Tanach Thoughts

Couple of interesting tidbits I came across earlier today while perusing various manuscripts of Rashi's commentary on the Torah in search of variants of one particular passage (more on that perhaps some other time): 1. In Ms. HUCA JCF 1, fol. 41r, an artist drew the kohen gadol's choshen (breastplate) and ephod (sleeveless garment below the breastplate. On one side of the ephod, the artist quoted a Tosafistic commentary on the form of the ephod: "האפוד היה כמין שורקוט בלא בתי ידיים." "The ephod was like a kind of sleeveless surcoat." A surcoat was a kind of garment that knights wore over their armor, used to display their coats-of-arms. In other words, the ephod was like a priestly surcoat, and, potentially, the breastplate was the kohen gadol's coat-of-arms. 2. Among the various Temple vessels displayed in the (in)famous scene at Titus's Arch, the vessel that stands out the most is of course the Menorah. A longtime question regarding its design has ...

In Yechezkel it's stated a number of times that the only branch of kohanim that remained loyal to Hashem were the sons of Tzaddok. It has been interpreted by some to mean that from that point on, only the sons of Tzaddok can be Kohanim Gedolim (High Priests). The cult in the Dead Sea were big fans of the sons of Tzaddok, and apparently were very much against the House of Chashmonai for taking the High Priesthood for themselves, apparently stealing the sons of Tzaddok's right to the post. So who was Tzaddok? Most believe that Tzaddok refers to the KG in the time of Shlomo. After the KG Evyatar sided with Adoniyah, Shlomo fired him and sent him to Anatot ( Melachim 1:2:26-27 ), and Tzaddok stepped in his stead ( ibid. 35 ). Another option is Tzaddok II, a descendant of the first ( Divrei Hayamim 1:5:38 ). A third option was suggested by Rabbi Tanchum Hayerushalmi in his commentary on Chaggai 1:1: "עם אותו יהושע בן יהוצדק הכהן, מפני שהוא יורש הכהונה, שהרי יהוצדק אביו היה כהן ...