The Prayer of the High Priest

100 Years B.C.E.

THE HIGH PRIEST at the altar lingering stood—

The service o’er.

The worshippers with faces kind and good,

Passed from the door.

The synagogue was empty; only one—

A Child—remained;

With eager eyes as shining as the Sun

He stood as chained.

“Kohen Gadol,” said he, “When I grow

To man’s estate,

I hope that I shall know the things you know

And be as great.

“And Oh, I wish such glorious robes to wear

As these of yours,

Dear Master, intercede for me in prayer,

For that secures

“What e’er you ask. And here—behold I bring

These beauteous flowers;

Upon the brink of Kedron they did cling

These many hours.

“Accept them. With the other blossoms—see?—

Are here, so fair,

The Valley Lilies; these I give to thee,

Now make thy prayer.”

On that boy’s head the High Priest—smiling—laid

A kindly hand.

He said: “My child, these lilies here have prayed;

They understand

“As well as I the mysteries of God.

I ask for you

Such raiment as the flowers of the sod

When fresh with dew.

“Abide thou in thine innocence, for lo!

The Great High Priest

May even less of God—Jehovah—know

Than thou, the Least.”