Seven things are hid from the knowledge of a man:--The day of death, the day of resurrection, the depth of judgment (i.e., the future reward or punishment), what is in the heart of his fellow-man, what his reward will be, when the kingdom of David will be restored, and when the kingdom of Persia will fall.
Seven are excommunicated before heaven:--A Jew who has no wife, and even one who is married but has no male children; and he that has sons but does not train them up to study the law; he who does not wear phylacteries on his forehead and upon his arm and fringes upon his garment, and has no mezuzah on his doorpost; and he who goes barefooted.
There are seven skies:--Villon, Raakia, Shechakim, Zevul, Maaon, Maachon, and Aravoth.
Seven days before the Day of Atonement they removed the high priest from his own residence to the chamber of the President, and appointed another priest as his deputy in case he should meet with such an accident as would incapacitate him from going through the service of the day. Rabbi Yehudah says they also had to betroth him to another woman lest his own wife should die meanwhile, for it is said, "And he shall make an atonement for himself and for his house,"--his house, that is, his wife. In reference to this precautionary rule it was observed, there might then be no end to the matter (Rashi), should this woman die also.
They associated with the high priest the senior elders of the Sanhedrin, who read over to him the _agenda_ of the day, and then said to him, "My lord high priest, read thou for thyself; perhaps thou hast forgotten it, or maybe thou hast not learned it at all." On the day before the Day of Atonement he was taken to the East Gate when they caused oxen, rams, and lambs to pass before him, that he might become well-versed and expert in his official duties. During the whole of the seven (preparatory) days neither victuals nor drink were withheld from him, but toward dusk on the eve of the Day of Atonement they did not allow him to eat much, for much food induces sleep. Then the elders of the Sanhedrin surrendered him to the elders of the priesthood, and these conducted him to the hall of the house of Abtinas, and there they swore him in; and after bidding him good-bye, they went away. In administering the oath they said, "My lord high priest, we are ambassadors of the Sanhedrin; thou art our ambassador and the ambassador of the Sanhedrin as well. We adjure thee, by Him who causes His name to dwell in this house, that thou alter not anything that we have told thee!" Then they parted, both they and he weeping. He wept because they suspected he was a Sadducee, and they wept because the penalty for wrongly suspecting persons is scourging. If he was a learned man he preached (during the night); if not, learned men preached before him. If he was a ready reader, he read; if not, others read to him. What were the books read over to him? Job, Ezra, and the Chronicles. Zechariah the son of Kevootal says, "I have often read before him the Book of Daniel." If he became drowsy, the juniors of the priestly order fillipped their middle fingers before him, and said, "My lord high priest, stand up and cool thy feet upon the pavement." Thus they kept him engaged till the time of slaughtering (the sacrifices).