Tzitz

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Jewish High Priest wearing the sacred vestments, the Tzitz is depicted above his forehead in yellow. The upper cords can be seen going over his turban.

The Tzitz was the golden crown or tiara worn by the Kohen Gadol (Jewish High Priest) whenever he would minister in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) or the Temple in Jerusalem.

The mitzvah (commandment) regarding the Tzitz is found in Exodus 28:36-38:

^[36] And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO THE LORD. ^[37] And thou shalt put it on a thread of blue, and it shall be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. ^[38] And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity committed in the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow, even in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

The Tzitz was a small rectangular plate of solid gold, engraved in Hebrew letters and having holes drilled in each of the four corners through which blue cords were threaded (Exodus 39:31) which held the Tzitz onto the High Priest's Mitznefet (turban). Traditionally, it is understood that one set of cords went around the High priest's head at the base of the Mitznefet, and the the other went over the crown of the head, all meeting at the back of the head to hold the Tzitz in place.

Exodus 39:30 refers to the Tzitz as the "holy crown".

According to the Talmud, the wearing of the tzitz atoned for the sin of arrogance on the part of the Children of Israel.^[1]