All the walls that were there were tall, except the eastern wall,
because the kohen who burned the cow would stand at the top of Har
Hamishbah and set himself to see the doorway of the Sanctuary at the
time of the sprinkling of the blood.
Kehati
All the walls that were there - surrounding Har
Habayit and the courtyards - were tall - towering
above the gates, which were twenty amot high (2:3) - except
the eastern wall - of Har Habayit, which only slightly surpassed
the gates - because the kohen who burned the cow
- the parah adumah - would stand at the top of Har Hamishhah
- the Mount of Olives, which is due east of Har Habayit -
and set himself to see the doorway of the Sanctuary
- over the top of the eastern wall of Har Habayit through the gates
of ezrat nashim and the azarah at the time of the sprinkling
of the blood - of the parah adumah. For the kohen must look
directly at the gate of the Sanctuary when he sprinkles the blood
of the parah adumah; thus: "He shall sprinkle (of its blood)
facing the front of the Tent of Meeting" (Num. 19:4; SiJi.i).
But the floor of the Sanctuary was 22 amot above the floor of Har
Habayit (six amot to ezrat nashim; seven and a half to ezrat yisrael;
two and a half to ezrat kohanim; six to the clam; see 2:3, 2:5, 2:6,
3:6), whereas Shaar Shushan, the gate 1, in the eastern wall of Har
Habayit was only 20 amot tall, like all the gates (2:3). Hence, if
the kohen standing on the Mount of Olives were to look through Shaar
Shushan and the gates of ezrat nashim and the azarah (which were all
aligned), he would see the steps leading up to the ulam but not the
gate of the Sanctuary , whereas if he looked over the top of the eastern
wall of Har Habayit, he could just see the bottom of the gate of the
Sanctuary through the top of the gate of ezrat nashim and the middle
of the gate of the azarah - provided the eastern wall over Shaar Shushan
did not obstruct the top of the gate of ezrat nashim (which rose six
amot over Shaar Shushan, the difference between the floors of ezrat
nashim and Har Habayit; Tosafot; Tiferet Yisrael).
Masechet Midot
Chapter 2
Mishnah 5
Ezrat nashim was 135 long by 135 wide, and there were four chambers
in its four corners, of forty amot each, and they were not roofed,
and so will they be in the future, thus: "And he took me out
to the outer courtyard, and he caused me to pass by the four corners
of the courtyard, and behold a courtyard in the corner of the courtyard,
a courtyard in the corner of the courtyard; in the four corners of
the courtyard were steaming courtyards" (Ezek. 46:21-22) - and
"steaming" means that they were not roofed. And what was
their purpose? The south-eastern one was Lishkat Hanezirim, for there
the nezirim would boil their peace-offerings, and shave their hair,
and cast under the pot. The north-eastern one was Lishkat Ha'etzim,
for there the blemished kohanim would check the logs for worms, and
any log in which a worm was found was unfit for the altar. The north-western
one was Lishkat Hametzora'im. The south-western one - R. Eliezer b.
Yaakov said: I have forgotten what it served. Abba Shaul says: There
they would deposit wine and oil; it was called Lishkat Bet Shemaniah.
And it was originally even, but they surrounded it with a balcony,
with the women looking from above and the men from below, in order
that they should not mix. And fifteen steps led up from within it
to ezrat yisrael, corresponding to the fifteen steps that are in Psalms,
for on them the Levites would recite the song. They were not straight,
but rather curved, like half of a round threshing floor.
Kehati
The rest of the tractate describes the features of the Sanctuary and
courtyards, proceeding from east to west, beginning with ezrat nashim,
the outer courtyard.
Ezrat nashim - the outer courtyard, east of the
azarah, the inner courtyard - was a square - 135
- amot - long by 135 - amot - wide, and there
were four chambers in its four corners, of forty amot each
- i.e., 40 by 40 (Tiferet Yisrael); in Ezekiel (46:22), however, they
are 40 amot from east to west and 30 from north to south (Rash) -
and they were not roofed, and so will they be in the future
- Third Temple described by Ezekiel - thus: "And
he took me out to the outer courtyard, and he caused me to pass by
the four corners of the courtyard, and behold a courtyard in the corner
of the courtyard, a courtyard in the corner of the courtyard; in the
four corners of the courtyard were steaming courtyards" -
and - the word "steaming" means
that they were not roofed - allowing the steam from the fires
within them to escape freely (Rambam; Hameiri; Bartenura; Tiferet
Yisrael). Altematively, may represent the Syriac, i.e., "unroofed"
(Albeck).
And what was their - these four chambers' - purpose?
The south-eastern one was Lishkat Hanezirim (lit.
"the chamber of the nazirites"; see Num. 6:1-21) for there
the nezirim - who brought a bumt-offering, a sin-offering,
and a peace-offering upon completion of their period of abstinence
- would boil their peace-offerings - this could be
done anywhere in Jerusalem, but since the nazir had to give the right
front leg of his offering to the kohen after boiling it, he did it
in the Temple compound, and was allocated a chamber (Hameiri; see
Naz. 45b) - and - the nezirim would shave
their hair - that they let grow during their period of abstinence
- and cast it into the fire under the pot
- where the peace-offering was boiling; thus: "And he shall take
the hair of his consecrated head, and put it on the fire that is under
the peace-offering" (Num. 6:18; see Naz. 6:8).
The north-eastern one - i.e., the chamber in the
north-eastem corner of ezrat nashim - was Lishkat Ha'etzim
(lit. i(the chamber of the wood") for there the blemished
kohanim - who were forbidden to officiate - would check the logs for
worms, and any log in which a worm was found was unfit for - buming
on top of - the altar - because worms are repulsive (Hameiri).
The north-western one - the chamber in the north-westem
corner of ezrat nashim - was Lishkat Hametzora'im
- oit. "the chamber of the metzora'im") - people suffering
from a skin disease (popularly identified with leprosy) which renders
them ritually impure. On the eighth day of their purification, they
entered the azarah to bring a sacrifice and receive blood and oil
on their thumbs (see Lev. 14:10-20), before which they immersed in
a mikveh in this chamber (see Tosefot Yom Tov; Tiferet Yisrael).
The south-western one - the chamber in the south-western
corner of ezrat nashim - R. Eliezer b. Yaakov said: I have forgotten
what it served. As noted (1:2), R. Eliezer b. Yaakov, author of Tr.
Middot, included in it personal notes (Rambam; Bartenura). Abba
Shaul says: There they would deposit wine - for the libations
- and oil - for the menorah and for the meal-offerings,
and it was called Lishkat Bet Shemaniah - (lit. "the
chamber of the place of the oils").
And it - the wall surrounding ezrat nashim - was
originally even without protrusions (Rash); altematively, the floor
of ezrat nashim was even, with no outer wall (Rambam; Hameiri) when
it was first built - but - at a later stage - they
surrounded it with a balcony - for women - with the
women looking from above, and the men from below, in order that they
should not mix - which might lead to frivolous behavior during
simhat bet hashoevah celebrated in ezrat nashim on Sukkot (Suk. 51b).
And fifteen steps led up from within it - ezrat
nashim - to Nikanor's Gate the main entrance
to ezrat yisrael - the eastemmost part of the azarah,
which was seven and a half amot higher than ezrat nashim - corresponding
to the fifteen steps that are in Psalms - i.e., Ps. 120-134,
which all begin ("A song of degrees", or steps) - for
on them - on these fifteen steps, during simhat bet hashoevah
- the Levites would recite the song - i.e., those
fifteen psalms (see Tiferet Yisrael). They - these
fifteen steps - were not straight - like the other
steps in the Temple - but rather curved, like half of a round
threshing floor - i.e., a series of concentric semi-circles.