Yoma 7 a, b

A short but complicated daf today.  Amud (a) wonders about the role of the the High Priest in the case of ritual impurity. The example of the omer is used to help us understand.  If the High Priest is in the process of offering the omer and he learns that it is impure, the rabbis wonder whether he should offer another ephah of barley or whether he should keep the information to himself and offer the impure omer.  

The rabbis attempt to understand when and how an impure offering is valid. They determine that a public offering can be offered in a state of impurity -- as long as the ritual impurity is unintentional.  A private offering, however, must be ritually pure.  

In amud (b), the rabbis begin a conversation about the powers of the frontplate.  The High Priest wears a frontplate - either on Shabbat and Festivals/Holy Days or at 'all' times.  The frontplate is said tot have the power to effect acceptance of some offerings.  Some rabbis argue that the frontplate only holds this power when it is worn on the forehead.  Other rabbis argue that the frontplate cannot be worn at all times, as the High Priest must sleep and must go to the bathroom, and thus the frontplate need not be worn on the forehead to effect acceptance.

Although the Koren notes provide a picture of a High Priest wearing the frontplate, I am confused as to what exactly is placed on his forehead.  It seems to me that the bulk of the frontplate is worn on the chest, but that a simply a headcovering is attached from the forehead to the back of the head.  It would be helpful to better understand what is meant by 'frontplate' and by 'forehead' in this context.

The magical power of the frontplate is amazing to me.  Raiders of the Lost Ark plays with the idea of finding the ancient, lost tablets of Moses. DaVinci's code imagines that there is a descendant of Jesus still alive.  Wouldn't it be an amazing to create a narrative based on the lost frontplate and the current descendant of the Kohanim, still alive, who would be required to perform the Temple rites and offerings when the Temple is rebuilt?

But again we return to the notion of offerings; of animal sacrifices which would not be understood with compassion by most modern readers/viewers of such a narrative.  Myself included.  Perhaps the story would require  twist: a modern-day Kohen finds the lost frontplate and thinks himself powerful though he has no special powers...