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With the English translation
of the Kehati Commentary on The Mishnah
Masechet Midot
Chapter 3
Mishnah 6
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The basin was between the ulam and the altar, drawn towards the south.
Between the ulam and the altar were 22 amot and twelve steps were there;
the height of each step was half an amah, and its depth an amah. An amah,
an amah, and a pavement of three; and an amah, an amah, and a pavement
of three; and the uppermost was an amah, an amah, and a pavement of four.
R. Yehudah says: The uppermost was an amah, an amah, and a pavement of
five.
Kehati
The mishnah describes the part of the azarah between the altar 1b and
the ulam (lit. "entrance hall") , the front part of the Sanctuary
building.
The basin - used by the kohanim for washing their hands
and feet (Ex. 30: 17-21) - was between the ulam and the altar
- not directly in front of the altar, but rather - drawn towards
the south - in front of the ramp .
Between the ulam and the altar were - was a distance
of - 22 amot, and twelve steps were there - leading up
to the doorway of the ulam, starting one amah from the yesod of the altar
- the height of each step was half an amah and its depth an amah
- cf. 2:3. An amah, an amah, and a pavement of three -
i.e., the first two steps were one amah wide, and the third led to a landing
with a row of paving stones, three amot wide - and -
similarly with the subsequent steps - an amah, an amah, and a
pavement of three - with the fourth, fifth, and sixth steps,
and likewise with the seventh, eight, and ninth steps, covering a total
of fifteen amot - and the uppermost - series, the tenth,
eleventh, and twelfth steps - was an amah, an amah, and a pavement
of four - a total of 21 amot. With the amah from the altar to
the steps, this covers the 22 amot between the altar and the ulam. R.
Yehudah says - there was no gap between the bottom step and the
yesod of the altar; rather - the uppermost - series -
was an amah, an amah, and a pavement of five - a total of 22
amot.
Our explanation of the steps follows Biurei Hagra and Tiferet Yisrael.
Although the mishnah mentions only two series of steps plus the uppermost,
whereas they insist that there were three, it is not unusual for a mishnah
to mention merely twice something that occurs several times.
Bartenura explains that there were only three series altogether. The front
had three regular steps and an additional step leading to the pavement
of three, the second had two regular steps and the additional, and the
uppermost had four regular steps plus the step leading to the pavement
of four or five, for a total of 19 amot according to the front Tanna,
or 20 according to R. Yehudah. The remaining two or three amot were between
the altar and the steps.
Masechet Midot
Chapter 3
Mishnah 7
The doorway of the ulam - its height was forty amot and its width was
twenty amot, and five cornices of gall-nut were on top of it. The bottom
one extended beyond the doorway an amah on this side and an amah on that;
the one above it extended beyond it an amah on this side and an amah on
that; thus, the top one was thirty amot. And a layer of stones was between
each two.
Kehati
The doorway of the ulam - its height was forty
amot and its width was twenty amot and it had a curtain, unlike
the other Temple doorways, which measured twenty by ten and had doors
(2:3) - and five cornices - decorative moldings -
of gall-nut - a type of oak (Bartenura); others read , a type
of olive - were on top of it - i.e., they formed a sort
of frame over the doorway - the bottom one - i.e., the
cornice right above the doorway - extended beyond the doorway
an amah on this side and an amah on that - i.e., 22 amot - the
one above it - the cornice resting on the bottom one - extended
beyond it an amah on this side and an amah on that - i.e., 24
amot, and similarly with the third, which was 26 amot, and the fourth
which was 28 - thus, the top one was thirty amot - long.
The upper cornices were wider than the lower ones, to produce the effect
of a receding doorway under a decorative roof (Rambam). And a
layer of - square - stones was between each two -
i.e., between the wooden cornices, to enhance the effect.
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