Chanukah: The Shape of the Menorah

When the Maccabees returned to the Temple after having defeated the Syrian Greeks, they needed to replace numerous Temple vessels which had either been stolen, defiled, or broken. Of special importance in the Chanukah story was the fact that the golden Menorah of the Sanctuary was no longer present, having been stolen by Antiochus four years earlier. As a temporary measure, the Jews fashioned a Menorah made out of iron. When they became more affluent they replaced this Menorah with one of silver, and later still they were able to replace the silver Menorah with one of gold (Rosh Hashanah 24b).

The seven-branched Menorah is described in great detail in the Torah (Exodus 25:31-40). Even so, the Torah omits one very basic detail which has led to divergent opinions on the matter: whether the Menorah's branches were straight or curved.

There are a number of archeological finds which may shed light upon this question. A coin minted by Mattathias Antigonus circa 40 BCE depicts a candelabra with curved branches. As this was a Jewish coin it has been argued that this depiction surely was meant to be an accurate representation of the actual Temple vessel, lending support to the theory that the Menorah of the Sanctuary had curved branches.

Another depiction from around the same time was found in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and it shows a portion of a 7-branched candelabra with curved branches The ornamentation is excessive for what is described in the Torah, but it would not be surprising for the artist to have made such an error since the Menorah of the Sanctuary was only rarely visible to the general public. Those who assume this to be a depiction of the Sanctuary Menorah would argue that while the artist may have guessed at the finer details of the cups and flower designs, the overall shape of the branches would be easily remembered and thus would not have differed significantly from the original.

One of the most famous depictions of a 7-branched candelabra from the Temple is found upon the Arch of Titus in Rome. The triumphal arches of that time were meant to serve as historical records of the events they depicted and are therefore assumed to be very accurate. In one of the scenes on this arch a procession carries the Temple vessels out of captured Jerusalem, and featured among the treasures is a candelabra. The prominence given to this candelabra ostensibly is an indication of its importance, which leads many to speculate that this is the Menorah from the Sanctuary. As can be clearly seen in the picture, the branches are curved. (A new study was carried out to determine the color of the paint used on the original arch, and a summary of the results can be read here. See also this page for more details about this project, including some fantastic up-close photos of the arch.)

Others argue that this surely could not have been the Menorah of the Sanctuary since the base is nothing like we would expect the real Menorah to have. First, its two-tiered, octagonal design is a novelty. Second, archeologists have concluded that some of the creatures depicted on its panels are sea serpents, and Jews would not have allowed such heathen images in the Temple.

In stark contrast to the above finds is the image shown here of a drawing attributed to the hand of Rambam (Maimonides). Unlike the previous pieces of evidence which may or may not have been depicting the actual Menorah of the Temple, this drawing does just that. It is intended to be an accurate rendering of what the Menorah looked like, and while it is not drawn to scale, all of its components and dimensions are labelled. From the fact that the curvature of the base is drawn so precisely, most likely with the aid of a compass, it is apparent that the artist could just have easily drawn curved branches had he so desired. We may conclude that, in the view of Rambam, the Menorah of the Temple had straight branches. Below is a 3-D rendering of what the Rambam Menorah would have looked like.

Chanukah: Finding the Oil

One of the most widely-known miracles of the Chanukah story involves the finding of the flask of pure oil. When the Jews returned to the Temple it appeared that all of the sealed containers of pure olive oil had been contaminated by the Syrian-Greeks and there was none left with which to light the Menorah. By Divine Providence a single sealed flask of oil was found and this miraculously fueled the lamps of the Menorah for seven days while more oil was prepared.

From the description of the Temple given in Tractate Middos (the tractate dedicated to recording the measurements of the Temple) we learn that the main storage area for oil was located in the southwest chamber of the Women's Courtyard – the Chamber of the Oil. Certainly all of the containers in this chamber would have been defiled, and it is more likely that the flask was found somewhere else. Here I present two opinions given by the commentators as to where this flask may have been found.

1. In the Sanctuary
The Talmud states that "when the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all of the oil in the Sanctuary." From here we learn that oil was stored in the Sanctuary as well. There were thirty-eight cells, or small rooms, built around three sides of the Sanctuary and the special olive oil used for the Menorah may have been stored here.

The Sanctuary. Area of the
small rooms is highlighted.

Some maintain that the flask of oil of the Chanukah story was found in the Sanctuary. There was a room in the Sanctuary (possibly one of the cells) or, according to a slightly different version, a niche in the wall, which was closed off by a door and sealed with the seal of the High Priest (see Siddur of Rokeach, Chanukah; Orchos Chaim, Hil. Chanukah 1; Kol Bo 44). This area had somehow escaped the notice of the Syrian-Greeks and when it was later opened by the Jews it was found to contain a single flask of olive oil. According to this view, it was not the flask itself which was sealed with the seal of the High Priest but rather the area in which it was found.

2. Beneath the Altar

Southwest corner of the Altar

At the southwest corner of the Altar's top were two receptacles where the wine and water libations were poured. The libations flowed down through the Altar into a deep subterranean cavity called the Shissin. Once every seventy years the Kohanim would enter the Shissin through an access hole in the Courtyard floor in order to empty it of the congealed wine. One opinion maintains that the sealed flask of oil was found within the Shissin, apparently hidden there by a quick-thinking Kohen before the Temple was taken (Otzar Hamidrashim, Chanukah, p.193). As for why the Jews were exploring the Shissin at this time, the Altar was in the process of being rebuilt and it is therefore likely that they stumbled upon this flask of oil as they were removing the old stones from the lowest level of the Altar.

Chanukah: Rebuilding the Altar

Rebuilding the Altar of the Temple

One of the more shocking discoveries made by the Maccabees after expelling the Syrian-Greeks from the Temple was that the Outer Altar had been used for idol worship. Although the stones of the Altar were attached to the ground and legally impervious to the defilement of idol worship, the Jews felt that it was unconscionable to resume the holy sacrificial service on such stones. One of the lesser-known facts of the Chanukah story is that amidst the cleaning up of the Temple, searching for pure oil, and assembling a new Menorah, the Jews also dismantled the entire Altar and rebuilt it using new stones. See this earlier class for a more detailed description of the Outer Altar.

The stones of the original Altar were stored within the Hall of the Fire, a large structure built into the northern wall of the Courtyard. The main purpose of the Hall was to serve as sleeping quarters for the watch of Kohanim currently on duty and it also provided them a place to warm themselves during the day, a necessary amenity since they had to walk around barefoot on cold marble floors as they performed the sacrificial service. The large warming fire located here gave it its name.

Chamber of Receipts. Three of the original
Altar stones are displayed above the fireplace.

In each of the four corners of Hall of the Fire were smaller chambers. The northeast contained the Chamber of Receipts where the Kohanim would issue receipts to individuals purchasing wine, oil, and flour from the Temple treasury. It was in this chamber that the stones of the Altar were stored. Now, it was impossible to fit a volume of stones the size of the Altar into this very small chamber. It is therefore likely that this chamber had a massive basement within the tunnels beneath the floor of the Courtyard where the large majority of the stones were stored, while some of the stones were left on display in the chamber upstairs to serve as a reminder of the miraculous events of the Chanukah story.

Chanukah: The Cheil and the Soreg

Introduction

At the heart of the Chanukah story is the Holy Temple. It was here that the persecution of the Jews began under the rule of Antiochus who ordered that the Temple be desecrated and converted into a place of pagan worship. Mattisyahu, son of Yochanan the High Priest, fled to the countryside where he became the father of the Jewish resistance. His sons and followers, the Maccabees, fought bravely against all odds and were aided by Divine Providence to eventually return to Jerusalem and bring the Temple back to Jewish hands. It is their miraculous victories and efforts to restore the sacrificial service to its earlier glory which we commemorate on the holiday of Chanukah.

In these upcoming posts I would like to explore the connection between the physical structure of the Second Temple and some of the core elements of the Chanukah story.

The Cheil and the Soreg

The Cheil and Soreg outside of the Women's Courtyard

Standing at a distance of 10 cubits outside the walls of the Courtyard on all four sides was a low wall, half a cubit high. This wall, as well as the area between it and the Courtyard walls, was referred to as the Cheil. A wooden latticework fence, 10 handbreadths high, was built atop this wall and was called the Soreg.

The purpose of both the wall and the fence was to mark the point beyond which no one contaminated with corpse-tumah, nor any non-Jew, could pass. Archaeologists have discovered one of the marker stones from the Cheil and the inscription (written in Greek) reads, "Any foreigner who passes beyond the wall and fence surrounding the Temple has only himself to blame for the fact that his death will follow."

Marker stone from the Cheil

When the Syrian-Greek kings occupied the Temple during the years leading up to the events of the Chanukah story they made thirteen breaches in the Soreg fence to demonstrate their disdain at having been barred from entering. After the Maccabees regained control of the Temple they repaired these breaches and the Sages instituted that anyone who passes by one of the repaired breaches must bow down to give thanks to God for destroying the foreign regime and abolishing their evil decrees.

Al Hanissim ("For the Miracles") is a prayer of thanksgiving recited during the holiday which gives a brief synopsis of all of the historical events of the Chanukah story. One of the lines reads, "They breached the walls of my Tower," a reference to the enemies of the Jews breaching the Soreg fence which surrounded the Temple (i.e., "Tower"). While the heathen marauders were bent upon breaking down the dividing lines between all nations of the world, our Sages underscored the importance of preserving our Jewish identity by specifically choosing to include the breaching of the Soreg in our liturgy.

The Chassidic masters are quoted as saying that this incident served as the precedent for eating latkehs on Chanukah. To commemorate the repairs made to the breached Soreg the Jewish people contrived a dish – the potato pancake – which resembled a patch (as in a patch on a garment). This Chanukah staple was originally called a latteh, which is the Yiddish word for patch, and over time this became latkeh.

Tour of the Temple: Class 15

The Tauim and Upper Level of the Sanctuary

Exterior of the Sanctuary Building
as viewed from the southwest

Outside the walls of the Sanctuary were three levels of small storage chambers called tau'im (sing., tau) which held the treasures of the Temple. In the north and south each level was divided into five rooms while in the west there were three rooms on each of the first two levels and two rooms on the top level, for a total of 38 tau'im.

While most of the 38 tau'im had just three openings, the northeastern tau on the middle level had five: one opening east to the Antechamber, one opening west to the adjoining tau, one to the Holy in the south, one to the winding ramp in the north (see below), and one to the tau above. This tau was entered each morning in order to open the Sanctuary doors. First, the Levi unlocked the small eastern door by kneeling down and putting his arm through a hole in the wall near the door and inserting the key into the lock from the inside. Once this door was unlocked, he entered the tau and then unlocked the southern door to the Holy whose lock was directly before him. Now in the Holy, he would remove the bolts and open the keyed locks of the Sanctuary’s inner set of doors and swing them open and then repeat the procedure for the outer doors. Outside this tau’s northern door was a 6-cubit ladder leading down to the foot of the winding ramp at the floor of the Courtyard.


North of the 5-cubit (7½-foot) thick wall around the tau'im was a gap, 3 cubits (4½ feet) wide, which housed the winding ramp. A ramp began here at the floor of the Courtyard in front of the bottom, northeast tau and rose due west to the roof of the top, northwest tau. To the north of the ramp was another 5-cubit wall, equal in height to the top of the tau'im, which acted as a protective fence for those walking on the ramp.


Upon reaching the top of the winding ramp one would find himself on the roof of the top, northwest tau. Like all accessible roofs, those of the tau'im had a fence around their perimeter for safety. From here one would walk south along the roofs of the western tau'im to the southwest corner of the Sanctuary Building. In the south, corresponding to the winding ramp in the north, was a 3-cubit space called the Place of Drainage Water. Rainwater which drained off the roofs of the Sanctuary and tau'im was directed to a pool of water here. To the south of the Place of Drainage Water was a 5-cubit wall like that of the winding ramp, added both for symmetry and support.



Starting at the southwest corner of the Sanctuary Building was a ramp which rose due east from the roof of the top, southwest tau up to the door of the  second story of the Sanctuary. All the dimensions of the second story — height, width, and length — matched those of the first level. The interior was similarly decorated with gold plating and carvings. Opinions vary as to what may have been stored there, from vessels of the Tabernacle to sacred writings. 

Above the Holy of Holies were openings in the floor of the second story spaced an arm’s reach apart. When repair work had to be done in the Holy of Holies, workers would be lowered down through these openings in three-sided boxes so that they would not be able to see any more of the Holy of Holies than absolutely necessary for their work.

Immediately inside the door to the second story were two very thick vertical beams, 40 cubits (60 feet) tall, which were connected by rungs to form a sturdy ladder up to the roof of the Sanctuary Building. This roof was covered with iron tiles, 1 cubit (1½ feet) square, and protruding from these tiles were sharp iron spikes, 1 cubit tall, designed to keep birds from landing on the Sanctuary Building and soiling it.

Tour of the Temple: Class 14

The Holy of Holies

Beyond the Holy was 1 cubit (1½ feet) of space called the Traksin which divided the Holy from the Holy of Holies. This word is derived from the Greek, connoting a place which is both inside and outside, since it divided between the inside—the Holy of Holies—and the outer Holy. In the First Temple there was a wall built in this space with a doorway opening to the Holy of Holies. However, in the Second Temple the ceiling of the Sanctuary was 40 cubits (60 feet) high, 10 cubits (15 feet) higher than in the First Temple, and it was not possible at that time to construct a structurally sound wall which was 40 cubits tall and only 1 cubit thick. They could not make the wall any thicker since that would take away space from either the Holy or the Holy of Holies, the dimensions of which were not subject to modification. Therefore, they hung two curtains across the Holy in place of the original wall to act as the divider. One curtain would have sufficed but for their uncertainty as to whether that wall was considered part of the Holy or the Holy of Holies, thus they hung two curtains on either side of the Traksin and left that 1 cubit as undefined.

Each curtain was 20 cubits wide, 40 cubits tall, and 1 handbreadth thick. They were woven of wool dyed with many colors at an incredible cost of 820,000 golden dinars (according to one opinion). It was described as “the most praiseworthy item in the world.” Spanning the top was a band of gold, 2 handbreadths tall and 2 fingerbreadths thick, which kept it taut so that the entire width of the Holy was covered (the curtain of the Antechamber also had such a feature).

The outer curtain was folded back at the southern end and held by a golden band and the inner curtain was similarly folded back at the northern end. This allowed the Kohen Gadol to walk between them without having to open them manually as he entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur while at the same time they completely blocked off the interior of the Holy of Holies from the view of anyone standing in the Holy.

The innermost chamber of the Sanctuary was the Holy of Holies. It measured 20 cubits (30 feet) square and, like the Holy, was plated with gold and set with precious stones. Protruding 3 fingerbreadths (2¼ inches) above the floor was the Foundation Stone and on this stone they placed the Ark during the First Temple era. In the Second Temple the Holy of Holies was empty since the Ark had been concealed in a labyrinth of underground tunnels before the First Temple was destroyed. The Holy of Holies also had windows which, according to Josephus, were angled so that no one could see in from the outside.

Tour of the Temple: Class 13

The Sanctuary

Looking west within the Holy.
Inner Altar is in the center.

Separating the Sanctuary from the Antechamber was a 6-cubit (9-foot) thick wall and centered in this wall was the single doorway to the Sanctuary. It had two doorposts and a mantel and measured 10 cubits wide and 20 cubits tall (15 feet by 30 feet). Two sets of double doors were hung in this doorway, one set at the eastern edge of the doorway closer to the Antechamber, and one set at the western edge closer to the Sanctuary. Just in front of the outer doors hung a curtain which was raised and lowered very much like a stage curtain by means of ropes. Normally the curtain was left open so as not to hinder the Kohanim as they came and went from the Sanctuary during the sacrificial service. However, when the Kohen Gadol wished to enter the Sanctuary alone, his assistant would stand outside the doorway and lower the curtain to give him privacy. Upon hearing the bells of the Kohen Gadol’s tunic as he retreated towards the entrance the assistant would raise the curtain once again.

Inside the Sanctuary was the Holy, 20 cubits wide, 40 cubits long, and 40 cubits high (30 feet by 60 feet by 60 feet). As in the Antechamber, the interior was plated with gold and magnificently decorated. Covering the floor were wooden panels plated with gold. The only part not covered with gold was the area hidden behind the inner Sanctuary doors when they were open. Since this area was not visible while the doors were open, plating it with gold would have served no purpose and the Torah does not needlessly waste the money of the Jews.

View of the Golden Table from Yoav Elan on Vimeo.

The Holy housed the Menorah [candelabra], the Table [which held the loaves of Showbread], and the Inner Altar [for the offering of incense], with the Menorah in the south, the Table in the north, and the Inner Altar centered between them and slightly off towards the east.

Each of these vessels was an exact replica of those built by Moses for the Tabernacle. Unlike the Laver which may actually have been Moses’ original, the Menorah and Table were only duplicates since the originals were hidden before the destruction of the First Temple. All three of these vessels were placed in the middle third of the Sanctuary’s length with the Menorah in the south, the Table in the north, and the Inner Altar centered between them and slightly off towards the east. King Solomon fashioned ten copies of both the Menorah and the Table which were arranged in rows of five on either side of the originals, and the same practice was followed in the Second Temple.

There were twelve windows in the Sanctuary corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. It was common at the time to construct windows with narrow outer openings and wide inner openings, both for security purposes and to allow more light to enter the room. The windows of the Sanctuary were designed with the narrow openings on the inside and the wide openings on the outside to symbolize that the Temple, far from needing light, was the source of light for the world.

Tour of the Temple: Class 12

The Antechamber

Looking west towards the face of the Antechamber.
Altar is in the foreground

To the west of the Altar stood the massive entrance hall of the Sanctuary Building called the Antechamber. It measured 100 cubits (150 feet) wide and towered 100 cubits above the floor of the Courtyard. Leading up to the large central doorway was a set of twelve steps which ran the entire width of the building. Like all the steps in the Temple these steps were half a cubit (9 inches) high while the lengths of the steps varied. The first two steps were 1 cubit (1½ feet) long and the third step was 3 cubits (4½ feet) long. This pattern repeated itself four times, save for the very top step which was 4 cubits (6 feet) long. Being that there were 22 cubits (33 feet) between the Antechamber and the Altar and these steps took up 21 of those cubits, only 1 cubit (1½ feet) of walking space was left between the first step and the Yesod of the Altar.

On these steps towards the south stood the Laver where the Kohanim sanctified their hands and feet for the sacrificial service. The Laver was a sanctified vessel and the law dictates that anything suitable for a sanctified vessel which was left inside that vessel overnight becomes unfit for use in the Temple. This would have required the Kohanim to empty the water in the Laver each night and refill it the next day which is both degrading to the sanctified water of the Laver and a time-consuming task. To avoid this, they took advantage of the fact that if the water in the Laver were to be connected to the water table its sanctity would be nullified and thus would not become unfit for use if left out overnight. To this end they dug a pit in the floor of the Courtyard and directed a stream of water through it. The Laver was lowered into this pit where it remained submerged in, hence connected to, the stream overnight and the water inside was thus prevented from becoming unfit and could be used the next day.

The Laver and Muchni

A rope and pulley system called the Muchni was used to raise and lower the Laver. It was a permanent structure, made of wood, and had a ratchet or gear purposely designed to generate a lot of noise as it operated. The Laver could be raised by just one person, quite a feat of engineering considering that the Laver, when full of water, weighed over 2½ tons!


At the top of the steps leading up to the Antechamber was its large gateway. This gateway was the largest in the Temple, measuring 20 cubits wide and 40 cubits high (30 feet by 60 feet). Queen Heleni [the queen of Adiabene, a province in the Middle East, who converted to Judaism in the Second Temple era] donated a golden candelabra which was mounted on the roof of the Antechamber and centered in the eastern wall. Each morning the rays of the rising sun would strike this candelabra, causing it to shine and sparkle, which was the signal for the people of Jerusalem that the time of reciting the morning Shema had arrived. [The Shema prayer must be recited once each morning — at a certain time — and again in the evening.]

Interior of the Antechamber, looking north

Inside the entrance to the Antechamber was its main hall, 11 cubits (16½ feet) long and 60 cubits (90 feet) wide. Every inch of the walls and floor was plated with brilliant gold and decorated with carvings of flowers, palm trees, and cherubs, all connected by a network of chain designs and set with precious stones.

In the north and south of the Antechamber were two chambers called Chambers of the Knives where they kept the knives used for slaughtering sacrifices. Each of the twenty-four watches of Kohanim had private cabinets for their knives (twelve in the north chamber and the other twelve in the south) and these were set into the walls of the chambers. The southern chamber was also used as permanent storage of knives which became unfit for use. They would not be fixed since one operating principle of the Temple was, “there are no displays of poverty in a place of affluence.”

Above the doorway of the Sanctuary, inside the Antechamber, was a large grapevine of solid gold weighing over 25 tons. Donations of gold and other precious materials such as carbuncles, sapphires, and diamonds, were presented in the shape of leaves, individual grapes, or whole clusters (some of which were as tall as a man). These additions were hung upon the vine until they were needed for repairs to the structure or to support poor Kohanim. The vine itself was suspended from strong cedar poles, similar to a real grapevine.

Tour of the Temple: Class 11

The Butchering Area

The Butchering Area north of the Altar

At a distance of 8 cubits (12 feet) from the northern edge of the Altar were twenty-four iron rings set into the floor of the Courtyard where animals would be held during slaughter. The rings took up an area of 24 cubits (36 feet) square, arranged in six rows north to south of four rings each (the four rings ran east-to-west). Each ring was a half-circle, hinged on one side so that the other side could be lifted for the animal’s head to be inserted and then locked down. The rings were oriented so that the animal would be facing south when put into the ring. Each watch of Kohanim was assigned their own ring which they would use during their shift. The exception to the above was the Tamid offering [the continual offering brought twice daily] which was always slaughtered in a specific ring in the morning and a specific ring in the afternoon, regardless of which watch was on duty.

The eight short stone columns north of the rings were much shorter than a man’s height and topped by a heavy piece of square cedar. This block of wood was not fastened to the columns but remained in place under its own weight. Along each of the three sides of the cedar block, save for the west, were affixed a row of iron hooks from which the animals were hung for skinning. These hooks protruded one handbreadth (3 inches) from the blocks of wood. There were similar hooks in the walls of the Courtyard which were used for skinning the Pesach sacrifice. It is not clear how many of these additional hooks there were, but presumably there were enough to cater to the multitudinous crowds that filled the Courtyard before Pesach.

There were eight stone tables near the columns used to support large animals during the skinning, to rest knives upon, and to wash the innards upon. More analogous to small footstools, the tables measured just 1 cubit tall and 1 cubit square (1½ feet per side).

Tour of the Temple:Class 10

The Altar

The Outer Altar of the Temple

The Outer Altar served as the focal point of the sacrificial service. [The smaller, Inner Altar — located within the Sanctuary Building — was used for offering incense.] After an animal offering was slaughtered, its blood was applied to the walls of the Altar and certain parts of the animal were then burned on the fires located on the Altar's top.

The Altar was a three-tiered structure made of stones held together with cement and coated with plaster. The first tier was called the Yesod, or base, and measured 32 cubits (48 feet) square and 1 cubit (1½ feet) high. It only protruded from the body of the Altar on the west and north. Above the Yesod was the Sovev, or ledge [since it formed a ledge upon which the Kohanim would walk], measuring 30 cubits (45 feet) square and 5 cubits (7½ feet) high. Above the Sovev was the top level, called the Altar, measuring 28 cubits (42 feet) square and 3 cubits (4½ feet) high. On the four corners of the Altar were extensions called Keranos (sing., Keren), meaning horns [since they protruded upward like the horn from the head of an animal] which were hollow and open on top, 1 cubit square and 1 cubit high (1½ feet per side).

On the top of the Altar, starting near the outer edge, the first 2 cubits (3 feet) were depressed into the top, leaving a small lip around the edge of the Altar to prevent the Kohanim from falling off (there was a similar feature around the edge of the Sovev). The Kohanim would walk within this channel as they performed their various tasks on the top of the Altar.

Three different fires were kept burning on the Altar every day. The largest one was located on the eastern side and everything brought to the top of the Altar to be burned was placed on this fire. Each morning this fire would be rebuilt by laying down two logs, parallel to each other, and then stacking two more logs on top, perpendicular to the first two, to form a square. A few more layers were added to make it very large.

The second fire provided the coals used in offering the incense. The size of the incense fire was large enough to produce 5 se’ah (1.5 cubic feet) of coals per day and 8 se’ah (2.3 cubic feet) of coals on the Sabbath.

The third fire was a maintenance fire, the pilot light of the Altar whose purpose was to fulfill the requirement of maintaining a “constant flame” (Leviticus 6:6) on the Altar. If the main fire would go out they would relight it from this small fire.

Near the southwest Keren on the top of the Altar were two silver bowls. These bowls were receptacles for the libations which were offered on the Altar: water libations were poured into the western bowl and wine libations into the eastern one. Water libations, offered only on Succos, were brought together with the wine libations and both were poured into their respective bowls simultaneously. In order for them to empty at the same rate, the drain in the wine bowl was made slightly wider than the drain in the water bowl to account for the difference in viscosity. The drains of both bowls led down through the Altar to a deep subterranean hollow under the southwest Keren of the Altar.

On the southwest corner of the Yesod were two round depressions with small holes at the bottom which served as drains. Both drains were located towards the southern edge of that corner with the eastern drain being further south than the western drain. Blood poured on the western Yesod flowed along the top of the Yesod via a channel which directed it to the western drain. Blood poured on the southern Yesod (i.e. directly on the southwest corner) flowed into the eastern drain. This eastern drain also had a channel leading to it since the drains themselves were very small and it would be impossible to pour the blood directly into such a small hole.

In the Courtyard was a channel of flowing water called the Amah [“cubit”] — 1 cubit wide and 1 cubit deep, hence the name. This channel started near the southwest corner of the Altar and ran due south to the Water Gate. When the Kohanim wished to clean the floor of the Courtyard they would block the pipe of the Amah at the Water Gate, causing the water to back up and flood the Courtyard. The pipe was then reopened and all the refuse would be carried away with the water. Directly under the southwest corner of the Yesod was a small hollow, called the Shis, which was connected underground to the nearby Amah. All the blood poured on the Altar would run down the two drainage holes into the Shis and from there into the Amah. This blood-enriched water would be carried out to the Kidron Valley where it was sold to farmers as fertilizer with the proceeds going to the Temple.

The Torah requires that the Kohanim ascend the Altar via a ramp, as opposed to steps. The main access ramp of the Altar was centered on its southern side and measured 32 cubits (48 feet) long, 16 cubits (24 feet) wide, and 9 cubits (13½ feet) tall. The main ramp was flanked by two smaller ramps. On the eastern side was a ramp to the Sovev and on the western side a ramp to the Yesod.

Tour of the Temple: Class 9

Chambers of the Courtyard

Chamber of Hewn Stone

The Courtyard contained a large number of chambers which served a multitude of different purposes. Along the eastern wall on either side of the Nikanor Gate were two chambers. To the north was the Chamber of Pinchas the Clothier where the Priestly Vestments were stored and distributed. The chamber was named after the very first Temple clothier called Pinchas.

To the south of the Nikanor Gate was the Chamber of the Makers of the Chavitin. In this chamber the Kohanim would prepare the chavitin [named for the machavas, the type of pan in which it is fried], a meal-offering offered daily – and paid for – by the Kohen Gadol. Twelve loaves of chavitin were prepared each day, half of which were offered in the morning and half in the afternoon.

On the southern side of the Courtyard there were two elevated chambers located directly above the Water Gate. The first of these, the Chamber of Avtinas, was where the Avtinas family would carry out the compounding of the incense offered daily in the Temple. Adjacent to the Chamber of Avtinas on the east was a mikveh [ritual bath] where the Kohen Gadol would immerse on the morning of Yom Kippur as he began the sacrificial service.

In the southeast corner of the Courtyard were three chambers. The Chamber of Salt contained salt used to apply to the sacrifices. [All sacrifices were salted before being placed upon the Altar.] The Chamber of Parvah, located to the west of the Chamber of Salt, was where they would tan the hides of the sacrifices. On its roof was a mikveh used by the Kohen Gadol for the other immersions required as part of the sacrificial service of Yom Kippur. The Chamber of the Washers was to the west of the Chamber of Parvah and was used to wash out the stomachs of sacrificial animals.

In the northeast corner were also three chambers. The Chamber of Hewn Stone, so called for the special square stones used in its construction, was the largest of the three northern chambers and served as the seat of the 71-member Sanhedrin court. Adjacent to the Chamber of Hewn Stone was the Chamber of Wood used by the Kohen Gadol to store his priestly vestments and also served as his residence for the week before Yom Kippur. The Chamber of the Basin contained a well which provided water for the Courtyard. This chamber was named for the large basin attached to the wall where the water brought up from the well would be stored.

Tucked into the northeast corner of the Courtyard was a chamber used in the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer. To ensure that this ritual was carried out in the utmost sanctity, all of the utensils in this chamber were made of stone, which is impervious to tumah, and it is for this reason that the room was called the Chamber of Stone.

On either side of the Spark Gate two walls protruded into the Courtyard forming an area called the Chamber of the Spark which housed a fire that was kept burning constantly. On top of these walls was a balcony which was open to the sky and was not accessible directly from the Courtyard. A door in the back wall of the balcony opened to a flight of steps which led down to the Cheil.

Built around the first of the large Courtyard gates on the north side was a chamber with a domed ceiling called the Hall of the Fire. Its main purpose was to serve as sleeping quarters for the watch of Kohanim currently on duty and it also provided them a place to warm themselves during the day, a necessary amenity since they had to walk around barefoot on cold marble floors as they performed the sacrificial service. [The Kohanim in the Temple could not wear any article of clothing in addition to their priestly vestments, which consisted of a robe, pants, belt, and a hat.] The large warming fire in the main hall of this chamber gave it its name.

Chamber of Receipts

In the four corners of Hall of the Fire were small chambers which opened into the main hall. Each served a different purpose. In the southwest was the Chamber of the Sheep. Here they always maintained a supply of six sheep, free of blemishes, which would be used for the two daily Tamid sacrifices. In the southeast was the Chamber of the Show bread. All the preparations of the Show bread — the kneading, setting into the forms, and the baking — were done in this chamber every Friday. In the northeast was the Chamber of Receipts where the Kohanim would issue receipts to individuals purchasing wine, oil, and flour from the Temple supply. In the northwest was the Chamber of Hall of the Fire which housed the entrance to the private bathhouse of the Kohanim.

Tour of the Temple: Class 8

The Courtyard

The Courtyard of the Temple is called Azarah, from the Hebrew word ezrah, meaning aid, a reference to the fact that all Divine assistance comes to the Jews via the Temple. Within its walls the Courtyard measured 135 cubits (202½ feet) from north to south and 187 cubits (280½ feet) from east to west, and this space was divided into different sections. Beginning in the east, the first 11 cubits (16½ feet) of the Courtyard's length (from east to west) were known as the Israelites' Courtyard where the public would stand while their sacrifices were being slaughtered and brought to the Altar. Entry into this area was restricted to individuals who were completely tahor.

Adjoining the Israelites' Courtyard was the Kohanim's Courtyard, also 11 cubits long, which was used primarily by the Kohanim as they shuttled back and forth between the public in the east and the Altar to the west. Israelites were not permitted to enter here except to perform certain actions related to their offering, such as resting their hands upon the head of the animal [prior to the slaughter], slaughtering the animal [the slaughter was not an official part of the sacrificial service and thus could even be performed by non-Kohanim], or waving the meat [a procedure required of certain offerings].

The Kohanim's Courtyard was elevated 2½ cubits (3¾ feet) above the Israelites' Courtyard and these two areas were separated by four steps running the entire width of the Courtyard. The first of these was a large step, 1 cubit (1½ feet) high and 1 cubit deep, and marked the point beyond which all non-Kohanim should not enter (the step itself was located within the Kohanim's Courtyard). To further mark this boundary there were blocks of wood as wide as the length of a man's hand (from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger) protruding from the northern and southern walls of the Israelite's Courtyard along their full height. These blocks of wood were needed in addition to the large step since many people may not have realized that the purpose of the step was to mark the boundary, or they may not have known whether the step was part of the Israelites' Courtyard or Kohanim's Courtyard.

Above the large, 1-cubit step was a flight of three standard steps — each half a cubit (9 inches) high and half a cubit deep — which together formed a platform called the Duchan. The Duchan was used on a daily basis by the Levi'im who would stand upon it as they provided musical accompaniment for the sacrificial service. In addition, when the Kohanim would deliver the Priestly Blessing (which they did each day in the Temple), those Kohanim who could not find a place to stand upon the steps of the Antechamber would stand upon the Duchan.

To the west of the Kohanim's Courtyard was a section 32 cubits (48 feet) long which was occupied by the Outer Altar and all of the associated structures needed to slaughter and skin the offerings and prepare the different cuts of meat for burning upon the Altar. Beyond that was a section consisting of the 22 cubits (33 feet) between the western face of the Altar and the eastern face of the Antechamber and was aptly termed the Area Between the Altar and the Antechamber. This area contained the steps leading up to the Antechamber as well as the Laver from which the Kohanim would wash their hands and feet prior to beginning the sacrificial service. The largest section of the Courtyard was occupied by the Sanctuary Building (which includes the Antechamber) and measured 100 cubits (150 feet) from east to west. The last section of the Courtyard consisted of the 11 cubits (16½ feet) between the western wall of the Sanctuary Building and the western wall of the Courtyard.

Although the Courtyard was open to the sky there was a roofed area along the inside of the walls around all four sides which jutted out of the walls halfway up their height. The walls were 40 cubits (60 feet) high, which would put the roof at a height of 20 cubits (30 feet), or just even with the tops of the gateways. The roof was not continuous but was built in sections which ran between the gates of the Courtyard, and each section was supported by a single row of marble columns similar in design to those of the Temple Mount. The area beneath the roof was used for overnight storage of some Temple vessels and hanging from, or displayed upon, the roof itself were spoils of war.

Tour of the Temple: Class 7

Gates of the Courtyard

The Nikanor Gate, as viewed from the Women's Courtyard

The Main Courtyard was surrounded by walls 40 cubits (60 feet) tall and seven large gateways opened into the Courtyard from the outside. All of these gateways had the same dimensions as the Temple Mount gates – 10 cubits wide and 20 cubits tall (15 feet by 30 feet), and they all had double doors. When the Jews returned from exile to build the Second Temple they were poor and could not afford to spend lavishly on the structure. At some later point when their financial situation had improved they were able to plate all of the doors of the Temple gates with gold.

In the center of the eastern wall of the Courtyard stood the Nikanor Gate. This gate, which served as the main public entrance into the Courtyard, was named for the pious and wealthy individual who donated its two doors. Nikanor had these doors crafted of Corinthian bronze by the artisans of Alexandria in Egypt and then personally accompanied them on their journey by ship to the Israeli port of Acco. Along the way the seas turned stormy and threatened to sink the ship and its precious cargo. The captain, fearing for the lives of those on board, ordered one of the immense bronze doors to be cast into the sea to lighten the ship’s load. The sailors did so, but to no avail, and the captain then ordered the second door to follow the first one into the depths. At this point Nikanor threw himself on top of the remaining door and declared, “If you throw this door into the sea you’ll have to throw me in with it!” As soon as the words left his mouth the storm miraculously abated and the ship was able to continue on its way. Upon arriving in Acco they discovered that another miraculous event had occurred — the first door was found floating in the water right next to the ship! Thus, both of Nikanor's doors were brought to the Temple where they were installed conspicuously in the main entrance of the Courtyard.

Two smaller gateways flanked the Nikanor Gate to its north and south which would be used by people exiting the Courtyard. Since the Nikanor Gate was directly opposite the entrance of the Sanctuary, anyone exiting through this gate would be required to walk out backwards so as not to turn their back on the Holy and Holy of Holies. To avoid this, people exiting the Courtyard would use one of these two smaller gates off to either side and could do so without having to walk out backwards. This arrangement served the additional purpose of relieving congestion at the Nikanor Gate and thus optimized the flow of pedestrian traffic.

In the southern wall of the Courtyard were three large gates, distributed evenly along the length of the wall. The westernmost of these was the Kindling Gate through which they would bring firewood to fuel the fires of the Altar. In the center of the wall was the Firstborns Gate where firstborn animals would be brought into the Courtyard and given to the Kohanim. The third gate in the south was the Water Gate which took its name from the fact that on Succos the water libations (see Class #5) were brought into the Courtyard through this gate. This gate was selected for this purpose since it was located across from the Altar, allowing the libations to be poured onto the Altar without delay.

The northern wall also contained three large gates which were located across from those in the south. Nearest to the west was the Spark Gate, so named because the Kohanim maintained a fire there which was kept burning constantly. To the east of the Spark Gate was the Sacrifice Gate through which all animals used for sacrifices of the highest sanctity were brought into the Courtyard. [All sacrifices fall into one of two general categories: those of lesser sanctity and those of the highest sanctity. The latter category has certain stringencies associated with it, including the requirement that the animals be slaughtered in the northern half of the Courtyard. It is for this reason that the Sacrifice Gate was located in the northern wall.] The third gate in the north opened into a large chamber called the Hall of the Fire which, in turn, opened to the Courtyard. This chamber served as the sleeping quarters for the Kohanim working in the Temple and contained a large warming fire for their benefit.

Tour of the Temple: Class 6

Chambers of the Women's Courtyard

Chamber of the Wood

In each of the four corners of the Women's Courtyard were chambers measuring 40 cubits (60 feet) to a side and each chamber served a different purpose. The southeast chamber was called the Chamber of the Nazirites. A nazirite is a man or woman who, for a set period of time, accept upon themselves not to drink wine, cut their hair, or contract corpse-tumah. When the term of their vow is complete the individual was required to come to the Temple and offer certain sacrifices. The meat of the offering was brought to the Chamber of the Nazirites to be cooked, and the nazirite would also receive a haircut in this chamber and then the cut hair would be thrown into the fire beneath the pot cooking the offering. Nazirites were not permitted to eat their offerings in this chamber, either to prevent overcrowding in the Women's Courtyard or because it was preferable to eat inside a room with a roof and not under the open sky

In the northeast corner of the Women's Courtyard was the Chamber of the Wood. Here the Kohanim would inspect firewood for use upon the Altar. They had to determine if the wood was infested with worms since any piece of wood containing worms was not fit to be burned upon the Altar. This wormy wood was not discarded but rather was used for other purposes in the Temple, such as fueling the various warming fires or the stoves used for cooking sacrificial meat.

In the northwest corner stood the Chamber of the Metzoraim. Metzoraim (sing., metzora) are individuals who have contracted tzaraas, an affliction brought on by the commission of certain transgressions and whose physical symptoms must be recognized and diagnosed by a trained Kohen. When the Kohen has determined that the tzaraas affliction has passed, the metzora was required to undergo a purification process which involved the offering of sacrifices in the Temple. At one point during the course of this purification process the metzora was required to immerse in a mikveh [ritual bath] and would do so within the northwestern chamber in a mikveh built for this purpose. Although this chamber and the mikveh it contained was designated primarily for metzoraim, as its name indicates, it was also open to the general public who could immerse here prior to entering the Courtyard.

Chamber of the Oils

The chamber in the southwest corner was called the Chamber of the Oils and served as the storage area for the Temple's supply of oil, wine, and flour, all of which were used daily in large amounts. It was named for the oils stored here since oil was present in greater quantities than wine or flour. All of the supplies contained in this chamber were used in the Temple on a daily basis: oil was needed for the Menorah and, in combination with flour, for meal-offerings, while wine was poured onto the Altar as libations. For this reason the Chamber of the Oils had its own doorway leading directly into the Courtyard to its west.

On the western side of the Women's Courtyard was a large flight of steps leading up to the Nikanor Gate, the main entry point into the Courtyard. There were fifteen steps, each half a cubit in height, to account for the 7½-cubit difference in elevation between these two courtyards. Although these steps were used on a daily basis by the myriad people entering the Courtyard, they are more famously known for their role during the Rejoicing of the Water Drawing when they served as a stage for the Leviim who sang and played their musical instruments to accompany the celebrations. In order to accommodate the greatest number of Leviim, and to make these Leviim more visible to the crowds below, the fifteen steps were not built straight (like standard steps) but rather were round, forming a semicircular terrace which extended out into the Women's Courtyard. To add further to the capacity of these steps they ran across the entire western side of the Women's Courtyard and were not limited to the area directly in front of the gate.

At the foot of these steps to the north and south were doors which opened to the two music chambers of the Leviim which were located directly beneath the Israelites' Courtyard. In these rooms the Leviim would store their instruments on hooks all around the walls and cover them with protective cloths. Underground chambers were ideal for instrument storage since many of the instruments were made of wood (such as harps and lyres) and they would be best protected from the heat and fluctuations in humidity underground. These chambers were also used for rehearsal and training the next generation of musicians, thus highlighting another benefit of having the rooms underground — the Leviim would not disrupt the sacrificial service as they practiced. Tools needed to fix and tune the instruments, as well as a library of songbooks, were also kept here.

Tour of the Temple: Class 5

The Women's Courtyard

Interior of the Women's Courtyard

To the east of the Main Courtyard stood a large enclosed area called the Women’s Courtyard. Entry into this area was not restricted to women, as its name might imply, but in fact was used as a staging area for the multitudes of people arriving daily bearing sacrifices and gifts who would assemble here before proceeding into the Courtyard. It was called the Women's Courtyard because the women would specifically gather here to watch the Rejoicing of the Water-drawing which took place each year on the holiday of Succos (see below).

The Women's Courtyard was enclosed by walls, 135 cubits to a side, which were identical in height and thickness to the walls of the Temple Mount. Centered in the eastern wall was a single gate providing access from the Temple Mount. Cut stones, one cubit square and set with mortar, were used to tile the floors, and the entire expanse of the Women's Courtyard was left open to the sky. Along the walls of the Women's Courtyard were many niches for storage purposes and numerous windows which were low enough that people standing in the Cheil could glimpse what was going on inside.

On the holiday of Succos the Rejoicing of the Water-drawing would take place inside the Women's Courtyard. The celebration began on the second night of the holiday when the great sages and pious men of the generation would assemble in this courtyard to dance, juggle, and sing God's praises while scores of Leviim stood upon the fifteen round steps in front of the Nikanor Gate (in the western wall of this Courtyard) providing musical accompaniment. This rejoicing continued all night until dawn when, with great ceremony, a delegation was dispatched to a nearby spring to draw water for that day's water libations which would be poured onto the Altar. Numerous spectators, both men and women, stood along the sides of the courtyard to watch these festivities. During the Second Temple era the mingling of men and women at this event led to a certain amount of frivolity (this had not been the case in the First Temple) and steps were taken to correct this. The Sages came up with an innovative solution in which the women would gather upon balconies constructed within the courtyard while the men would stand below on ground level. 

These balconies for the women ran along the southern, eastern, and northern sides of the courtyard, but not the western side. Halfway up the walls were protruding stone ledges that supported the wooden planks which formed the floorboards of the balcony. A row of marble columns, similar to those used on the Temple Mount, encircled the interior of the Women's Courtyard, and these, too, may have been used to support the balcony. Above the floorboards they built row upon row of ascending steps to afford all of the women a good view of the festivities below. As a safety measure, the entire balcony was surrounded by a protective fence. Only the stone columns and protruding balcony supports were permanent fixtures whereas the floorboards and steps were put up each year during Succos and then taken down after the holiday.

Tour of the Temple: Class 4

The Cheil and the Soreg

The Cheil and Soreg outside of the Women's Courtyard

Standing at a distance of 10 cubits from the walls of the Courtyard on all four sides was a low wall, half a cubit high. This wall, as well as the area between it and the Courtyard walls, was referred to as the Cheil. A wooden latticework fence, 10 handbreadths high, was built atop this wall and was called the Soreg.

The purpose of both the wall and the fence was to mark the point beyond which no one contaminated with corpse-tumah, nor any non-Jew, could pass. Archaeologists have discovered one of the marker stones from the Cheil and the inscription (written in Greek) reads, "Any foreigner who passes beyond the wall and fence surrounding the Temple has only himself to blame for the fact that his death will follow." During the period of Hellenistic persecution the Syrian-Greek kings, aided by the corrupt Kohen Gadol Eliakim, contemptuously made thirteen breaches in this wall. When control of the Temple was later regained by the Hasmoneans (the Jewish resistance) they repaired these breaches and the Sages decreed that anyone who passes by one of the repaired breaches must bow down to give thanks to God for destroying the Greek regime and abolishing their evil decrees.

Marker stone from the Cheil

Of the 10 cubits of space occupied by the Cheil the first 4 cubits were flat while the remaining 6 cubits held the steps leading up to the walls of the Courtyard. These steps, twelve in all, were each half a cubit high and half a cubit deep. As a rule, all steps in the Temple ran the entire width of the area they led up to and were not limited to the area directly in front of the gate. In the case of the Cheil this meant that its twelve steps ran completely around all four walls of the Courtyard. The area just outside the Cheil on the Temple Mount proper was left as an open plaza with benches where the people could gather.

Tour of the Temple: Class 3

Gates of the Temple Mount

A five-sided gateway of the Temple

   In each wall of the Temple Mount were one or more gateways, all of which conformed to a standard size of 10 cubits wide by 20 cubits tall. Instead of a traditional frame consisting of three parts (two doorposts and a lintel) the Temple gates had additional diagonal elements connecting the doorposts and lintel, resulting in a frame of five parts. 

   Jerusalem was located primarily to the south of the Temple and the majority of the population entered the Temple Mount from that side. To accommodate the large flow of pedestrian traffic two gates were built along this side, spaced evenly across the 500-cubit length of the Temple Mount. These were known as the Chuldah Gates, named after the prophetess Chuldah who delivered her prophesies to the masses just outside the southern wall of the Temple Mount during the First Temple era.

   Centered in the western wall of the Temple Mount was the Kiponos Gate. The name Kiponos may represent a contraction of the Greek words kepos (garden) and ponos (work or toil) to mean working the garden, a reference to the garden located just inside this gateway. In this garden, which occupied the area between the western wall of the Temple Mount and the western wall of the Courtyard opposite the Holy of Holies, the Kohanim cultivated all of the ingredients used in compounding the incense offered daily in the Temple.

   In the northern wall of the Temple Mount was the Tadi Gate. This gate was unique in that its lintel was not flat but consisted of two stones leaning against each other at an angle such that the top of the gate resembled a triangle.

   In the eastern wall of the Temple Mount was the Shushan Gate, so named for the depiction of the city of Shushan which appeared over the mantel of this gate. Shushan was the Persian capital which had hosted the Jews during their exile following the destruction of the First Temple. In appreciation of the ruling power and as a symbol of their allegiance the Jews placed the Persian emblem over this gate in the rebuilt Temple.

   In addition to the five gates listed thus far there are records of other gates in the Temple Mount walls. King Solomon built a gate for bridegrooms and a gate for mourners in the First Temple, the former with doors of white glass and the latter with doors of black jasper (a type of quartz). The locations of these gates are not given, so it is assumed that they were minor gates on the southern side of the Temple Mount. They were likely included in the design of the Second Temple as well.

Tour of the Temple: Class 2

Walls of the Temple Mount

King Darius (wikimedia)

   Both the Temple Mount and the courtyards within it were surrounded by tall walls, 40 cubits (60 feet) in height. These walls stood 5 cubits (7½ feet) thick at their base and tapered slightly as they rose to give them greater stability. In King Solomon's First Temple the walls were composed of a repeating pattern of three courses of stone followed by one course of wood. In the Second Temple, the Persian king Darius — who was the one to grant the Jews permission to rebuild the Temple — commanded that the walls mimic that original design but with the following changes: 1) the walls should begin with one course of wood and then three courses of stone, 2) the wood should not be set completely within the walls, and 3) the wood should not be covered with plaster. No mortar was used to hold the massive stones together rather they were carefully fitted to one another and then locked into place with iron braces.

Line of sight from the Mount of Olives
to the opening of the Sanctuary Building

   The eastern wall of the Temple Mount was much lower than the others and stood less than 26 cubits (39 feet) high. The reason for this was a Scriptural requirement connected to the Parah Adumah [red heifer, whose ashes have the ability to purify people and objects from corpse-tumah]. The Parah Adumah was prepared on the Mount of Olives, located due east of the Temple, and the Torah writes that while the Kohen is carrying out the preparations he must have a direct line of sight to the opening of the Sanctuary. From his vantage point in the east the Kohen would look over the lower eastern wall of the Temple Mount, through the eastern gate of the Women's Courtyard, and through the Nikanor Gate to the opening of the Sanctuary.

   The Temple was not squarely centered within the four walls of the Temple Mount but was offset towards the northwest corner. Although in many models of the Temple the Temple Mount is shown as a large, open expanse of space, this is not accurate. The space between the walls of the Temple Mount and the Temple itself was packed with numerous chambers, storehouses, workshops, and offices which were necessary for the day-to-day operation of the Temple. Since we do not know the names and locations of these many chambers they are often omitted from the depictions of the Temple.

Just inside the walls of the Temple Mount ran a cedar-covered portico supported by marble columns, each of which was hewn from a single block of stone and adorned with flowered capitals. The columns stood 25 cubits tall and each measured “as wide as three men can reach.” A man’s reach is about 4 cubits, thus the columns had a circumference of 12 cubits and a diameter of 3.8 cubits. The columns were spaced approximately 15 cubits apart and arranged in three rows along the walls of the Temple Mount, with the first row of columns set into the walls. 

   The cedar roof covering this portico extended 30 cubits from the inside of the Temple Mount walls. It was carved with flower designs and had a fence on top to prevent anyone who might be walking there from falling off. The entire area of the portico was set upon a raised platform a few steps higher than the floor of the Temple Mount and, like the entire expanse of the Temple Mount, was paved with marble stones.

Tour of the Temple: Class 1

Preparing the Temple Mount

   One of the first steps taken in the construction of the Second Temple was a massive earth-moving operation. The entire area of the Temple Mount, which measured 500 cubits by 500 cubits (one cubit measures approximately 18 inches), was completely excavated all the way down to solid bedrock to clear the site from possible graves. Since tumah [ritual contamination] from a grave rises up through the ground all the way to the heavens it would have rendered anyone standing on the ground above the grave tamei [ritually contaminated].

   When the First Temple was built, no such excavations were carried out. King Solomon relied upon the fact that since there was no reason to suspect the presence of tumah on the Temple Mount the land was presumed tahor [ritually pure]. However, when the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild the Temple they discovered a skull beneath the site of the Altar and this forced them to retract the default tahor status originally granted to the Temple Mount. In such a case where tumah is suspected the land must be excavated down to virgin soil or bedrock (whichever comes first) to verify that no sources of tumah are present. The builders of the Second Temple certainly wanted to avoid any shadow of a doubt and thus dug down beyond the virgin soil all the way to the bedrock; historically, we also know that Herod dug down to the bedrock to provide a sturdy foundation for the immense weight of the walls.

   A two-level network of arches was built over the bedrock which further protected against possible tumah. The tumah of a grave is prevented from rising further when it encounters a covered airspace of one handbreadth, thus an arch will protect the ground above it from such tumah. One level of arches would not have been sufficient since any tumah directly under one of the solid support columns would continue to rise. Therefore, a second level was needed with support columns placed over the airspaces of the first level. Although, according to the letter of the law, the excavations alone rendered the entire area of the Temple Mount tahor, it was nonetheless felt that for the sake of the Holy Temple an additional precaution of the double arches should be employed to rule out the remote possibility of an unknown grave within the bedrock itself.

   Having excavated down to the bedrock and installed the arches, the Temple could have been built on the now-level plane directly atop the arches. Instead, the elevations of the various courtyards matched the original – and Divinely fashioned – contours of Mount Moriah prior to the excavations. Rather than regaining the original elevations by back-filling the area over the arches with dirt, a system of vaulted tunnels was constructed under the entire Temple complex. The lowest level of tunnels supported the floor of the Temple Mount; above this was another level, 6 cubits high, which supported the area under the Women's Courtyard and Main Courtyard ; a third level, 7½ cubits high, supported the floor of the Courtyard itself.