שמות, פרק כ״ח, פסוק ז׳

The garments worn by the High Priest were crafted not only for beauty and honor but with careful engineering to allow him to perform his duties efficiently. A key element of his attire was the ephod, a garment supported by specially designed shoulder pieces that carried precious stones and held the breastpiece of judgment securely in place.

The main body of the ephod did not wrap entirely around the High Priest. Instead, it covered only the width of his back, reaching around to the height of his elbows [רש״י, ביאור יש״ר]. From the top corners of this back section, two fabric extensions reached upward to secure the garment.

The primary approach among commentators is that these extensions were two fabric straps rising from the back to the shoulders. However, there are different views regarding their exact shape and width. Some scholars describe them as narrow bands [רש״י, בכור שור, חזקוני]. In contrast, [רשב״ם] argues that they were wide pieces of fabric that covered the entire upper back, pointing out that narrow straps would constantly slip off whenever the High Priest bent down to perform his daily work. Taking a middle approach, [מלבי״ם] suggests that the pieces were wide at the bottom where they met the back, but gradually narrowed into thinner straps as they approached the neck.

The construction and attachment of these shoulder pieces involved precise craftsmanship. According to [ספורנו], the woven patterns on the shoulder straps were perfectly aligned to match the design of the main ephod. Additionally, some commentators note that the two straps were connected to each other at their top ends [שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. Regarding how they attached to the main garment, the primary approach among commentators is that the straps and the lower ephod were not woven together as a single piece. Instead, they were woven separately and then permanently sewn onto the belt of the ephod with a needle [רש״י, רלב״ג, קאסוטו]. Offering a different perspective, [העמק דבר] suggests that they were never permanently sewn. Rather, they were attached with hooks each time the garment was put on, which allowed the right and left straps to be interchangeable.

Once attached to the back corners, these straps traveled up over the High Priest's shoulders and folded downward toward his chest. There, they connected to the rings of the breastpiece, securely anchoring it in its proper position [רש״י, קאסוטו].