Ezekiel · Chapter 42

And He brought me out. From the inner courtyard: "To the outer courtyard. At the northern gate mentioned above, and the gate to the inner courtyard opposite the gate to the north; and it was situated in the middle of the length of the Court of Israel, which is one hundred cubits." “And He brought me to the chamber that was opposite...” (To one of the first chambers, or perhaps: To the place of the chambers, *Kamern* in the vernacular, which are the chambers standing in the north of the Temple, separated by twenty cubits from the cells, as stated above, and between the chambers there is a width of twenty cubits all around the Temple. No person can enter those chambers, nor into the air-space of the twenty cubits between them and the cells, except through the courtyard (the inner courtyard) (the outer courtyard, as it should be written), as is explained below in the matter, for he said that the inner courtyard is a square of one hundred by one hundred cubits in front of the Temple to the east, and he said regarding the width of the Temple to the east: one hundred cubits. It turns out that the width of the Temple blocks the width of the outer courtyard (the inner courtyard, as it should read), and one cannot enter from the sides of the chambers, neither to the north nor to the south. Therefore, he was required to come to those chambers through the northern outer courtyard.) “Which were opposite the vacant space (the Gizrah).” Those chambers were opposite the entire hundred cubits of the length of the House, from east to west, as stated in the matter of these chambers, and behold, the front of the Temple was a hundred cubits.

“And He brought me out to the outer courtyard.” This is the Court of the Women. "The way is the northern way." As its Targum renders it: "On the path of the gate that opens to the northern path." The decree. The construction. We explained it above:

“And He brought me out.” He brought him out from the Temple into the outer courtyard, by way of the inner courtyard. "The way is the way of the north." This means that the path that led me was the path of the northern quarter. "to the chamber." This means to the group of chambers that stood opposite the separate place and opposite the building, namely those chambers that stood at the northern corner, twenty cubits distant from the foundation of the surrounding wall, as it is stated, "and between the chambers the breadth was twenty cubits" (above, 41:10).

The decree. This refers to the Temple and the House of the Holy of Holies: The building. They are the sides and the gallery:

And He brought me out to the outer court, in order that you may understand the meaning of the verses whose subject matter was hidden from all the commentators, I need to present to you thoroughly the content of the outer court, its standing, its measurements, and all its details. The void of the outer court from north to south is clear that it was three hundred twenty-six cubits, for it is clear above (Chapter 19, Verse 23) that he measured from the wall of the outer court to the wall of the inner court to the north and to the south, one hundred cubits on each side, making two hundred cubits; and the void of the inner court is one hundred (as stated above in verse 47), and its two walls were twenty-six cubits (as stated above in verse 6, that each wall was thirteen cubits), totaling sixty-six cubits. And it is necessary for me that its length from east to west was also thus. And here are its details: One hundred cubits he measured from the eastern wall of the outer court to the eastern wall of the inner court; thirteen cubits, the thickness of the eastern wall of the inner court; one hundred cubits, the void of the inner court from east to west until the porch; one hundred cubits from the wall of the porch to the end of the western chamber behind the Holy of Holies, which was united with the western wall of the inner court (as stated above in Chapter 41), totaling three hundred thirteen cubits. There remained another thirteen cubits empty in the west, between the back of the wall of the western chamber and the wall of the inner court, which extended evenly to the western wall of the outer court. In the Second Temple, there were eleven cubits behind the Holy of Holies, and in the Third Temple, which will be built, God willing, there will be thirteen cubits, totaling three hundred twenty-six cubits. And behold, the void from the wall of the outer court to the wall of the inner court, which is the Court of Israel, has already been explained that it was one hundred cubits, as it is written, "And he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits." However, the void that was from the wall of the outer court to the wall of the inner court opposite the porch and the Temple was wider by thirteen cubits, and was one hundred and thirteen cubits, for the one hundred cubits of the Court of Israel were outside the walls, but the one hundred cubits that were for the inner court opposite the porch and the Temple, which he measured from north to south as one hundred cubits, as it is written (Chapter 41, Verse 13), were with the walls of the inner court. And thus, the inner court opposite the porch and the Temple was drawn inward from the inner court preceding it, which is called by the name Court of Israel, according to the thickness of the wall of the Court of Israel, which was thirteen cubits, which was counted there outside the calculation of one hundred. And next to the thirteen cubits of the thickness of the wall of the Court of Israel inwardly, the wall of the inner court opposite the Temple and the porch began, whose thickness was five cubits. And thus, the void of the outer court there was widened by thirteen cubits, and was one hundred and thirteen cubits in width, and one hundred and thirteen cubits in length from opposite the beginning of the wall of the porch to its end, which went thirteen cubits behind the Holy of Holies, as stated above. And now I will explain to you the buildings that were in this outer court in the one hundred and thirteen cubits of its void. He already said in Chapter 41 (verse 10), "And between the chambers, a breadth of ten cubits all around the house, even twenty cubits outside the wall of the inner court." There stood chambers whose entrances were open to the wall of the inner court, and they were sanctified with the sanctity of the Court to eat there Most Holy Things (as stated below in verse 13), and they were called by the name Chambers of Twenty because their width with their walls was twenty cubits. And in their length, they extended along all the one hundred cubits of the wall of the inner court, and their entrances were open in the wall of the inner court. Only one cubit was open at their backs toward the side of the outer court, through which one cubit they were able to exit from the chambers to the outer court (as stated in Chapter 4, "through one cubit"). Opposite the Chambers of Twenty stood in the outer court the Chambers of a Hundred, whose length was one hundred cubits and width fifty cubits. And through ten cubits there was between the Chambers of Twenty and the Chambers of a Hundred. On the other side of the Chambers of a Hundred, which is next to the wall of the outer court, stood a platform, and upon it chambers, like the platform and chambers that were in the outer court opposite the Court of Israel, which was explained (in Chapter 40, verse 18) (where I explained that the platform was to the shoulder of the gates, the lower platform, coming to exclude the upper platform, which is the platform found next to the outer wall on the ascent of the mountain opposite the Temple and the porch, where the platform was not to the shoulder of the gates, for it was opposite the entire wall). And there I explained that the width of these chambers was four cubits, and they were three-tiered, one upon another. And so were the Chambers of a Hundred that stood opposite the platform, and the Chambers of Twenty that stood on the other side next to the wall of the inner court were also three-tiered, as will be explained in verse 6. And I have already explained that the void of the outer court opposite the Temple and the porch was from south to north one hundred and thirteen cubits. And there were twenty cubits of the Chambers of Twenty, and through ten cubits between the Chambers of Twenty and the Chamber of a Hundred, and fifty cubits of the width of the Chambers of a Hundred, making eighty cubits. There remained from the Chamber of a Hundred to the wall of the outer court another thirty-three cubits (for the width of its void is one hundred and thirteen cubits, as stated above). And it is clear below (in Chapter 46) that in the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courtyards, whose length was forty and width thirty. Thus, in the first forty cubits of the wall of the outer court toward the west were the enclosed courtyards; thirteen cubits opposite the void between the wall of the inner court and the outer wall behind the Holy of Holies; and all this I said opposite the Chamber of a Hundred, and there was a separation of three cubits between them and the Chamber of a Hundred. And after the enclosed courtyards began the platform and the chambers upon it on the wall of the outer court, whose width was four cubits, and the separation between them and the Chamber of a Hundred was twenty-nine cubits, at most, for it is possible that the chambers on the platform next to the wall of the outer court on the west side were wider than the platform and chambers on the east side, as they were different in their length, and then the separation between them was less than twenty-nine cubits. Furthermore, know that on the two sides where the Chambers of a Hundred stood opposite the platform on this side, and also on the two sides where the Chamber of a Hundred stood opposite the Chamber of Twenty on this side, stood *atikim* on the east side and on the west side. We have already hinted at the definition of *atik*, which is a building made in height, where they stood and looked afar. And their way was to build it between two houses standing opposite each other; they would extend beams inside the houses from the roof of this house to the roof of the second opposite it, and upon this ceiling they built the *atik*, which connected the two houses at their ends by means of the beams placed from one to the other. And from the *atik* that was in the attic in the corners of the roofs of the houses, they looked from one to another over all their surroundings (and sometimes they built the *atik* in the courtyard upon pillars). And these *atikim* were triangular, one upon another, and their matter will be explained in detail in verses 5 and 6. And according to these introductions, you will understand verses 1, 2, 3, and 4. "And He brought me out to the outer court," meaning He brought him out from the inner court that was there to the outer court opposite the porch and the Temple, the way through the north, meaning that He did not bring him out to the outer court on the south side, but only to the north side. "And He brought me to the chamber which is opposite the judgment, and which is opposite the building." This is the Chambers of Twenty that were adjacent and open to the wall of the inner court opposite the judgment and the building (meaning the chambers and the Temple). (And why did He not say "which is opposite the wall of the inner court," which is before the judgment and the building? And also, why did He say "chamber" in the singular language, whereas they were many chambers? He came to teach that He brought him out to the one chamber that stood on the east side, whose entrance was directed opposite the porch, for I have already explained (Chapter 41, verse 11) that on the east side there was an entrance to the porch open to the chambers, and similarly there was an entrance of the chambers directed opposite it, this one opposite that one. And opposite this entrance was directed in the wall of the inner court the entrance of the chamber of the Chamber of Twenty that stood on the east side, which stood opposite the porch, until the one standing in this chamber could see from there the entrance of the porch. And I read in it, "And they shall slaughter there," meaning that one could slaughter there minor holy things. And He brought him through this entrance to this chamber, therefore He said "opposite the judgment," for the entrance of this chamber is directed opposite the entrance of the judgment, which is the porch, and the entrance of the building, which are the chambers next to it). "To the north," meaning and from this chamber He brought him through the entrance of the courtyard that was at the back of this chamber, in the width of one cubit, to the outer court to the north.

“Toward the front of the length of one hundred cubits.” The northern opening [faces] the opening of the chamber, which faces north toward the outer courtyard, and opposite it there are fifty cubits in width, extending to the northern wall of the outer courtyard, and a length of one hundred cubits. For the chambers extend from east to west one hundred cubits, and their width from north to south is fifty cubits, as will be stated below in the matter [of the chambers]. And the open space of the outer courtyard is one hundred cubits in width, as stated above, “And he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.” It follows that before the chambers there is an open space of air, one hundred cubits in length and fifty cubits in width.

“Towards the front of its length, a hundred cubits.” The definite article (the knowledge) is used because it was mentioned above, and the decree and the construction and its beams were a hundred cubits in length. “Toward the front of.” The north gate. As Targum Jonathan renders it: “One of the gates that opens to the north.” “And the breadth is fifty cubits.” Just as it is stated above, “And in front of the gate of the vestibule, opposite the front of the inner gate, fifty cubits.”

“Before the face thereof, etc.” And “He made broad, etc.” means: They brought them to the northern entrance, which faces the wall of the outer courtyard. In front of it there was an open space of a hundred cubits in length and fifty cubits in width, for the width of the chambers was fifty cubits and their length was a hundred cubits, as stated in the matter. Thus, they were distant from the wall of the outer courtyard by fifty cubits. Hence, the open space before them was a hundred cubits in length and fifty in width. See the commentary on the construction of the House and its form.

“Toward the front of its length” – and from there he entered the Chamber of the Hundred, for the Chamber of the Hundred was also open there on the south side, and the width of the opening was one cubit, extending opposite the place from which he had exited from the Chamber of the Twenty through the open cubit. And its main entrance was to the north, from where one exits from the Chamber of the Hundred toward the north side, opposite the pavement. And the openings were close to the eastern side. And this is what it says, “Toward the front of its length,” for the “front” is always the eastern side, where the length of the hundred cubits begins. And there was the opening of one cubit of the Chamber of the Hundred Cubits on the south side, and opposite it was the main entrance on the north side. He entered through the southern opening of one cubit and crossed the width of the chamber to the northern entrance, for the main entrance was in the north. And the width of this chamber is fifty cubits from south to north. And when he crossed this width, he came through the northern entrance opposite the pavement of the outer courtyard.

“Opposite the twenty [cubits] of the inner courtyard.” All of this is a sign indicating the location of the chambers adjacent to the twenty cubits of open space that surrounded the inner courtyard on all sides around the House, as stated above; and the width of the chambers’ structure was twenty cubits. "And opposite the pavement that was in the outer court." As we stated above, that the courtyard was surrounded by it on all sides. Atik, facing atik. I do not know what this means. (Tosafot:) “Attik facing attik” — an attik is a pillar, as Rashi also explained (above, verse 16). “And the attikim surrounding the three of them” — they are pillars, and the upper chambers are precisely these chambers themselves about which He speaks, and He calls them “upper” because they are at the height of the mountain, as Rashi explained regarding “and beneath these chambers.” And this is the explanation according to the order [of the text]. And the upper chambers. They were at the height of the mountain; two of them were short, meaning they were not spacious, because the pillars encroached upon them. For it is the custom of builders to strengthen their construction work by making columns up to two-thirds of the wall, and from there onward they taper and narrow. Therefore, the third [chamber] is not short. This is what he says: "For they are tripled, and they have no columns," because they do not require strengthening like those below. And they have no columns like the columns of the courtyards, meaning the columns of these chambers are not like the other columns, for the other columns are placed next to the wall for strengthening, but these [columns] are within the thickness of the wall, protruding outward and inward. Therefore, they consume from the building [space]. “Therefore it was hollowed out.” As its Targum [translates it]: “they are cramped,” because they protrude outward from the thickness of the wall, and inward they strengthen the chambers. From the lower ones and from the middle ones, from the earth. To the side of the earth, so I found in the name of Ashel Gadol (SAA): Regarding “the third story”: The Targum renders it “from the three,” implying that those chambers were triple, one above the other. The scriptural verses also indicate this, as it states, “the upper chambers were shorter than the lower and the middle ones.” However, I could not at all understand the matter from these three verses: what are those “attics,” and how do they “eat” from the upper ones but do not “eat” from the lower and middle ones? And the reason he gives for this, that they are triple and have no pillars, I do not know how to understand. (And I, my soul, say: it was not in my mind to say that the Second Temple and the Temple of the Future in this entire building were not like the one that was shown to me from Heaven.)

"Opposite the twenty [cubits]." The cubit mentioned above, "and between the chambers twenty cubits," "And opposite the pavement that was in the outer court." This chamber was situated on its inner side opposite the twenty [cubits], and on its outer side opposite the pavement that was in the outer court, which is the Women's Court, as stated above: "And He brought me to the outer court, and behold, chambers and a pavement made for the court," etc. Attic opposite attic, in thirty [cubits]. Chamber opposite chamber, in thirty [cubits]. This implies that there were chambers above chambers, three of them, one atop the other: the upper, the middle, and the lower, as stated above.

“Opposite the twenty, etc.” He gives a sign for the location of those chambers, saying: “From this point onward, it was opposite the open space of twenty [cubits] of the courtyard before the foundation of the wall of the surrounding enclosure.” And this is what is written: “And between the chambers there was a width of twenty cubits” (above, 41:8). The inner [side]. This means that the inner side of the chambers faced this open space. "and opposite the pavement, etc." – This means that the passage from here was opposite the pavement of the courtyard, as it is stated: "And a pavement was made around the courtyard" (above, 40). And the outer one. This means that the outer [wall] of the chambers faced this pavement. “Let the one be set opposite the other.” This means that the pillars of those chambers were placed opposite one another, with a pillar on the inside facing a pillar on the outside. “in the third story.” This means that it was so because those chambers were three upper stories, one atop the other, and the building was tall; therefore, there were double columns, one opposite the other, to strengthen the building.

Ratzpah. The matter of placing stones for the footpath: Etik. A square pillar that protrudes from the wall, wide at the bottom and tapering off at the top, and it is made for reinforcement. And likewise, "and the etiks" (above 41a): “In thirds.” From the language of “three.”

“Opposite the twenty, etc.” – “There was an attic facing an attic.” Now he found that there were four attics there. I have already explained that the structure called an “attic” is constructed as follows: between two houses that stand opposite one another, beams are placed in the corners of the houses, extending from the roof of one house to the roof of the house opposite it. Upon the floor formed by these beams, a structure is built upward, surrounded on all sides by windows, so that one who ascends there can see from a distance all around. This structure connects the two houses above. He found there four attics. Two attics were opposite the twenty [rooms] belonging to the inner courtyard. Beams were laid from the roof of the Hall of the Hundred to the roof of the Hall of the Twenty, which were aligned opposite each other on the southern side of the Hall of the Hundred. Between them was a space of ten cubits, as stated above. One attic was built in the eastern corner and one attic in the western corner. This is what is meant by “opposite the twenty [rooms] belonging to the inner courtyard” (i.e., from the Hall of the Hundred, opposite the Hall of the Twenty, which are open and connected in their sanctity to the inner courtyard), “there was an attic facing an attic.” That is to say, an attic in the east was aligned with the attic opposite it in the west. Likewise, there were two attics opposite the Retsafah [the lower range of rooms]. Beams were extended from the roof of the Hall of the Hundred to the roof of the rooms of the Retsafah, which were located along the wall of the outer courtyard, on both sides where the rooms of the Retsafah began. They built one attic in the east and one attic in the west. Therefore, opposite the Retsafah belonging to the outer courtyard, too, there was an attic facing an attic. These attics were thirty [cubits high], meaning that each attic consisted of three levels, one above the other: two lower levels and a third upper level. This will be further explained in verses 5 and 6.

And before the chambers, there is a passage ten cubits wide, leading to the inner court, with a path of one cubit. It appears to me that since the space of the outer court is one hundred cubits wide from north to south, and of these, the chambers are fifty cubits wide, and before them there is air space of fifty cubits to the north side, behold, here is the entire width of the courtyard. Thus, the entire width of the courtyard is blocked, for there is no air space between the chambers and the corner of the House of the Change at all, and there is no entrance to enter into the air space of the twenty cubits between the chambers and the cells, because the air space of twenty cubits separating between the cells and the chambers is fifteen cubits behind the House of the Change, and added to them are five cubits. And you might say, behold, there is air space of fifty cubits between the corners of the House of the Change and the corners of the chambers? Behold, the thickness of the wall separating between the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard, which runs from east to west, blocks it, for its thickness is six cubits, and its end terminates into that corner, into the hundred cubits length of the inner courtyard, to the corner of the House of the Change. Therefore, there is no entrance to that air space of twenty cubits, neither in the inner nor in the outer, unless it was sloping and narrowing when it was terminating the end of the wall between the two courtyards (sloping within the outer courtyard into the inner) in the thickness of the wall, one cubit, sufficient for the entrance of a person, and one enters into the air space of five cubits between the wall of the House of the Change and the wall of the chamber, and walks in that air space to the west ten cubits, and there the extension of the House of the Change ends, and one enters into the air space wide twenty cubits. And this is what it says: "a passage eleven cubits wide to come to the inner, and a path of one cubit," for indeed one enters into it through a doorway of one cubit which sloped and narrowed at the end of the wall. And why does it call it a "wide passage" and did it not have to say "a passage ten cubits long"? Because regarding the construction of the House of the Change, it is width, for the construction of the House of the Change is from north to south fifteen cubits, and from east to west it is only eleven cubits. “And their openings were toward the north.” The openings of these chambers were toward the north, as I have found; and this is the explanation of “the gate of the north” mentioned above, where the text abbreviated the statement, and here it is explained (this pertains to Rashi on chapter 42, verse 2, at the end of the statement above; and this is the explanation of Rabbi Shemaiah, and he wrote it according to his own understanding, Tosafot).

“And before the chambers.” He stated that there was a chamber opposite a chamber, and between them was a passage ten cubits wide, leading to the inner chamber through a width of one cubit. And he said “the inner chamber” in a general sense, as if he had said “the inner chambers.” And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated it as a proper noun, not as a descriptive term, translating it as “Lagyo.” "And their openings were toward the north." He said that the chambers were open toward the north.

“And before the chambers, etc.” This means that one who entered the airspace of the twenty-cubit void before the chambers had a path ten cubits wide, which was the width of the House of the Change, to come to the inner side of the chambers. And he went there through a breach one cubit wide. And this is because there was no way to enter the twenty-cubit void on the inner side of the chambers, neither from the inner courtyard, for there was no place there to make a door, since the eastern wall of the House of the Change extended to the corner, and there were windows there to hide the knives, as stated in the commentary on the Construction of the Temple; nor was there space at the door, nor from the outer courtyard, for the House of the Change and the thickness of the wall of the inner courtyard blocked the entire width of the twenty-cubit void, and furthermore, one cubit extended into the wall of the chambers, as stated in the commentary on the Construction of the Temple. And at the western corner, it blocked the place designated for cooking the Passover sacrifice. And in order to have an entrance path, there was a breach one cubit wide at the end of the wall of the inner courtyard, next to the wall of the chambers. And the length of that breach was opposite the cubit that that wall extended into the wall of the chambers, and another cubit further on. And from there, there was a breach one cubit wide, five cubits long, facing west, until the end of that wall which covered the thickness of the wall of the House of the Change, as can be seen in the diagram. See the commentary on the Construction of the Temple. And this is what the verse says: “And before the chambers,” meaning that one who entered the airspace of the void before the chambers had a path ten cubits wide to come to the inner side of the chambers: five cubits within the breach opposite the eastern wall of the House of the Change, and five cubits opposite the void of the House of the Change and the western wall. And thus he went there through the one-cubit width of the path of the breach. And their entrances. The entrances of those chambers were on the northern side, opposite the pavement of the outer courtyard.

Mahalak. That is to say, a road and a path.

And before the chambers, now he clarifies how great was the interval between the Chamber of the Hundred and the Chamber of the Twenty opposite it. He said that before the Chamber of the Hundred there was a walkway ten cubits wide leading inward, namely to the Chamber of the Twenty, whose entrance was on the inner side to the south. And he further explained through which entrance one enters from the Chamber of the Twenty into the Chamber of the Hundred (since the main entrance of the Chamber of the Twenty was to the south, and the entrance of the Chamber of the Hundred was to the north?). He said that one enters through a space of one cubit, which was a narrow entrance measuring one cubit in width, opening in the Chamber of the Twenty opposite the Chamber of the Hundred to the north, and in the Chamber of the Hundred opposite the Chamber of the Twenty to the south, through which one exits from the Chamber of the Twenty and enters the Chamber of the Hundred. And their entrances were to the north, meaning that the main entrance of the Chamber of the Hundred was to the north, toward the side of the floor, because on the southern side it is not called an entrance, since it was only one cubit wide.

"And the upper chambers, etc., for they are tripled, etc." I did not understand them at all. "Ki yikolu" – the pillars encroach. Just as it says "ya'chlu" – they will eat, and they diminish the air of the chambers:

And the upper chambers were shorter. He has already stated that the chambers were three, one above the other, and he said that the upper ones were shorter than the others. Now, these are the opposite of those cells mentioned above, for those had the upper ones wider than those beneath them, as he said, "and they shall not be attached to the wall of the house," as we have explained, and as it was in Solomon's construction: "the lower gallery," etc. But in these chambers, the upper ones were shorter. He gave the reason: "that the beams may have room in them." And furthermore, he gave another reason: "for they are triangular," etc. And I cannot understand the construction of these chambers: how did the prophet see them, and in what manner were the lower ones wider than the upper ones? And also our master Rabbi Solomon, of blessed memory, did not explain anything. It is possible that the walls of the chambers were made like a funnel, so that their interior space became narrower from above. And the interpretation of "that the beams may have room in them" would be that the beams of the chambers would take their space from the lower ones, and those of the middle ones would take more space from the building, because it was wider below, meaning its interior space was wider. And he said "in them" first, and afterwards he explained "from the lower ones and from the middle ones." He placed the pronoun before the definite noun, similar to "and she saw the child" and verses like it. And yet, it is still difficult for me regarding this interpretation: if so, the middle ones were shorter than the lower ones, and this he did not mention. And it is possible that he only mentioned the upper ones because they were shorter than the others. “Yokhalu.” He wrote it with a vav in place of an aleph, because the letters aleph, heh, vav, and yod are interchangeable, and this pertains to the concept of “grasp” (tefisah). We find this same phrasing in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, when they stated: “How many tablets consume space in the Ark?” The answer is six. And Jonathan did not provide us with any interpretation regarding this matter; he merely translated the verse literally: “The upper chamber was narrow; he took them from the lower and from the middle, and built.” And I say that this passage is destined for Elijah to interpret.

And the upper chambers. These chambers, which stood on the upper part of the mountain facing west, were narrow and cramped within, because the atikim (galleries) that were on the inside, as stated above, diminished their interior space. He then explained that from the lower and middle levels, the construction of the atikim diminished the space, but from the upper levels they did not diminish the space, for the atikim did not extend up to them, since the structure had already been strengthened by the atikim in the lower and middle levels.

Qitzrot. From the word "qatzar," meaning narrow and constricted. Yikhalu. Like ye'akhalu, and it is a matter of the reduction of air in the void; and our Sages of blessed memory stated: How many boards consume space in the Ark? (Bava Batra 14b). And from the middle ones. From the central one:

And the upper chambers were shorter. We have already explained that from the roof of the Chamber of the Hundred, walls extended on the northern side to the roof of the Floor Chamber, and on the southern side to the roof of the Chamber of the Twenty. On both sides, the eastern and the western, they built galleries (as stated above, verse 3). And there it was explained that the galleries were three, one above the other in height. And it is clarified here that the chambers upon whose roofs the galleries were built were also three, as it is stated (in verse 6), “for they were tripled,” meaning that the chambers were three, one above the other in height: the Chamber of the Twenty, the Chamber of the Hundred, and the Floor Chamber. And upon the roofs of these chambers were placed the beams that served as the flooring for the galleries (for these galleries were not placed upon pillars, as I have already explained that they sometimes built galleries in the courtyard upon pillars standing in height, placing beams from pillar to pillar, and upon them placing the flooring of the gallery; but here the beams were placed upon the walls of the chambers, from one side to the other). And according to this, it was necessary to shorten the wall of the middle chamber from the wall of the lower chamber, so that there would remain space there upon which to place the flooring of the lower gallery. For example, if the walls of the lower chamber were two cubits, they made the walls of the middle chamber only a cubit and a half, leaving half a cubit free on this side and on that, upon which they placed the beams of the flooring of the first gallery. And likewise, they were forced to shorten the walls of the upper chambers by another half cubit on every side, upon which the beams that would serve as the flooring for the middle gallery would be placed. And the thickness of the wall of the upper chambers was only one cubit. And the beams that served as the flooring for the upper gallery were placed upon the roofs of the upper chamber, for the third gallery rose in height to the top roof of the chambers. And this is what it says, “and the upper chambers were shorter”: Scripture estimated and arranged, “and the upper chambers were shorter in building than the lower and the middle,” meaning that the building (i.e., the walls within which the chambers were built) of the upper chambers was shorter than the building (i.e., the walls) of the lower and middle chambers, because the galleries consumed and took from the building, for the building diminished from the outside to place upon it the ends of the beams of the flooring of the galleries. And thereby the galleries widened, for according to the measure that entered into the thickness of the wall of the chambers, the galleries widened. And this is what it means that they consumed from them. And he is precise to say “shorter in building,” meaning that only the building, which is the width of the wall, was shortened in its thickness, but the chamber itself inside was not shortened thereby (and this is understood of itself: just as the building of the upper chambers was shortened from the middle ones, so too the building of the middle chambers was shortened from the building of the lower ones. Only this matter is not a novelty, and the main novelty is that even the upper ones had their building shortened, although in the upper ones one could have built in a manner that the building would not be shortened, namely, by not placing the ends of the beams of the middle gallery from north to south upon the walls of the chambers, but rather placing them from east to west upon the walls of the gallery itself, from the western wall to the eastern wall. And therefore He informed me that even for the second gallery He placed the ends of the beams upon the walls of the chambers, for in this construction it is stronger. And thereby the walls of the upper chambers were also shortened, and all the more so the walls of the middle chambers, for it was not possible to place the beams except upon the walls of the chambers).

“for it was threefold.” There were three chambers, one above the other: And they did not have pillars like the pillars of the courtyards, upon which the roofs were supported; rather, the roofs were supported upon the walls, and the walls were constructed in the form of a vault. Therefore, it was drawn forth from the lower and intermediate realms, from the earth. Therefore, the place of the upper realm was constricted and separated from the lower realms, from the earth below, facing the earth, for there [below] they were broad, and above they were narrow. "Natzal." From [the verse] "And I will separate" (va'etzalti), [we derive the meaning from] "I did not separate" (lo etzalti) from them; the matter is one of separation. And Yonatan translated it as "Therefore it is pressed" (al ken dichika).

"for they were threefold." He came to provide a reason for why the *atikim* were on the inside, in order to reduce the open space. And he said: because the construction of the chambers was threefold, with three upper rooms, one atop the other, and therefore it was necessary to reinforce the structure. “And they have no...” – This means that the pillars provide no benefit to them on the outside alone, in the manner of the pillars of the courts, for they would not be strengthened by these. “Therefore, etc.” This means that since it was necessary to construct pillars also within the interior, space was taken and separated from the hollow of the lower chambers and from the middle chambers, rising from the ground. That is to say, relative to the floor of the middle chambers, the atikim (ledges) diminished the space, but not relative to the ceiling, for the atikim (ledges) tapered and diminished going upward, not reaching the ceiling, because the structure had already been strengthened. See the diagram.

"Natzal." The meaning of the passage is like "Atzalta li bracha" (Genesis 27:36):

For it is three-tiered; he explained the matter because the attic rooms and the chambers were three-tiered, and therefore they had lower, middle, and upper levels. They did not have pillars like the pillars of the courtyards. He explained the reason why he was required to place the beams upon the walls of the chambers, and why he did not place the beams of the floor of the attic rooms upon pillars, as is customary in attic rooms built in courtyards, where they erect pillars and extend beams from pillar to pillar, as stated above. In this context, he said that he did not wish to erect pillars for the sake of the attic rooms, because the pillars would diminish the width of the path between the chambers. Therefore, space was taken from the lower and middle levels from the ground. That is to say, therefore, space was taken and deducted each time from the structure of the chamber to the attic room, and it was taken for them from the roof of the lower chambers and from the roof of the middle chambers. "From their ground" means from the floor of the lower attic room, and the roof of the middle chamber is the ground and floor of the middle attic room. Space was taken from the ground from the chamber to the attic room, upon which the beams of the attic rooms were placed.

"And the wall that was on the outside, etc." – This is the wall that separates the chambers from the outer courtyard on the eastern side. Its length was fifty cubits, from north to south:

“And the wall that was on the outside.” Come and see: the outer wall, opposite the chambers, was fifty cubits in length, corresponding to the length of the chambers. Therefore, it says, “And behold, on the face of the Temple, a hundred cubits,” for a hundred cubits was the length of the Temple, as we have written, and the chambers did not occupy the entire length of the Temple, but only half of it.

"And a wall, etc." This means a wall that is visible from the outside, situated before the chambers. And to add further clarification, he says "through the outer courtyard," meaning that it faces the outer courtyard, toward the front of the chambers, to their east. "Its length." The length of that wall, as seen from the outside, was fifty cubits, because one cubit was concealed from the view of the observer by the wall of the inner courtyard, as shown in the diagram. This is the cubit where the breach was located, for in truth the length of the wall was fifty-one cubits, since from the wall of the inner courtyard to the wall of the outer courtyard was one hundred cubits, and the space from there to the chambers was fifty cubits; thus, fifty remained for the chambers, plus one additional cubit that was concealed within the thickness of the wall of the inner courtyard. However, it was concealed from the view of the observer. But at the western corner, in truth, fifty-one cubits were visible. See the booklet "Building of the House."

And "a wall"—a wall:

And the fence that was outside: In order to understand these verses, it is necessary to precede you with one more introduction. It has already been explained that twenty cubits outside the wall of the inner courtyard, opposite the Hall and the Temple, were sanctified with the sanctity of the Temple Court, and there stood the twenty sanctified chambers. This extended along the ground for a hundred cubits, corresponding to the length of the Hall, the Temple, and the Holy of Holies. Now, also outside the wall of the Court of Israel, twenty cubits were likewise sanctified, so that their sanctity would be like that of the Temple Court, for slaughtering and eating the Holy Things there (both on the north side and on the south side). For the Hall, which stood at the entrance of the northern gate of the Court of Israel, and which extended outward from the side chambers (as stated in Chapter 28, Verse 29), was eighteen cubits distant from the gate (twelve cubits being the width of the side chambers, as mentioned above in Chapter 3, Verse 13, and six cubits being the length of the Hall, as mentioned above in Chapter 8). And I have already written (Chapter 38) that even the two cubits in front of the Hall were sanctified, making twenty cubits. However, in the twenty cubits that were sanctified opposite the wall of the inner courtyard, facing the Building and the Partition, the twenty chambers stood, as mentioned above. But in the twenty cubits that were sanctified opposite the inner wall of the Court of Israel, there were no sanctified chambers, for there stood the side chambers of the gate, which extended in length up to forty cubits from the gate (as mentioned above in Chapter 15). And in order that there should be a distinction and separation between the sanctified and the non-sanctified, they made there a fence, which is called later (Verse 12) by the name "the fence of the garden," because this fence protected the holy things from being invalidated by something that goes out. For up to the fence it was sanctified, and outside the fence it was non-sanctified. And this fence extended fifty cubits, from the middle of the northern gate of the Court of Israel to the end of the Court of Israel, opposite the beginning of the wall of the Hall. And just as in the courtyard before the Building and the Partition stood the hundred chambers, whose width was fifty cubits, in front of the twenty sanctified chambers, and there was a path of ten cubits between the twenty sanctified chambers and the hundred non-sanctified chambers, and one entered from the twenty chambers into the hundred chambers through a door of one cubit that was at the beginning of the chambers in the east (as mentioned above in Verse 1), so too in the courtyard before the Court of Israel there were also chambers, whose width was fifty cubits, according to the pattern of the hundred chambers. Only the length of the hundred chambers was a hundred cubits, whereas the length and width of these chambers in the outer courtyard before the Court of Israel were fifty cubits. And there was also a separation of a walk of ten cubits between the sanctified fence and the fifty chambers. And at the beginning of the fence in the east, one also entered through a door of one cubit into the fifty chambers, for their main entrance was open to the north, like the hundred chambers (as mentioned above in Verse 4). And this is what it says: "And the fence that was outside, opposite the chambers," meaning the fifty-cubit chambers that stood in the outer courtyard opposite the Court of Israel. Through the outer courtyard, one went toward the front of the chambers, where was the path by which they exited from the inner courtyard gate to the outer courtyard and arrived at the one-cubit door that was at the head of the chambers in the southeast corner (therefore it said "the front of the chambers," meaning on the side near the east, for the east is called "front"). Its length was fifty cubits. This fence extended in length fifty cubits, from opposite the beginning of the front of the chambers to opposite their end on the west side.

"For the length of the chambers. From north to south, fifty cubits:" "And behold, upon the face of the Temple." From east to west, opposite the Ulam (porch), the Heichal (Holy Place), the Kodesh Kodashim (Holy of Holies), and the chambers, [the distance is] one hundred cubits.

“Because its length...” – Here he provides the reason why the entire length of the wall was not visible. He said that the structure of the chambers, which was visible from the outer courtyard, was fifty cubits, because the wall of the inner courtyard covered one cubit from the view of the observer. (And since he used the word “length” with reference to the wall, he therefore used the same term also with reference to the structure of the chambers, even though the term “width” would have been more accurate for it.) "And behold, upon the face of the Temple": This means that behold, they stood before the Temple, spanning a length of one hundred cubits, corresponding to the measure of the Temple. For the term "Temple" encompasses the Temple proper, the Ulam (porch), the Holy of Holies, the side-chamber behind it, and the wall of the side-chamber.

"Ki arkhe" – this explains that although these chambers appeared similar to the Chamber of the Hundred in their width, for all of them their width was uniformly fifty cubits, nevertheless there was a difference between them in their length. For the length of the chambers facing the outer courtyard (that is, the courtyard opposite the Court of Israel) was only fifty cubits. And as for the chambers whose width was fifty cubits and which stood in the outer courtyard opposite the Temple, their length was one hundred cubits. And since the length of the chambers opposite the Court of Israel was only fifty cubits, the wall was also only fifty cubits.

"And beneath these chambers." I do not know whether this comes to teach that there were tunnels beneath them, or whether it comes to teach that there were chambers in the east of the courtyard, and since the mountain slopes downward toward the east, it calls it "beneath these chambers," meaning that these [the chambers] are at its height and these [the tunnels] are at its slope. And so it says: "And at the slope of the courtyard toward the entrance which is toward the east, when he comes there from the outer courtyard."

"And beneath it." Comprised of three words, the first of which takes from the last; the keri is "and beneath the chambers." And he says "these chambers" [meaning] "the entrance from the east." He has already stated that the chambers did not extend beyond half the length of the Temple, and he called "beneath the chambers" that part of them which was toward the east, because the west was at their upper part, as we have explained, for the mountain slopes and rises up to the Temple, and its entrance was from the east, for from the east one would enter the Temple Mount, and from there inward to the porch and the Temple by steps, all as we have written above. Therefore their entrance was beneath them, which is toward the east. And this is what is meant by "the entrance from the east": upon his coming here from the outer courtyard. It is written "hamevi" but read "hamevo," meaning: when one comes.

“And beneath these chambers.” This means at the lower slopes of the Mount, facing east, toward these chambers that stood there. Indeed, the way to enter them was from the east, when one came to them from the outer courtyard. For just as chambers stood on the upper part of the Mount, opposite the side chambers on this side and that side, so too did chambers stand at the lower slopes of the Mount on this side and that side. They were of the same measurements as the upper chambers. They stood fifty cubits distant from the walls of the outer courtyard. The width of the chambers was embedded one cubit into the thickness of the wall of the inner courtyard, extending for eleven cubits. And in length, they were embedded half a cubit into the thickness of the wall of the eastern chamber, on this side and that side of the gate. And from them to the eastern wall of the outer courtyard was eleven cubits. See the booklet “Building of the House,” and the diagram. And this is what he who brought [the text] from “He who preceded…” means: namely, when one came to them from the outer courtyard, the way to enter was from the east, through those eleven cubits.

המביא. The word is from the root of "coming" (bi'ah).

And beneath the chambers: Behold, I have already explained that the path emerging from the Court of Israel (through the colonnade) and proceeding from south to north to the Chamber of the Fifty, entered through a cubit-wide passage that was open at the top of the wall on this side and at the top of the Chamber of the Fifty on that side, and it entered the Chamber of the Fifty. And there, opposite it, was the entrance to the Chamber of the Fifty on the northern side, from which one exited to the outer court, before the pavement and the chambers that stood adjacent to the northern wall (as they were also in the outer court before the building and the partition, as stated above in verse 4). And now I explain the path coming from east to west: that one who entered through the eastern gate of the outer court and proceeded westward, the way to these chambers was beneath the chambers, meaning on the eastern side, where they were on the slope of the mountain (for the mountain was elevated and rose on the western side). And the way leading from the east went along the slope of the mountain that was beneath the chambers, meaning on the eastern side, when one came there from the outer court. For the way leading to the chambers from the inner court was within the width of the wall (as stated in chapter 7), but the way from the east, from the outer court, was from the courtyard that was beneath the Chamber of the Fifty; from there one ascended from east to west until reaching the ten-cubit-wide path that was between the wall and the Chamber of the Fifty, and along this path one ascended westward.

“‘In the breadth of the wall of the court, etc.’” — One who comes from the east of the outer court and circles to the north via the northeastern corner of the inner walls, from the outside, in order to reach those chambers in the north, will find that across the breadth of the wall of the court is the eastern wall of the inner court, which is west of the outer court, opposite the Gizrah and the Binyan in the inner [court]; the chambers are adjacent to that wall and stand in the outer [court]. I have found this.

"In the breadth of the wall of the court, the way was toward the east." He said that also in the east, in the breadth between the wall of the court and the partition, he saw chambers, just as he had seen in the north, as he mentioned. And the way that was before them was like the appearance of the chambers, meaning like the appearance of the way of the chambers. And he said "like the appearance" because everything was seen in the vision of prophecy, not in actuality.

“On the broad wall of the courtyard.” This means that one who walks along the broad wall of the courtyard on the eastern side will find those chambers extending from the wall westward, facing the partition and the building.

“Along the breadth of the courtyard’s wall, the eastern path”: That is to say, even with all this, it was not possible for one to reach, by walking from east to west, except along the breadth of the courtyard’s wall. And this will become clear to you if you recall what I wrote regarding verse 1, that the space from the outer courtyard wall to the inner courtyard wall opposite the Ulam (Antechamber) and the Heichal (Holy Place) was 113 cubits. And it exceeded the space of the outer courtyard opposite the Court of Israel by 13 cubits, because the wall of the Court of Israel protruded 13 cubits into the outer courtyard more than the wall of the inner courtyard opposite the Ulam and the Heichal; see there. And therefore, the twenty cubits that were sanctified before the inner courtyard wall of the Court of Israel extended 13 cubits further into the outer courtyard than the twenty cubits that were sanctified opposite the wall of the inner courtyard opposite the Ulam and the Heichal. Likewise, the ten-cubit path and the Chamber of Fifty before them extended 13 cubits into the outer courtyard from the ten-cubit path and the Chamber of Hundred before them, in the courtyard opposite the Ulam and the Heichal. And therefore, when he walked along this ten-cubit path between the wall and the Chamber of Fifty from east to west, and reached the end of the fifty, he encountered there the Chamber of Hundred which blocked the path, for the Chamber of Hundred began 13 cubits inward toward the side of the Heichal, and behold, the path was blocked before him by the eastern wall of the Chamber of Hundred, which blocked the western side of the path, and the Chamber of Fifty blocked its northern side, and the wall blocked its southern side. And therefore, they were forced to open a door at the end of the wall, through which door one would enter the wall, and on the other side of the sanctified wall, one would walk westward to the ten-cubit path between the Chamber of Hundred and the Chamber of Twenty. (And certainly there was a condition regarding the place of this door that it would not be sanctified as one cubit, so that one who is not permitted to enter the sanctified places could also walk through there). And this is what it says: “Along the breadth of the courtyard’s wall, the eastern path,” meaning, one who comes from the eastern path and walks from east to west and wishes to go from the eastern side to the front of the Giza (the area before the Temple) and to the front of the building toward the west, in the place of the chambers, to reach the ten-cubit path that runs in the courtyard before the Giza between the Chamber of Twenty and the Chamber of Hundred, could not reach there directly, except if he went south to the door that was at the end of the fifty cubits, along the breadth of the courtyard’s wall, next to the wall of the Chamber of Hundred, where the wall ended, and there was an open door, and he entered into the wall, and from there he reached the front of the Giza and the building between the chambers.

"And a path before them." Before these chambers there is a broad open space in the outer courtyard, measuring fifty cubits, as is the case with the chambers on the northern side, which are described above. “Like their length.” The length of these [chambers] is like the length of the northern chambers, and likewise their breadth. "And all their exits." Like the exits of the northern chambers: "And according to their judgments and according to their gates." [This refers] to the chambers of the north.

And the path. It is clear:

"And a way before them." Before these chambers there was a way, the breadth of which was fifty cubits, extending to the walls of the outer courtyard, corresponding to the appearance of the way of the chambers that stood on the ascent of the mountain at the northern corner (and since he mentioned above the northern corner, he said the way of the north): "As their length, so their width." This is a concise verse that can be understood on its own, meaning that as is the length of the upper ones, so is the length of these, and as is their width, so is their width. "And all their exits." This means that they were also equal in appearance at the place of their exits, which are the doorways. "And according to their ordinances." Just as the ordinance of the height and form of the upper chambers were, so too was the ordinance of these. "And their entrances." This means: according to the number of their entrances.

And a path: And since until now we have not heard that there was also a path of ten cubits between the Chamber of the Fifty and the wall, through which one walked from east to west, therefore he said that there was a path before them, meaning before the Chambers of the Fifty, like the chambers whose path was on the north, like the path that was between the Chamber of the Hundred and the Chamber of the Twenty, where the path is called by the name of the path of the north, because it was on the north of the Chamber of the Twenty, which are there the primary ones, because they were holy. For after the Chambers of the Fifty were likened in every respect to the Chamber of the Hundred, they were also likened in the path before them, which was ten cubits wide. And there was no difference between them except that here their length was equal to their width, their length being fifty as their width, whereas the Chamber of the Hundred had a length double its width. But in the other matters they were likened in all their exits, that also the Chamber of the Fifty had a path of one cubit at the eastern head, opposite the one-cubit path of the wall to exit from there to the ten-cubit path in between. And according to their ordinances, that their structure and their manner of walking were the same, that they were profane and their doors, that also their main door was on the northern side, like the Chamber of the Hundred, as we have explained above (verse 4).

"And the doors of the chambers which were toward the south." These are the doors of the eastern chambers, for there were also chambers in the south, separated from the southern cells by twenty cubits, as stated above. And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits from house to house, all around. “An entrance at the head of the way.” There was an entrance for the eastern chambers at the head of the way, and the way was in front of the enclosure of the garden. The Targum: “a platform for the Levites.” And “the enclosure of the garden” is a stone wall built in steps, upon which they played instruments and sang. The path of the east. For the platform was in the east, as it is written in Chronicles in the portion “And when they had finished” (1 Chronicles 15:27): “And the Levites who were singers, all of them, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with cymbals of brass, and with psalteries, and with harps, stood eastward before the altar.”

"And the gates of the chambers." The entrance was at the head of the path. He saw the entrance at the head of the path, and which path is this? It is the path situated in front of the garden's enclosure, and it is the eastward path, upon their entry; that is to say, when a person entered from the east. The definition of “the enclosure of the garden.” It means a structure made of stones, fashioned like a stone wall, and it was fitting and beautiful. “Fitting” is derived from the words of our Sages of blessed memory, who speak of “a fitting matter,” and Jonathan the Aramaic translator rendered it as “the platform for the Levites.” The Levites’ platform was located in the east, for when the Levites ascended from the Court of Israel to the Court of the Priests, they used it. In the Mishnah Middot, we learned: “It was originally flat, and they surrounded it with a gallery, so that the women would look from above and the men from below, in order that they not be mixed together. Fifteen steps ascended from it to the Court of Israel, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of Ascents in Psalms, upon which the Levites stood while singing. They were not surrounded,” meaning they were not circular all around, but rather like half a threshing floor, curved. Chambers were situated beneath the Court of Israel, opening into the Court of Women, where the Levites placed their lyres, harps, cymbals, and all musical instruments. This is also stated in the Mishnah there. These steps were not the platform upon which the Levites recited the song during the time of the sacrifice, for that platform was located between the Court of Israel and the Court of the Priests. These steps, however, were between the Court of Women and the Court of Israel, and upon them the Levites sang during the rejoicing of the Water-Drawing Festival, as we learned in Tractate Sukkah, chapter “The Flute.” The platform upon which they sang constantly during the time of the sacrifice, near the altar, was as we learned in the Mishnah of Middot: “The Court of Israel was 135 cubits long and 11 cubits wide. Likewise, the Court of the Priests was 135 cubits long and 11 cubits wide. The tops of the trellises (lattice railings) separated the Court of Israel from the Court of the Priests. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: There was a step, one cubit high, and the platform was placed upon it, and it had three steps, each half a cubit high. Thus, the Court of the Priests was two and a half cubits higher than the Court of Israel.” This is how the Mishnah is stated there. It appears that the Prophet called this step “the enclosure of the garden.” From the verse as well, we see that the platform was located in the east, as it says in Chronicles: “And the Levites, the singers, all of them, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood toward the east of the altar.”

"And the entrances of the chambers, etc." This means that the location of the entrances of the southern chambers at the foot of the mountain was similar to the location of the entrances of the southern chambers at the top of the mountain. For there were also chambers at the southern extremity at the top of the mountain, as it is stated, "And between the chambers, etc., all around" (above, chapter 41). And the entrances of the northern chambers faced north, and the entrances of the southern chambers faced south, just as they were above, so were they below. “Opening at the head of the way.” This means that there was an additional opening for the lower chambers, which stood at the head of the way. He then goes on to explain “the way” as being before the partition of the garden. This means the way that was in front of the platform to its east. He added to clarify and say, “The way they came from the east.” This means that when they would come to the platform from the eastern side, the openings stood at the head of that way, on this side and on that side. For the platform stood at the beginning of the Court of the Priests, and all of the Court of Israel was considered a way to the platform. Therefore, the beginning of the court is the head of the way, and there the openings stood on this side and on that side, open from the chambers into the court. For the five eastern cubits of the inner courtyard were opposite the chambers, and there were the openings. See the commentary on the structure of the House and its diagram.

The definition of the "garden." The Targum [Yonatan] renders it as "a platform for the Levites." The phrase "the garden's fence" means a proper and suitable fence; the term "proper" is well-known in the teachings of our Sages of blessed memory. Alternatively, it may be derived from the word "song," meaning a place where the Levites stand and sing hymns.

“And the entrances of the chambers” – this means that everything that was on the northern side of the outer courtyard (for everything he had seen up to this point was on the northern side) was also present on the southern side. This applied both to the chambers mentioned up to this point and to their entrances. For on the southern side as well, there was an entrance at the head of the path. One who exited from the Temple Court to the outside toward the south would exit from the Temple Court to the wall, and there was an entrance at the head of the path. This was the entrance of one cubit, through which one entered to the Chamber of Fifty, as stated above (verse 7). Through it, one would walk from north to south. Similarly, there was a path in front of the garden wall. On the western side, at the end of the wall, there was an entrance through which one would enter the wall, for the one walking on the path in front of the chamber from east to west, as stated above in the previous verse. And this is what it says: “the path of the east at their coming” – this was for one who came from east to west and wished to walk on the ten-cubit path in front of the wall to the ten-cubit path in front of the Chamber of Twenty on the western side, as stated above.

"And He said to me, 'That which the priests who are near to the Lord shall eat there, the most holy things.'" This serves to exclude one who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh. The most holy things were eaten within the Court of Israel, from that point inward; this area is called simply "the Court," and it is a holy place for the consumption of the most holy things if they so desire. However, in the Court of the Priests, which is inward from the Court of Israel, were the chambers of the priests, and there they ate their sacred offerings. Regarding the statement "and the sin-offering and the guilt-offering," which follows the mention of "the most holy things": the sin-offering and the guilt-offering are indeed most holy things that are eaten, because even the communal peace-offering had the legal status of a sin-offering and a guilt-offering, and they too are called most holy things. Concerning these, it states "there they shall place them," meaning they shall place them there to eat them there. And only afterward does it say "and the sin-offering and the guilt-offering."

And He said to me. The angel who spoke with me: The northern chambers, etc. That they stood above the mountain and below it. “Before the Gizrah.” Also, the chambers that were below were called “before the Gizrah,” because they extended eleven cubits from the wall toward the west, on the side of the Temple. "Behold, the chambers of the Sanctuary." They are sanctified with the sanctity of the Temple Court. "Who are near to the Lord." They are the sons of Zadok, as it is stated: "And the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, etc., they shall come near to Me to serve Me" (below, 44): There they shall lay them down. This means that there they shall lay down the Most Holy Things to eat them there; and concerning the peace-offerings of the community, it states that they too are eaten in the place of the meal-offering, etc.

And He said to me: Inform him what the twenty chambers, which were sanctified with the sanctity of the Azarah (Court), are used for. He said to him: The northern chambers and the southern chambers, which face the Gizrah—these are the twenty chambers whose entrances face the Gizrah, excluding the hundred chambers and the fifty chambers, which are profane. Behold, these are the holy chambers in which the priests eat, having been sanctified for the consumption of Kodesh Kodashim (Most Holy Things). They are called "those who are close to the Lord," as will be explained below (in Siman 44), that only the priests from the sons of Zadok, who did not serve idolatry, are fit for the service. Likewise, only they alone eat the holy things, for anyone who is not fit for service is not fit to eat, except for the owner of the sacrifice (as stated by the Rambam, Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot, Chapter 10, Halacha 2). And this is what the verse says: "Only those who are close to the Lord shall eat the Kodesh Kodashim." And there they also place the Kodesh Kodashim, which are the Olah (Burnt Offering) and the Shelamim (Peace Offerings) of the community, as well as the Minchah (Meal Offering), Chatat (Sin Offering), and Asham (Guilt Offering), which are also Kodesh Kodashim.

"When the priests came, etc." – "When they came" to those chambers to eat. And they did not go out. From those that are holy: To the outer courtyard. In the sacred garments that are upon them: “And there they shall lay down their garments, etc.” And they shall come near to that which is for the people, and they shall approach to touch the garments of the people, if they so desire; but they shall not touch the people with the priestly garments, for these contain degrees of ritual purity, whereas the weekday garments are a source of ritual impurity (midras) for them.

“Be’bam” – When they entered their chambers in the Court of the Priests, it is stated that upon their exit from their service and their entry into the Court of the Priests, there they would remove the priestly garments they were wearing for their service, so that they would not exit in those garments to the outer court, which is the Court of Israel. This court is outer relative to the Court of the Priests, which is more sanctified than it, and the Court of the Priests is inner relative to it. Therefore, it is stated: “From the holy place to the outer court.” And until now, the Court of Women was called the outer court. "And they shall come near to that which belongs to the people." After they have donned other garments, they may touch those garments to the garments that belong to the people, and they are Israel, in the Court of Israel, for it is into the Court of Israel that they enter. They would not have entered the Court of the Priests except for the purpose of leaning [on the sacrifices], slaughtering, and waving, and [they would do so] wearing priestly garments. Nor were they permitted to touch the garments of the people, which are secular and constitute a source of ritual impurity for them. Thus Jonathan [ben Uzziel] rendered it in the Targum: "And they shall mingle with the people."

"When the priests come": When the priests come to eat the sacred foods in the chambers, they are clothed in priestly garments. "And they shall not go out." From the sacred area, while wearing the priestly garments, to the outer courtyard, which is the Court of Israel, as it is outer relative to the Court of the Priests. "And there." However, in the chambers they would place the priestly garments in which they had performed the service, as it is stated: "They shall remove their garments, etc., and place them in the holy chambers" (below, chapter 44). “For it is holy.” And it is not fitting to touch them with weekday garments, and when they come with them into the Court of the Men, lest they touch them with weekday garments with which the people are clothed. Other garments. Meaning: weekday garments. "And they shall draw near." And then they are permitted to touch them, [so that] they may come into contact with the garments of the people, and they are permitted to enter the Court of the Men.

"And they shall not go out." The vav is extra. And there. The vav is in place of but: They shall serve. The matter of service:

Regarding their entry, and likewise these chambers will serve for the matter of the priests’ entering and exiting, and he explains that this was done so that they would not exit immediately from the Holy Place, which is the inner courtyard, to the outer courtyard. Therefore, they made the chambers an intermediate space between them, where they would lay down their garments, don secular garments, and approach the areas designated for the public, namely, outside the sanctified area. And it is understood that upon their entry, they would don there the garments they had laid down there upon their exit.

"And they measured around, around." For the entire circumference of the Temple Mount from the outside.

"And he completed the measurements of the inner house." These are the courtyards and the chambers, for all of them are for the service of the inner house, which is the Temple. "And He brought me out." Outside the wall of the Temple Mount. “Whose face was toward the east.” This is the eastern gate of the Temple Mount, which Ezekiel mentioned at the beginning of his prophecy. "And he measured it around, around." He measured the house in which the gate was, around to the four directions:

And it was completed. The angel who spoke with me finished measuring the dimensions of the inner sanctuary, namely the courtyards and the chambers, for all of them were part of the completion of the inner sanctuary, which is the Temple. "The way of the gate" refers to the eastern gate of the Temple Mount. And they measured the circumference of the Temple Mount:

And it was completed. The matter of completion:

"And when he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by the way of the fence mentioned" (verse 7, 12)—that is, by the eastern gate—to the wall surrounding the Temple Mount, and he measured the wall all around. "All around" means that he measured it from the outside.

"He measured the eastern direction." [This means] around that entire direction. And likewise he measured the northern direction, the southern direction, and the western direction, and altogether it was five hundred cubits in length, and likewise in width. And what he says, "around, to the direction of the sea," is because in that direction he completed the corners all around it, and it had a wall around it to separate between the holy and the profane, for the Temple Mount is holier than Jerusalem, for zavim, zavot, niddot, and women who have given birth do not enter there.

“With the measuring rod.” And in it are six large cubits: "Surrounding." This means from one end to the other end.

He measured the east wind: He began to measure the east wind, from where he was standing, and he measured from the south to the north.

He measured, and afterward He measured a north wind from east to west:

He measured the southern side, for he ought to have measured the western side, yet he passed by the western side without measuring it, measuring only the southern side. From this it appears that just as in the wall of the Women’s Court the northern, southern, and eastern sides were equal in their gates and in the construction of the cells and halls, while the western side was different from them, and therefore the measurement of the western wall of the Women’s Court is not mentioned, so too on the Temple Mount the western side was different in its gates and structures. And the prophet, when he measured, measured also the other matters of that wall even though he mentioned only the length. Therefore, he passed by the western side and measured the southern side, to see whether it was equal in all its details to the north side. And when he finished measuring the southern side, then:

Savav. The angel turned toward the west side and measured, etc.

“Around the sea’s wind”: This means that he did not retrace his steps from south to west; rather, he circled through the eastern and northern winds until he came again to the west, and he measured the western wind from north to south.

They measured it toward the four winds: three thousand cubits by three thousand cubits, for the measuring rod was six cubits. This is what the paytan (in the Kedushah of the second day of Sukkot) wrote: “David will draw a line of three thousand measured cubits by three thousand cubits, and it is thirty-six according to the first measure.” For the Temple Mount was five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. When you divide the three thousand by three thousand into strips of five hundred cubits, both lengthwise and crosswise, you will find there thirty-six quarters of five hundred by five hundred. Therefore, the paytan (there, in the Kedushah) said: “Thirty-six,” just as it was multiplied. I have found this. A wall for him. To the Temple Mount: “Around.” Five hundred cubits, lengthwise and crosswise—this is the wall of the camp that surrounds the entire mountain. To distinguish the people, separating the sacred that is within from the profane that is without, I have found [here] the completion of all the measurements (in other editions this does not appear).

A wall for it. The Temple Mount had a wall all around it. Length, etc. He came to say that within this measurement is included the thickness of the wall. "To separate." The wall is to serve as a partition separating the sacred within from the profane without.

To distinguish. The matter of the pause and the section division: To profane. The word is from the term "chulin" (profane things), and it is the opposite of "kodesh" (holy).

They measured it toward the four winds, meaning that the wall surrounded all four directions, and its length was five hundred reeds, which is three thousand ells. According to this, it contained thirty-six strips of five hundred by five hundred, corresponding to the measure of the First Temple Mount. There was an area of five hundred by five hundred for Israel, and thirty-five times an area of five hundred by five hundred for the seventy nations, allocated as five hundred by five hundred for each pair of nations. And Israel, the firstborn son, received double for themselves alone, namely five hundred by five hundred.