-Sometimes incredible stories are actually true, and in this case, experts agree that a small onyx stone, claimed to be given to a Knight Templar over 1,000 years ago and handed down through one family from generation to generation, is actually what the present owner claims: a gem from the breastplate of the High Priest in Jerusalem.
A Magical, Prophetic Stone?
The stones of the choshen mishpat, the High Priest's breastplate, were referred to in the Bible as the urim v'tummim, a phrase that defies translation.
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon
Aharon'
s heart
Exodus 28:30
The Talmud (Yoma 73a) describes how questions were put to the breastplate, and the stones would light up to spell out the answer. The book of Samuel lists the urim v'tummim as one of the three forms of divine communication: dreams, prophets, and the urim v'tummim.
And when
Shaul inquired of
Hashem,
Hashem answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
I Samuel 28:6
According to the Talmud (Yoma 21b), the urim v'tummim were lost when Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians. The Book of Ezra mentions that individuals who were unable to prove, after the Babylonian captivity had ended, that they were descended from the priesthood before the captivity began, were required to wait until priests in possession of urim v'tummim were discovered.
In addition to the 12 stones mounted on the breastplate were two sardonyx stones fixed in gold settings on the shoulders of the High Priest.
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of
Israel; and
Aharon shall bear their names before
Hashem upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
Exodus 28:12...
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/75...ACsZL58A64C.97