There were chambers under ezrat yisrael which opened to ezrat nashim,
where the Levites would deposit lutes and lyres and cymbals, and all
musical instruments. Ezrat yisrael was 135 amot long by eleven wide,
and similarly, ezrat kohanim was 135 long by eleven wide, and the
ends of beams separated ezrat yisrael from ezrat kohanim. R. Eliezer
b. Yaakov says: There was a step, and it was an amah tall, and the
dukhan was placed on it, and on it three steps of half an amah each.
Thus ezrat kohanim was higher than ezrat yisrael by two amot and a
half. The entire azarah was 187 long by 135 wide. And there were thirteen
prostrations there. Abba Yose hen Hanan says: Corresponding to thirteen
gates. The southern gates nearest the west: Shaar Ha'elyon, Shaar
Hadelek, Shaar Habekhorot, Shaar Hamayim. And why was it named "Shaar
Hamayim"? Because they would bring in through it a pitcher of
water for libation on the festival. R. Eliezer b. Yaakov says: In
it, the water trickles, and is destined to emerge from under the threshold
of the house. Opposite them in the north nearest the west: Shaar Yekhonia,
Shaar Hakorban, Shaar Hanashim, Shaar Hashir. And why was it named
'iShaar Yekhonia"? Because through it Yekhonia went into exile.
In the east: Shaar Nikanor, which had two wickets, one to its right
and one to its left. There were two in the west which had no name.
Kehati
There were chambers under ezrat yisrael which opened to
ezrat nashim - in the wall between the two floors which were
seven and a half amot apart - where the Levites would deposit
lutes and lyres and cymbals, and all musical instruments
- used during the Temple service . The azarah was divided into sections
of increasing sanctity. The first section - ezrat yisrael
- immediately west of ezrat nashim - was 135 amot long
- from north to south - by eleven wide - from east
to west - and similarly, ezrat kohanim - immediately
west of ezrat yisrael - was 135 long by eleven wide, and the
ends of beams - protruding from the wall; others explain
that there were stone blocks, or a stone partition (cf. 1:6) - separated
ezrat yisrael from ezrat kohanim - as non-priests could not
enter ezrat kohanim, except when ritually required (e.g., laying their
hands on a sacrifice).
R. Eliezer b. Yaakov says - ezrat kohanim was clearly
demarcated in another way, because - there was a step
- between them "3 - and it was an amah tall -
unlike the other steps, which were half an amah (Tiferet Yisraec -
and the dukhan - where the Levites played music during the
avodah (according to some commentators, the kohanim stood here when
they blessed the people; see Rashash) - was placed on it -
i.e., immediately after the big step - and on it three steps
of half an amah each - on which the Levites stood. The top
of the dukhan was continuous with the rest of ezrat kohanim -
thus ezrat kohanim was higher than ezrat yisrael by two amot and a
half - so R. Eliezer b. Yaakov, whose view is followed by
the halakhah (Rambam Hil. Bet Habehirah 6:3; see tiferet Yisrael).
The entire azarah - from the eastem edge of ezrat
yisrael until the wall on the far side of the Sanctuary - was
187 - amot - long - from east to west -
by 135 wide. And there were thirteen prostrations there -
i.e., places in the azarah where people would prostrate themselves
- Abba Yose ben Hanan says: Corresponding to the thirteen
gates - of the azarah; i.e., whenever a person walking around
the Heil passed one of these gates (from the outside), he would prostrate
himself in gratitude for the magnificence of the Temple building.
Abba Yose bun Hanan disagrees with the author of 1:4, who stated that
there were only seven gates, and that whoever crossed the Heil prostrated
himself when passing (from the inside) one of the 13 repaired Preaches
in the soreg fence (fiferet Yisrael; cf. 2:3). Abba Yose Hen Hanan
proceeds to list the thirteen gates:
The southern gates - were four. Starting from the
one - nearest the west: Shaar Ha'elyon - (lit. "the
upper gage") built on the highest part of the mountain -
Shaar Hadelek - (lit. "the fuel gate") through
which wood was brought for the altar - Shaar Habekhorot
- oit. "gate of the first-bom") through which first-bom
animals, which could be slaughtered on the southem side of the azarah,
were brought for sacrifice (cf. 1: 4) - Shaar Hamayim -
oit. "the water gate") 19 - and why was it named
"Shaar Hamayim"? Because they would bring in through it
a pitcher of water for libation on the - Sukkot -
festival (see Suk. 4:9). R. Eliezer b. Yaakov says:
In it, the water trickles, and is destined to emerge from under the
threshold of the house - thus: "And he brought me back
to the opening of the building, and behold water issuing from under
the threshold of the building eastward...and he brought me out by
way of the gate northward, and he led me around the outside to the
outer gate by way of the one leading eastward, and behold water trickling
on the right side" (Ezek. 47: 1-2).
Opposite them - there were four gates - in
the north - starting from the one - nearest the west:
Shaar Yekhonia - (lit. "Yekhonia's gate") explained
below; Tiferet Yisrael identifies it with Shaar Hanitzotz (see 1:5)
- Shaar Hakorban - (lit. "the gate of the sacrifice")
through which sacrifices slaughtered on the northem side were brought
into the azarah - Shaar Hanashim - (lit. "women's
gate") an through which women offering sacrifices entered to
stand by their sacrifices (and according to some authorities, lay
their hands upon them; see nferet Yisrael) - Shaar Hashir
- (lit. "gate of song") through which the Levites would
bring in their musical instruments; tiferet Yisrael identifies this
gate with Bet Hamoked (see 1:5). And - the gate near
the west - why was it named "Shaar Yekhonia"? Because
through it Yekhonia - one of the last kings of Judah - went
into exile - to Babylonia (II K. 24:12,15), after prayipg
in the Temple for the last time.
In the east - three additional gates: The main gate
- Shaar Nikanor named after the donor of its doors
(cf. 2:3) - which had two wickets, one to its right and one
to its left - thus totalling three gates to the east. There
were two - additional gates - in the west which had
no name - as they were used infrequently, in exit to the
back of Har Habayit (Hameiri Shek. 6:3)
Masechet Midot
Chapter 3
Mishnah 1
The altar was 32 by 32. It rose an amah and receded an amah - this
was the yesod - thus it was 30 by 30. It rose five and receded an
amah - this was the sovev - thus it was 28 by 28. The space of the
horns was an amah this way and an amah that way - thus it was 26 by
26. Space for the feet of the kohanim to pass, an amah this way and
an amah that way - thus 24 by 24 was the place for the pile. K. Yose
said: At first it was only 28 by 28, receding and rising with these
dimensions, bringing the space of the pile to 20 by 20; but when the
children of the exile came up, they added to it four amot from the
south and four amot from the west like a gamma, thus: "And the
Ariel was twelve long by twelve wide, square" (Ezek. 43: 16).
Could it be that it was only twelve by twelve? When it says: "To
its four sides" (ibid.), it teaches that from the center he measured
twelve amot in each direction. A red line surrounded it in the middle,
to separate between the upper blood and the lower blood. The yesod
went in front of the entire north, and in front of the entire west,
and encroached in the south one amah, and in the east one amah.
Kehati
The first six mishnahs of this chapter describe the main altar Tb,
made of three square blocks laid on top of one another (see intr.
to Zev. 5:3). The first mishnah deals with its structure, dimensions
and parts. See relevant diagram
1) The yesod. 2) The red line. 3) The soueu. 4) The horns. 5) The
top south-western corner, where the wine and water libations were
poured (Zev. 6:2). 6) The two holes in the south-western corner of
the yesod, through which the blood poured on the yesod drained into
the ditch (see 3:2). 7) The tapuah (pile of ashes) in the center of
the altar (Tam. 2:2). 8) The ramp. 9) A small ramp from the soueu
to the yesod. 10) A branch of the ramp leading to the soPeu.
The - bottom block of the - altar was 32
- amot - by 32 - amot. It rose
- to a height of - an amah and receded an
amah - on all sides, to where the second block rested, yielding
a ledge at the bottom of the altar, one amah wide and one amah high
- this ledge was the yesod (lit.
"foundation") of the altar. (This ledge was incomplete,
since it did not encompass the whole altar; see below.) The second
part thus measured one amah less than the first on all sides -
thus it was 30 by 30, It rose five - amot - and receded
an amah - on all sides, to where the third block rested,
yielding a ledge about half way up the altar; this
ledge was the sovev oit. "circler"), so
called because, unlike the yesod, it encircled the altar. The upper
part thus measured one amah less than the second on all sides - thus
it was 28 by 28 - and three amot high (see Tosefot Yom Tov).
The serviceable part of the altar's roof was smaller yet,
as the space of the horns - protrusions of one cubic amah
set on each corner of the altar - was an amah this way and
an amah that way - i.e., they occupied one square amah at
each corner
- thus it - the roof of the altar excluding the outer
amah which was partly taken up by the horns - - and in addition to
the area taken by the horns, a strip one amah wide around the altar
served as a space for the feet of the kohanim to pass
- thus, an amah this way and an amah that way were
left unused; thus 24 by 24 was left as the
place for the pile of burning wood, on which sacrifices were
bumed.
R, Yose said: At first - i.e., in the Temple built
by Solomon - it - the bottom block forming the yesod
- was only 28 amot by 28, receding and rising
with these dimensions - i.e., receding one amah and rising
one for the yesod, receding one and rising five for the sovev, and
leaving two amot for the horns and the walking area - bringing
the space of the pile - in the first Temple - to
20 by 20, thus: "And he made the copper altar twenty
amot in length and twenty amot in width" (II Chr. 4: 1) - but
when the children of the - Babylonian - exile came
up - i.e., retumed to Eretz Israel and built the Second Temple
- they added to it - to each of the three blocks
of the altar - four amot from the south and four amot from
the west like a - Greek - gamma - (or an
English L), i.e., two straight lines at a right angle, to yield a
usable area of 24 by 24 - thus: "And the Ariel
- i.e., the usable part of the altar - was twelve long by
twelve wide, square," The mishnah asks rhetorically
- Could it be that it was only twelve by twelve?
- and answers - When it says - at the end of this
verse - "To its four sides," it teaches that from
the center he measured twelve amot in each direction - yielding
24 by 24 for the pile. They added four amot square to the south-western
corner of the altar to cover the shitin, an underground cavity where
the wine from the libations drained (see 3:3), and since the altar
must be square, they added four amot to the entire southem and western
sides. In the First Temple, the shitin was outside the altar, and
the wine spilled down the side of the altar, and into it through a
hole in the floor of the azarah. In the Second Temple, the shitin
was under the altar, and the wine drained into a hole in the roof
of the altar, and into the shitin through a tube. The variant constructions
reflected different interpretations of Scripture. In the First Temple,
"an altar of earth" (Ex. 20:21) implied a structure as solid
as the earth, with no cavities or hollow tubes. In the Second Temple,
it was read as forbidding building the altar over tunnels or arches,
but not over the shitin, provided the altar was firmly attached to
the earth, and it made sense that the libation, which suggests "drinking,"
be consumed on the altar, just like the burnt portion of the sacrifices,
which suggest "eating" (Zev. 6lb; see Bartenura; Tiferet
Yisrael).
A red line - painted around the altar - surrounded
it in the middle - i.e., precisely half way up - to
separate between the upper blood - that of bird burnt-offerings
and animal sin-offerings, placed on the upper half of the altar -
and the lower blood - that of bird sin-offerings and other
animal offerings, placed on the lower half of the altar. As the altar
was ten amot high (one for the yesod, five to the sovev, three to
the roof, one for the horns), the red line was painted five amot from
the ground, one amah below the sovev.
The yesod did not surround the altar; rather, it
went in front of the entire north, and in front of the entire west,
and encroached in the south one amah - i.e., the western
yesod went all the way to the south-western comer, and one amah further
along the south, before coming to an abrupt end - and
- similarly, the northem yesod encroached - in the east one
amah - past the north-eastern comer, but there was no yesod
at the south-eastern comer (Biurei Hagra; but according to Rambam
and Tiferet Yisrael the yesod did not surpass the comers in the south
and in the east).
Rambam writes: The mishnah did not fully specify the height of the
altar, because it is well-known and never changed. As stated by the
Sages, the altars built by Moses, Solomon, and the returning exiles
were each ten amot high. The Torah's statement, aand three amot in
height" (Ex. 27:1) refers to the upper part of the altar alone,
from the soueu to the roof.
The term amah usually refers to nthe mean amah," six tefahim
long (appr. 54 cm), but sometimes refers to a length of five tefahim
(appr.
45 cm). Regarding the Temple amah, the mishnah states: aAI1 the amot
were mean amot, except for the golden altar, and the horns, and
the soueu, and the yesod (Kel. 17:10). Rambam's measurements of the
altar take this factor into account (see Tosefot Yom Ton).