Middos 5:3 - 5:4

לשכת הפרוה (the chamber of Parva, a Persian builder and magician; see also Tractate Yoma, Chapter 3, Mishnayot 3 and 6) – a magician whose name was PARVA built this compartment through sorcery, and it is called by his name. Such I have found. But Maimonides wrote that he would dig into the wall in order to see from there how the Kohen would perform the Sacred Service and he was killed there.

ועל גגה היה בית הטבילה לכהן גדול ביו הכיפורים – the Kohen Gadol would engage in five [ritual] immersions on Yom Kippur (see Tractate Yoma, Chapter 3, Mishnah 3) when he would change from the golden clothing to white clothing and from what clothing to golden clothing. But the coming immersions on account of Yom Kippur, we require in a holy place, as it is written (Leviticus 16:24): “He shall bathe his body in water in the holy precinct [and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making expiation for himself and for the people].” Except for the first immersion that does not come for Yom Kippur, for even the rest of the days of the year, a ritually clean person does not enter the Temple courtyard until he immerses, therefore, the first immersion was on the weekday on top of the Gate of the Water, which is the third gate that is in the south, and there was a spring/fountain of water there in the coming cubit, the spring of Etam, and there, he would perform his first immersion.

מסיבה – a stone building with a round ascent which goes around to ascend to the roof to the House of Parveh (see above) through the path of a winding staircase.

לשכת הגולה – on account of the name of the well that those who came up from the Exile dug.

אבא שאול אומר – that chamber of wood was the chamber of the High Priest. This is the chamber of the assessors that is taught in the Mishnah the beginning of [Tractate] Yoma (Chapter 1, Mishnah 1): Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, they would separate the High Prieest from his home to the Chamber of Parhedrin/Palhedrin.

וגג שלשתן שוה – one arched ceiling for all three (i.e., the Chamber of the Wood, The Chamber of the Exile and the Chamber of the Hewn Stones).

שם היתה סנהדרי גדולה של ישראל יושבת – at the sides of the unsanctified area that is within/ Because the Chamber of Hewn Stones was half in the sacred [area] and half in the unconsecrated [area]. But in the half of the sacred [area], it was not possible for the Sanhedrin to sit [and meet], for there was no sitting in the Temple courtyard other than for the kings of the House of David alone, as it is written (Second Samuel 7:18): “Then David came and sat beore the LORD.”