of Yom Kippur, he would not sleep. Rather, if he was a Sage, he gave a lecture, and if not, scholars lectured him. If not, he would read from the Scriptures, or they would read to him. What did they read? - even action-filled "Chronicles" to keep his attention. Often he did not even know Hebrew, and they read the book of Daniel, which was in the vernacular (Aramaic).

Art: La Leçon de Lecture (The Reading Lesson) by Léon-Augustin L'hermitte