The Chamber of Parvah, located to the west of the
Chamber of Salt, was used to process the hides of the sacrificial animals. While I did not research the exact procedure used, some of the key steps involve stretching the hides over wooden frames, soaking them in a caustic bath to remove the hair, and then scraping them clean. Since this is a very smelly process this chamber did not open directly to the Courtyard but likely had a door to the adjoining Chamber of Rinsers which did open to the Courtyard. [I am curious, though, how (or if) this chamber was ventilated. Adding windows does not seem to be an option since that would allow the smell into the Courtyard, which is exactly what they were trying to avoid by not giving this chamber a door to the Courtyard in the first place.]
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| Kohanim prepare the hides within the Chamber of Parvah |
On the roof of the Chamber of Parvah was a
mikveh used by the
Kohen Gadol for four of the five immersions required as part of the sacrificial service of
Yom Kippur. Using the same principle which allowed sacrificial meat to be eaten on the roof of the Chamber of Salt, the
mikveh on this roof was also imbued with Courtyard sanctity since the only way to access it was through the Courtyard (
as described earlier). [How the
Kohanim reached this roof will be explained in a future post on the Chamber of Rinsers.] While the roof certainly had a fence for safety around its edge (as was the case with all accessible roofs) anyone standing there would still be visible to people standing below in the Courtyard, so for the privacy of the
Kohen Gadol they would hold up a linen sheet around the
mikveh when he immersed.
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| The mikveh above the Parvah Chamber |
The
mikveh was connected to the same
system of pipes which brought water to the
mikveh above the Water Gate from the Eitam Spring. In the case of the Chamber of Parvah, though, the pipes were so cleverly hidden within the walls that, to the uninitiated, it appeared as though the water was brought to the
mikveh through some type of sorcery. In fact, Parvah — the man who built this chamber — is described in the Talmud as an
amgushi, which is classically understood to mean sorcerer. Of course, it is unimaginable that the Sages would have allowed sorcery (which is prohibited by the Torah) to be employed in the construction of a Temple chamber. Rather, what the Talmud means is that Parvah was an expert engineer whose designs were so ahead of his time that they gave the impression of being magical (
Tiferes Yisrael).
Shalom Rabbi . Do we know the height of the Parvah, Melach and Mdichin chambers? Regards Yoshe Ber
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, the height of these southern chambers is not recorded. The only thing I can say is that it must have been a relatively "average" height for a room, because we can contrast this with the northern chambers of Gazis, Eitz, and Gooleh. There we are told that all three had a common roof, and since Gazis was a very large room that presumably had a very high roof, the roof over all three of these chambers must have been higher than average.
DeleteA question.
ReplyDeleteDo we know where specifically where in the Azarah the kohanim prepared and ate kodesh hakodoshim ?
Thank you.
I saw on dafyomi.co.il that many hold that they would eat it in the Kodesh Ha Kedoshim. I would have thought that perhaps as close as possible to the Peroiches in the Kodesh only? This given the Kedusha and Madreiga of what they were in fact eating so it would be the closest place to the source. They would stand up. The Rabbi however is the one who will be your best answer. :)
DeleteThe source I am familiar with is Ezras Kohanim to Middos 5:3 where he discusses the existence of special chambers built just off of the Azarah (and opening into it) for the purpose of preparing and eating the kodshei kodashim offerings. As for the suggestion that the Kohanim ate the offerings in the Kodesh Hakodashim, I have to say that I doubt this. I would also point out that the Kohanim ate the offerings while seated, since it is not respectful to eat while standing. Even though sitting is not normally permitted within the Azarah, nor in any chamber that opens to the Azarah, since the consumption of the meat was part of the sacrificial service they were not only permitted, but required, to sit down while doing so (Tosafos to Yoma 25a ד״ה אין ישיבה).
DeleteThat makes perfect sense! I never even thought of that! Yishar Koychecha Rabbi!!!! Of course they could not eat standing up. I was just learning Hilchos Brochas Rambam with my chavrusa 2 days ago and this is what we discussed. That is how one is required as a matter of derech eretz to sit while eating. How much more so the Kohanim.
ReplyDelete