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Mishnayos Middos Perek 4 Mishnah 3

מדות פרק ד׳ משנה ג׳

3

There were thirty-eight cells there, fifteen on the north, fifteen on the south, and eight on the west. On the north and on the south there were five over five and five again over these; On the west there were three over three and two over these. Each had three openings, one to the cell on the right and one to the cell on the left and one to the cell above. In the [one at the] northeastern corner there were five openings, one to the cell on the right, one to the cell above, one to the mesibbah, one to the door, and one to the Hekhal.

וּשְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנָה תָאִים הָיוּ שָׁם, חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בַּצָּפוֹן, חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בַּדָּרוֹם, וּשְׁמֹנָה בַּמַּעֲרָב. שֶׁבַּצָּפוֹן וְשֶׁבַּדָּרוֹם, חֲמִשָּׁה עַל גַּבֵּי חֲמִשָּׁה, וַחֲמִשָּׁה עַל גַּבֵּיהֶם. וְשֶׁבַּמַּעֲרָב, שְׁלֹשָׁה עַל גַּבֵּי שְׁלֹשָׁה, וּשְׁנַיִם עַל גַּבֵּיהֶם. וּשְׁלֹשָׁה פְתָחִים הָיוּ לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד, אֶחָד לַתָּא מִן הַיָּמִין, וְאֶחָד לַתָּא מִן הַשְּׂמֹאל, וְאֶחָד לַתָּא שֶׁעַל גַּבָּיו. וּבְקֶרֶן מִזְרָחִית צְפוֹנִית הָיוּ חֲמִשָּׁה פְתָחִים, אֶחָד לַתָּא מִן הַיָּמִין, וְאֶחָד לַתָּא שֶׁעַל גַּבָּיו, וְאֶחָד לַמְּסִבָּה, וְאֶחָד לַפִּשְׁפָּשׁ, וְאֶחָד לַהֵיכָל:

ג׳
Bartenura

תאים – chambers/compartments.

חמשה עשר בצפון – further on in our chapter (see Mishnah 7), when it considers that from the north to the south is seventy cubits, it teaches that the wall of the winding staircase leading ‘to a well] under the Temple (see also the fifth Mishnah of this chapter as well as Tractate Tamid, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1), that the winding staircase was five [cubits] and the winding staircase was three [cubits], the wall of the compartment was five [cubits] and the compartment/chamber was six [cubits]. And corresponding to them we consider the south. And this is not to say that the thickness of the wall of the winding staircase and the thickness of the wall of the compartment/chamber and the thickness of the wall of the of the Hekhal that is to the north side was that, but rather, the thickness of the wall with the empty cavity that is between it and the second wall he is counting, but the five [cubits] of the wall of the winding staircase and the three [cubits] of the winding staircase, and the five [cubits] of the wall of the chamber /compartment and the six [cubits] of the chamber/compartment and the six [cubits] of the wall of the Hekhal, in each one of them, the five [cubits] was the one chamber which is a compartment, hence there are five chambers in the north. And opposite them [a similar number] in the south. And on these five, they would build five others, and another five on top of the, hence, fifteen compartments to the north and fifteen compartments to the south. And similarly, in the west which we consider further on in our chapter (see Mishnah 7 once again) that the wall of the Heikhal was six [cubits] and the compartment was six [cubits] and the wall of the compartment was five [cubits], in each one of them there was a there was a chamber, for the wall was not six [cubits] thick other than the wall with the chamber/compartment that was in it that was six [cubits], for the one compartment that was outside of it was six [cubits] and the wall of the the other compartment that is outside of them with the compartment within it was five [cubits], hence three chambers. And three other chambers were built on top of these three, and two [chambers] on top of them, that makes the eight compartments for the west [side].

ואחד לפשפש – for the compartment that has in it the northern wickets that are in that compartment that one enters into the Hekhal. But the anonymous Mishnah is according to the Rabbis who stated above (Mishnah 2) that one enters the compartment and from the compartment to the Heikhal, and not like Rabbi Yehuda who stated (in Mishnah 2 of this chapter) that he would walk along the thickness of the wall.

תאים. לשכות:

חמשה עשר בצפון. לקמן בפרקין כי חשיב מצפון לדרום שבעים אמה, קא תני כותל המסיבה חמש, והמסיבה שלש, כותל התא חמש, והתא שש, וכותל ההיכל שש. וכנגדן קחשיב בדרום. ולאו למימרא דעובי כותל המסיבה ועובי כותל התא ועובי כותל ההיכל שלצד צפון היה כך, אלא עובי הכותל עם החלל שבינו ובין הכותל השני הוא מונה, ובחמש של כותל המסיבה ושלש של מסיבה וחמש של כותל התא ושש של התא ושש של כותל ההיכל, בכל אחד מאלו החמשה היתה לשכה אחת דהיינו תא, הרי חמשה תאים בצפון. וכנגדן בדרום. ועל אלו החמשה היו בנויין חמשה אחרים, ועוד חמשה על גביהן, הרי חמשה עשר תאים לצפון וחמשה עשר לדרום. וכן במערב קחשיב לקמן בפרקין כותל ההיכל שש והתא שש וכותל התא חמש, בכל אחד מהם היה לשכה, שלא היה הכותל עב שש אלא הכותל עם התא שבו היה שש, והתא [האחר] שחוצה לו היה שש, וכותל התא האחר שחוץ להם עם התא שבו היה חמש, הרי שלש לשכות. ושלש לשכות אחרות בנויות על גבי אלו השלש, ושתים על גביהן, הרי שמונה תאים למערב:

ואחד לפשפש. לתא שיש בו הפשפש הצפוני שבאותו תא נכנסים להיכל. וסתם מתניתין כרבנן דאמרי לעיל נכנס לתא ומן התא להיכל. דלא כר׳ יהודה דאמר בתוך עביו של כותל היה מהלך: