
A collection of information, sources, and ideas about the design and use of the Second Temple
Monday, August 30, 2021
Moving a Door in the Beis Hamoked

Thursday, August 26, 2021
Monday, August 23, 2021
Daf Yomi: Aravos on the Mizbeyach (Succah 45a)
Inspired by a recent passage in Daf Yomi, I took out my Lego® Mizbeyach and a handful of white-clad minifigures for an impromptu photo shoot.
Monday, August 16, 2021
So Close Yet So Far Away (Part 2 of 2)
The answer emerges from a curious ambiguity in the laws governing the sanctity of the Beis HaMikdash. The Mishnah (Keilim 1:8-9) teaches that the various parts of the Beis HaMikdash possessed increasingly higher levels of sanctity as one progressed inward toward the Kodesh HaKodashim. We learn, for example, that the Har HaBayis — the large, outer portion of the Beis HaMikdash complex that measured 500×500 amos (Middos 2:1) — was restricted to certain types of tahor people, whereas the Main Azarah — an area measuring 135×187 amos (Middos 5:1) — had an even higher level of sanctity. Although these areas are clearly defined physically in Tractate Middos and spiritually in Tractate Keilim, we are not told the dimensions or status of the thickness of the walls dividing these areas. Thus, as a person walks from the Har HaBayis into the Azarah through one of its gates, at what point is he considered to be “in” the Azarah — when he crosses the threshold of the gateway at the outer edge of the wall or when he enters the Azarah proper?
Thursday, August 12, 2021
So Close Yet So Far Away (Part 1 of 2)

Mordy was late. There had been that last-minute dithering over whether to purchase a goat or a lamb for his Korban Pesach, and then a crowd of foreign tourists created a massive backup at the Chuldah Tunnel. Only by detouring to the Kiponos Gate in the west did Mordy stand of chance of joining the third and final shift of people entering the Azarah to offer their korban.