The Excellent High priest's breastplate and a device for communicating with God

This week's object is the Excellent High Priest's breastplate, used in the York Ritual, predominantly in America. The York Ritual consists of several orders, including a slightly modified ritual of the Order of the Royal Arch, which came from England to America in the second half of the 18th century. However, the York Ritual itself was finalised in the United States in the mid-19th century.

The object itself represents an exact copy of the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, as it can be seen, for example, in Titian's painting " The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple".

The priestly breastplate (pectoral) is a gold square, with a side of about 30 centimetres, on which there are 12 precious and semi-precious stones symbolising the 12 tribes of Israel:

Levi (emerald), Simeon (topaz), Reuben (ruby);

Zebulun (diamond), Issachar (sapphire), Judah (garnet);

Gad (jachonte), Naphtali (agate), Dan (amethyst);

Benjamin (chrysolite), Joseph (onyx), Asher (jasper);

There are a number of interpretations of the ancient names of the stones, such as jachonte, which was the name of a variety of corundum, sapphire or ruby, and it could also describe amethyst. Since all of these stones are already among the twelve, it could be a variety of spinel or hyacinth.

An important ritual in Judaism associated with this priestly breastplate was the practice of divination by means of a device that was placed on the pectoral and called Urim and Thummim. How this device operated is not known. It is said that the high priest used it to ask God questions, and when the answer was positive, a certain stone would glow, and when the answer was negative, it would darken.

The tradition of using such breastplate in the course of a ritual or a judgement was evidently carried over by the Jews from Egypt.

In the Masonic ritual of the Royal Arch, the figure of the Excellent High Priest is accompanied by two other characters: The King and the Scribe - they are the officers in charge of the ritual.

The Royal Arch Masonic Degree draws on the story of the building of the Second Temple. The main figures in these stories are the High Priest Yeshua; Zerubbabel - the ruler of the Jews in Jerusalem; and the prophet Haggai. They are symbolised by the ritual roles of Excellent High Priest, King and Scribe.