The Bells and Pomegranates of the High Priest's Robe: Hidden Insights Unveiled

Among the eight garments worn by the High Priest, two are intimately connected: the robe and the ephod. The robe was the garment to which the ephod was attached, hence it was called the "Robe of the Ephod." The revered Rashi struggled to understand from the verses exactly what the ephod looked like until he saw a noblewoman in the street wearing an apron-like garment. It was then that he realized this was the form of the ephod joined to the robe, a revelation shown to him from above.

The hem of the High Priest's robe was adorned with bells and pomegranates, "and it shall be heard when he enters the holy place." It was a sign of honor, that the priest should not enter unannounced. Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor elaborates: the Torah teaches courtesy, that even an ordinary person should not enter their own home, much less the home of another, without first knocking.

The sages taught that the robe atoned for evil speech, for when someone speaks ill of another, they do so secretly, not wanting to be seen or heard spreading harm. Thus, the dignified presence of the High Priest serves as a stark contrast.

Rabbeinu Bachya explains, "and it shall be heard when he enters the holy place"—due to the merit of wearing the garment commanded by Torah, the sound of his prayer will reach the heavens, and his pleas for Israel will be accepted.

But why specifically pomegranates? According to the great Chassidic masters, the pomegranates symbolize that even the sinners of Israel are full of mitzvot like the seeds of a pomegranate, and every Jew has a part in the sacred work of the High Priest.

Rashbam adds a reason for the bells: since no one else is allowed in the holy place when the High Priest enters, the bells warn others to keep their distance. The pomegranates between the bells absorb some of the sound, ensuring it is not too loud but gentle.

The Tosafists say the bells also call upon the ministering angels to make way for the earthly being entering the Holy of Holies!

Ramban offers an interpretation that the pomegranates were the outer form of the bells, meaning the bells were inside the pomegranates. He notes, however, that the sages understood it straightforwardly: bell and pomegranate. In the Letter of Aristeas, written by a Hellenistic Jew during the Second Temple period, the grandeur and splendor of the High Priest's garments are described, detailing the bells and pomegranates as separate features.

About fourteen years ago, during excavations in Jerusalem's City of David, a gold bell adorned with intricate designs was unexpectedly discovered in a drainage channel that carried rainwater from the Temple Mount. Archaeologist Eli Shukron, who found this rare and sacred item, speculates it might have fallen from the robe of a High Priest during the days of the Temple. He said, "An archaeologist might dig all their life and never find such an artifact... On Monday, the bell was found beneath the main street from the Second Temple period in Jerusalem, under Robinson's Arch. It is a rare and special find, the bell is intact, having a loop ready for sewing on a garment's hem... Such bells were hung on the garment, and when this person would walk the streets, the bells would ring, announcing their presence so people could make way or bow. Astonishing that this bell rings with the same sound as 2,000 years ago. Apparently, one of the bells from the hem of his garment fell unnoticed into the drainage channel... But if we're speaking of a person of high stature in this place and time in Jerusalem, you understand to whom I refer" (the High Priest).

May it be Hashem's will that this gentle sound from the Temple becomes a great voice, the sound of the Messiah's horn, and may we witness the renewal of the High Priest's service.