This chapter is a chapter of measurements. The prophet is brought in visions of God to the future Temple, and a man whose appearance is like copper guides him, measuring gate after gate. Until now we dealt with the eastern gate, the gate through which one enters into the outer courtyard, and now the guide proceeds to measure the remaining gates: the northern, the southern, and then the gates of the inner courtyard, up to the Vestibule (Ulam) of the Temple itself.
To maintain our bearings: the entrance is from the east, from the direction of the Mount of Olives. For someone standing and entering from there, the northern side is to his right, and the southern side is to his left (the direction from which one approaches the Kotel today). Therefore, after the eastern gate, the first turn is to the right, toward the northern gate. The Malbim adds another reason beyond the rule that "all your turns should be to the right": in the previous measurement, when measuring from wall to wall, he measured "the east and the north" - measuring the eastern side and after it the northern side, and he therefore continues in that same order to the northern gate.
An important point for what follows: all the details we learned regarding the eastern gate are repeated in all the gates. Scripture is merely providing a cross-reference and a reminder of what has already been explained, and therefore there is no need to elaborate again on every single detail, but only to recall them and point out what is new.
וְהַשַּׁעַר אֲשֶׁר פָּנָיו דֶּרֶךְ הַצָּפוֹן לֶחָצֵר הַחִיצוֹנָה מָדַד אָרְכּוֹ וְרָחְבּוֹ׃ וְתָאָו שְׁלוֹשָׁה מִפּוֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁה מִפּוֹ וְאֵילָו וְאֵלַמָּו הָיָה כְּמִדַּת הַשַּׁעַר הָרִאשׁוֹן, חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה אָרְכּוֹ וְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים בָּאַמָּה׃ - And as for the gate of the outer courtyard whose face was toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth. And its cells were three on this side and three on that side, and its posts and its vestibules were according to the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth was twenty-five cubits.
Everything corresponds to the measurement of the first gate, which is the eastern gate: three guard chambers on this side and three guard chambers on that side, the posts (the pillars on the right and on the left) and the vestibules, fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
וְחַלּוֹנָו וְאֵלַמָּו וְתִימֹרָו כְּמִדַּת הַשַּׁעַר אֲשֶׁר פָּנָיו דֶּרֶךְ הַקָּדִים, וּבְמַעֲלוֹת שֶׁבַע יַעֲלוּ בוֹ וְאֵילַמָּו לִפְנֵיהֶם׃ - And its windows and its vestibules and its palm decorations were according to the measure of the gate whose face was toward the east; and by seven steps they would ascend into it, and its posts were before them.
The windows, the vestibules, and the palm tree decorations were according to the measure of the gate facing east, that is, the eastern gate. "Timorim" are ornaments and carvings in the shape of date palms, like palm fronds, which were situated upon the posts, and the posts are the pillars to the right and to the left. One ascends to the northern gate by seven steps, and "its posts were before them" - two posts stood before the steps, on this side and on that side, for beauty.
Here the Malbim makes an important observation: two details are introduced here that were not mentioned at all regarding the eastern gate. With the eastern gate, neither the steps before the gate nor the pillars before the steps were mentioned. The reason is that there, immediately upon entering, he began measuring the threshold of the gate, and did not turn first to measure the steps and the posts. But when he arrived at the northern gate, he took note that there were steps before the gate, and before the steps were posts adorned with palm decorations. From this, the Malbim explains, you deduce that this was also the case with the eastern gate, for the gates were identical in all respects.
וְשַׁעַר לֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי נֶגֶד הַשַּׁעַר לַצָּפוֹן וְלַקָּדִים, וַיָּמָד מִשַּׁעַר אֶל־שַׁעַר מֵאָה אַמָּה׃ - And there was a gate to the inner courtyard opposite the gate to the north and to the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.
Here the prophet lifts his eyes toward the inner courtyard and sees that the gate of the inner courtyard is aligned precisely opposite the outer gate. What does "aligned" mean? That if one stands at the outer gate and looks straight ahead, one can see all the way inside, because the gate of the inner courtyard also stands directly opposite it.
On this, the Malbim raises a difficulty: there was already a previous measurement from wall to wall of one hundred cubits. If so, why is it necessary to add now that the measurement from gate to gate is one hundred cubits, when seemingly it is the exact same result? He gives a wonderful answer: this measurement was intended to prove that the gates are aligned directly opposite one another. For if the gate were skewed even slightly to the right or slightly to the left relative to the gate opposite it, the measurement would no longer come out to one hundred cubits, since any diagonal skew lengthens the distance, and the greater the angle, the longer the distance becomes. And since the measurement from wall to wall was one hundred cubits, and the measurement from gate to gate also came out to exactly one hundred cubits, it necessarily follows that the inner gate is aligned precisely opposite the outer one, entrance facing entrance.
וַיּוֹלִכֵנִי דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם וְהִנֵּה שַׁעַר דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם, וּמָדַד אֵילָו וְאֵילַמָּו כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה׃ - "And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its posts and its vestibules according to these measurements."
Having finished with the northern gate, the prophet moves within the outer courtyard from the east to the south, sees another gate there, and measures its posts and its vestibules according to the dimensions we have seen. The Malbim notes: notice that it is not mentioned here that he measured the chambers, but this is included in what we will see immediately in the next verse.
וְחַלּוֹנִים לוֹ וּלְאֵילַמָּו סָבִיב סָבִיב כְּהַחַלֹּנוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה אֹרֶךְ וְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה׃ - "And there were windows in it and in its vestibules all around, like these windows; the length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits."
From the fifty cubits, one learns that there were also chambers there, for as we explained: the gate itself was ten cubits, and the chambers on one side were forty cubits, totaling fifty cubits; and likewise from the other side, fifty cubits here and fifty cubits there. Thus, although the chambers were not mentioned explicitly, the measurement itself reveals them. In addition, there were also windows, like those windows we saw earlier in the eastern gate, the Kadim gate.
Rashi cites a homiletic teaching of Rabbi Tanchuma here. The phrasing "ke-hachalonot ha-eleh" is puzzling, as it is not the usual way of the Hebrew language to retain the letter hei of the definite article after a prefix preposition; rather, the prefix takes the vowel of the definite article. Some people speak this way, particularly among those of Ashkenazic descent, saying "ve-lamad be-hasefarim", but that is not the standard or correct grammatical form; rather, it should be "ba-sefarim" - the beit itself carries the definite vowel, and there is no need for an additional hei. The same applies here: the kaf should serve as the definite prefix, and it ought to have said "ka-chalonot ha-eleh".
Rabbi Tanchuma explains: "ke-hachalonot" alludes to chalonot kehot, as if it were written "dim windows." This does not mean what we understand today by tinted windows (like tinted windows on a car), but rather windows that were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside. This is the opposite of the standard practice in the world, where people make windows narrow on the outside and wide on the inside so as to bring in light more effectively. In the Beit HaMikdash it was the reverse, showing that He has no need for its light: the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not require light entering from the outside, for the Beit HaMikdash itself is the light of the world.
וּמַעֲלוֹת שִׁבְעָה עֹלוֹתָו וְאֵלַמָּו לִפְנֵיהֶם, וְתִמֹרִים לוֹ אֶחָד מִפּוֹ וְאֶחָד מִפּוֹ אֶל־אֵילָו׃ - "And seven steps were its ascent, and its vestibules were before them; and it had palm trees, one on this side and one on that side, upon its posts."
The ascent to the southern gate was by seven steps. "And its vestibules were before them" - these are the posts of the steps, those pillars that stood before the steps, as we explained above. And upon them were palm-tree decorations, ornaments of dates, resembling palm trees above them.
וְשַׁעַר לֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם, וַיָּמָד מִשַּׁעַר אֶל־הַשַּׁעַר דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם מֵאָה אַמּוֹת׃ - "And there was a gate to the inner courtyard toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, one hundred cubits."
On the southern side as well, there was a gate to the inner courtyard, and he measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate, showing that the gate was aligned directly opposite it. Malbim notes that here, two measurements were not necessary, only a single measurement from gate to gate, because he had already learned at the northern gate that the gates were aligned. Previously, a measurement from wall to wall was also needed, and only then did the measurement from gate to gate prove that the gates were aligned at exactly one hundred cubits; but here, having already established that the gates were aligned, a single measurement sufficed.
וַיְבִיאֵנִי אֶל־חָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי בְּשַׁעַר הַדָּרוֹם, וַיָּמָד אֶת־הַשַּׁעַר הַדָּרוֹם כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה׃ - "And he brought me to the inner courtyard by the southern gate; and he measured the southern gate according to these measurements."
Notice the turning point: everything we have covered so far took place outside, in the outer courtyard. Now, as he arrives at the southern side, he enters inside into the inner courtyard, as we explained that the gates were aligned directly opposite each other. The inner courtyard is where the altar stands, containing the Courtyard of the Israelites (Ezras Yisrael) and the Courtyard of the Kohanim (Ezras Kohanim). From here on, we are inside.
וְתָאָו וְאֵילָו וְאֵלַמָּו כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, וְחַלּוֹנוֹת לוֹ וּלְאֵלַמָּו סָבִיב סָבִיב, חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה אֹרֶךְ וְרֹחַב עֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת׃ - "And its cells, its posts, and its vestibule were according to these measurements, and it and its vestibule had windows round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits."
Malbim explains that here, too, the width of the gateway opening was ten cubits, and the length of the gate was thirteen cubits, just as we explained: six cubits for the threshold on this side, six cubits on the inner side, and one cubit in the middle for the doors. From this we also learn that the thickness of the wall of Ezras Yisrael was identical to the thickness of the wall of the outer courtyard: thirteen cubits.
There were guard cells there as well. The gate's vestibule (ulam) is the chamber you enter through the gate, a sort of hall. "And its posts" refers to the posts of the cells, the pillars on the right and left at the entrance to the cells. And fifty cubits in length means that on the right and on the left, the length of the vestibule was fifty cubits - and the vestibule actually refers to the chambers that stood to the right and left.
וְאֵלַמּוֹת סָבִיב סָבִיב, אֹרֶךְ חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה וְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת׃ - "And vestibules round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide."
The vestibules were located on the interior side of Ezras Yisrael, and on each side their length was twenty-five cubits and their width was five cubits. The width refers to their distance projecting from the wall. Malbim explains that these vestibules did not occupy the entire length continuously; rather, there were fifteen cubits of open space to the right and fifteen cubits of open space to the left, followed by the twenty-five cubits in which the vestibules were built. Thus, the vestibules extended up to fifty cubits from the gate on each side (fifteen cubits of open space plus twenty-five cubits of the vestibules). What stood in those open spaces to the right and left will be addressed shortly.
Regarding their placement: Rashi holds that the vestibules were recessed within the thickness of the wall, which was thirteen cubits thick, as we have seen. Malbim, however, explains that the language implies they projected inward into the courtyard, like the other structures mentioned here in the text that extended into the courtyard, rather than being recessed within the wall.
וְאֵלַמָּו אֶל־חָצֵר הַחִצוֹנָה וְתִמֹרִים אֶל־אֵילָו, וּמַעֲלוֹת שְׁמוֹנֶה מַעֲלָו׃ - "And its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were upon its posts, and its ascent had eight steps."
Here, the Malbim explains, the inner court differed from the outer court. In the outer court, the gate's vestibule stood inside the gate - that is, within the interior space of the gate, sheltered beneath the wall. In the inner court, however, the gate's vestibule projected outward, even extending beyond the guard chambers. For in the outer court, anyone entering the gate found the chambers to his right and to his left; but here Scripture informs us that even before reaching them, the vestibule - the entrance to the gate - projected outward and was not covered from above by the wall. From there, before the steps, were posts decorated with palm carvings, and this gate was ascended by eight steps.
וַיְבִיאֵנִי אֶל־הֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי דֶּרֶךְ הַקָּדִים, וַיָּמָד אֶת־הַשַּׁעַר כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה׃ - "And he brought me to the inner court by way of the east, and he measured the gate according to these measurements."
Notice the route taken: he had exited the court to measure the chambers and the gate's vestibule, and now he returns and enters through the eastern gate. That is, at first he was outside, arriving from the south, and from there he went to the eastern gate, and now through the eastern gate he enters into the inner court.
וְתָאָו וְאֵלָו וְאֵלַמָּו כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, וְחַלּוֹנוֹת לוֹ וּלְאֵלַמָּו סָבִיב סָבִיב, אֹרֶךְ חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה וְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה׃ - "And its guard chambers, its posts, and its vestibule were according to these measurements; and it and its vestibules had windows all around; fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide."
Everything matched what we saw above: the guard chambers, the posts (the pillars), and the vestibules conformed to these measurements. It also had windows, "in it and in its vestibules" - meaning that both the chambers and the vestibules had windows facing outward, just as we saw above.
וְאֵלַמָּו לֶחָצֵר הַחִיצוֹנָה וְתִמֹרִים אֶל־אֵלָו מִפּוֹ וּמִפּוֹ, וּשְׁמֹנֶה מַעֲלוֹת מַעֲלָו׃ - "And its vestibule faced toward the outer court, and palm trees were on its posts, on this side and on that side, and its ascent had eight steps."
Here too he sees that the vestibule faces toward the outer court, with palm-tree decorations on either side, and eight steps leading up to the gate.
וַיְבִיאֵנִי אֶל־שַׁעַר הַצָּפוֹן וּמָדַד כַּמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה׃ - "And he brought me to the north gate, and he measured according to these measurements."
After the eastern gate, he moves on to the northern gate. We recall that we are currently measuring the gates of the inner court: he began with the southern gate, proceeded to the eastern gate, and now moves to the northern gate. The Malbim points out: notice that here it does not say, "And he brought me to the inner court," because in order to measure the east gate of the inner court he had already stepped inside. Since he was already inside, he did not need to be brought into the inner court; rather, from the inside, he simply turns right and arrives at the north gate.
תָּאָו אֵלָו וְאֵלַמָּו וְחַלּוֹנוֹת לוֹ סָבִיב סָבִיב, אֹרֶךְ חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה וְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה׃ וְאֵילָו לֶחָצֵר הַחִיצוֹנָה וְתִמֹרִים אֶל־אֵילָו מִפּוֹ וּמִפּוֹ, וּשְׁמֹנֶה מַעֲלוֹת מַעֲלָו׃ - "Its guard cells, its posts, and its vestibules, and it had windows all around; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. And its posts faced the outer court, and palm-tree decorations were upon its posts on this side and on that side, and its ascent was eight steps."
Everything was identical to the previous two gates: posts facing the outer courtyard, which were the pillars; palm-tree ornaments upon its posts on either side, carved palm branches adorning it; and eight steps by which one ascends to enter within.
וְלִשְׁכָּה וּפִתְחָהּ בְּאֵילִים הַשְּׁעָרִים, שָׁם יָדִיחוּ אֶת־הָעֹלָה׃ - "And there was a chamber whose doorway was by the posts of the gates; there they would wash the burnt-offering."
Regarding this chamber, the Malbim explains - based on what will be seen later in chapter 42, verse 1 - that twenty cubits outside the wall of the inner courtyard are consecrated with the sanctity of the Azarah (the Temple courtyard). That is, we have the inner courtyard, and twenty cubits extending outward from it, which are effectively taken from the outer courtyard, are sanctified with the holiness of the inner courtyard. Now, the side chambers occupied twelve cubits outside the courtyard wall, which was the width of the chambers. Thus, out of the twenty cubits, twelve were already taken up, leaving another eight cubits outside the chambers that were still sanctified with the holiness of the Azarah. In practical terms, this means that anyone entering the outer courtyard from the outside is already standing in a sanctified area before even reaching the wall of the inner courtyard: twelve cubits occupied by the chambers and cells standing on the outside, and an additional eight cubits of the outer courtyard that are sanctified with the sanctity of the inner courtyard.
וּבְאֻלָם הַשַּׁעַר שְׁנַיִם שֻׁלְחָנוֹת מִפּוֹ וּשְׁנַיִם שֻׁלְחָנוֹת מִפֹּה, לִשְׁחוֹט אֲלֵיהֶם הָעוֹלָה וְהַחַטָּאת וְהָאָשָׁם׃ - "And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, to slaughter upon them the burnt-offering, the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering."
Now he enters the vestibule of the gate, the entranceway, where there were numerous tables enumerated in the verse. At the entrance to the vestibule of the gate stood two tables on the right and two tables on the left, designated for slaughtering the Olah (burnt-offering), the Chatas (sin-offering), and the Asham (guilt-offering). The Olah, Chatas, and Asham are kodshei kodashim (offerings of the highest sanctity), whose slaughter must take place in the north. The vestibule of this gate is also considered the north, and therefore slaughter could be performed there, as this area is consecrated with the sanctity of the Azarah.
וְאֶל־הַכָּתֵף מִחוּצָה לָעוֹלֶה לְפֶתַח הַשַּׁעַר הַצָּפוֹנָה שְׁנַיִם שֻׁלְחָנוֹת, וְאֶל־הַכָּתֵף הָאַחֶרֶת אֲשֶׁר לְאֻלָם הַשַּׁעַר שְׁנַיִם שֻׁלְחָנוֹת׃ - "And at the outer side, as one goes up to the opening of the northern gate, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables."
The verse refers to a chamber that stood inside the vestibule, outside the gateway itself - that is, outside the thirteen cubits of the gate's length that lay beneath the wall. As mentioned earlier regarding the southern side, there was a vestibule projecting inward past the gate, serving as a foyer to the gate's vestibule, an open area not covered by the wall above. In this foyer, for anyone entering, there were two tables on the right and two tables on the left - distinct from the four tables mentioned above in the gate's vestibule itself.
אַרְבָּעָה שֻׁלְחָנוֹת מִפֹּה וְאַרְבָּעָה שֻׁלְחָנוֹת מִפֹּה לְכֶתֶף הַשָּׁעַר, שְׁמוֹנָה שֻׁלְחָנוֹת אֲלֵיהֶם יִשְׁחָטוּ׃ - "Four tables on this side and four tables on that side, at the flank of the gate - eight tables upon which they would slaughter."
"At the flank of the gate" - along the sides of the gateway itself, which measured thirteen cubits in length: four tables on this side and four tables on that side, totaling eight tables. And "upon which they would slaughter" refers also to the four tables that were in the chamber, upon which slaughtering was likewise performed. It turns out that there were sixteen slaughtering tables in total, calculated as follows: four in the vestibule, four between the chambers on both sides of the gate, and eight within the gateway opening itself.
וְאַרְבָּעָה שֻׁלְחָנוֹת לָעוֹלָה אַבְנֵי גָזִית, אֹרֶךְ אַמָּה אַחַת וָחֵצִי וְרֹחַב אַמָּה אַחַת וָחֵצִי וְגֹבַהּ אַמָּה אֶחָת, אֲלֵיהֶם וְיַנִּיחוּ אֶת־הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁחֲטוּ אֶת־הָעוֹלָה בָּם וְהַזָּבַח׃ - And there were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; upon them they would lay the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.
These four tables stood along the pathway ascending from the gateway entrance into the inner court, and upon them they would place the knives and the basins - the vessels used to receive the blood.
וְהַשְׁפַתַּיִם טֹפַח אֶחָד מוּכָנִים בַּבַּיִת סָבִיב סָבִיב, וְאֶל־הַשֻּׁלְחָנוֹת בְּשַׂר הַקָּרְבָן׃ - And hooks, one handbreadth wide, were prepared within all around; and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.
"And the shefatayim were one handbreadth" - these were iron hooks fastened into low pillars, protruding one handbreadth, on which to hang the sacrificial animals to flay them. For in order to flay the sacrifice, one must hang it; therefore there was a pillar with metal hooks protruding from it upon which they hung the animal, making it easy to skin. The Malbim explains that the term shefatayim relates to arranging or setting in place, as in "set on the pot" (shefot hasir), arranging the pot atop the stove.
וּמִחוּצָה לַשַּׁעַר הַפְּנִימִי לִשְׁכוֹת שָׁרִים בֶּחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי אֲשֶׁר אֶל־כֶּתֶף שַׁעַר הַצָּפוֹן וּפְנֵיהֶם דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם, אֶחָד אֶל־כֶּתֶף שַׁעַר הַקָּדִים פְּנֵי דֶּרֶךְ הַצָּפֹן׃ - And outside the inner gate were chambers for singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate, their face toward the south; one at the side of the east gate, facing toward the north.
"Outside the inner gate" - inside the Azarah (Courtyard), to the side of the gate on the side facing eastward, were chambers for the singers. That is, once one enters through the northern gate, one has already arrived inside and is within the inner court; here the verse begins to describe what lies inside. The Malbim explains that within the inner court, to the left of one entering, were chambers for the singers - the place where the singers who sang upon the platform (duchan) stayed - and these chambers were on the northern side. As explained earlier, one entering through the northern gate found an open space of fifteen cubits to the right and left, and only after that twenty-five cubits containing the vestibules, the chambers. Now the verse informs us that the singers' chambers were located within those fifteen open cubits.
וַיְדַבֵּר אֵלָי, זֹה הַלִּשְׁכָּה אֲשֶׁר פָּנֶיהָ דֶּרֶךְ הַדָּרוֹם לַכֹּהֲנִים שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת הַבָּיִת׃ - And he spoke to me: This chamber, which faces toward the south, is for the kohanim who keep the charge of the House.
The Malbim explains: We will see later in chapter 44 that in the future, only the kohanim of the sons of Tzadok will be qualified for the service in the Beit HaMikdash, for they did not stray from Hashem and did not worship idols. The remaining kohanim who served idols will not be permitted to serve upon the Altar, for as is well known, a kohen who worshipped idols may not ascend the Altar. Here the Holy One, blessed be He, shows the prophet that the kohanim disqualified from the sacrificial service will be the keepers of the charge of the House, and they will have the chamber facing southward - known as the chamber of the singers. From this chamber, it implies that they will be the ones who sing in the Mikdash.
This is wondrous, notes the Malbim, for kohanim are cautioned not to perform the service of the Levi'im, and the service of the Levi'im is the song in the Beit HaMikdash - singers and gatekeepers. According to the Ra'avad, a kohen who sings incurs the death penalty, and according to the Rambam, he violates a negative prohibition; at any rate, it seems impossible that they should serve as singers. Rather, says the Malbim, the resolution is simple: all of this applies to a kohen qualified for the sacrificial service - since you are fit for the service of a kohen, how could you come to sing like a Levi? That would be a demotion from your stature. But these kohanim, who are not sons of Tzadok and have been disqualified from the sacrificial service, are still descendants of Levi, for every kohen belongs to the tribe of Levi. If he does not perform the work of the kohanim, he may perform the work of the Levi'im; therefore, he is permitted to sing.
The Malbim brings proof for this from what the Rambam writes: when a kohen reaches adulthood and becomes qualified for service, he enters to serve only at the time when the Levi'im recite song - he sings with them and then enters. Ostensibly, a kohen is not eligible for the service of song and is warned against it, so why should he enter specifically when the Levi'im are singing? Rather, we learn from this that the prohibition applies only once he is already actively serving as a kohen, at which point it is forbidden for him to descend and sing. Here, however, when the kohen is merely being initiated into service and has not yet begun to officiate, the first stage is joining in song. He understands similarly from the words of the Riaz in his work Lechem Yehudah.
The Malbim adds: Even if we do not accept this reasoning, one could explain that the singers mentioned here performed with musical instruments. For song can take two forms: vocal or instrumental, and playing an instrument is permissible even for lineage-qualified Israelites (Yisraelim), requiring neither a kohen nor a Levi. Consequently, one can say that the singing kohanim spoken of here were kohanim who played musical instruments, and in this regard there is no prohibition even for an officiating kohen, since the warning against singing applies only to vocal song.
וְהַלִּשְׁכָּה אֲשֶׁר פָּנֶיהָ דֶּרֶךְ הַצָּפוֹן לַכֹּהֲנִים שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, הֵמָּה בְנֵי צָדוֹק הַקְּרֵבִים מִבְּנֵי לֵוִי אֶל־יְהוָה לְשָׁרְתוֹ׃ - And the chamber whose front faces north is for the Kohanim who keep charge of the Altar; these are the sons of Tzadok, who draw near from among the sons of Levi to the Lord to minister to Him.
We are inside the inner courtyard, and there was a chamber on the southern side whose face - meaning its entrance - faced north, which means its entrance faced the Altar. This chamber was located inside the inner wall of the inner courtyard toward the south. As we saw earlier, it stood within those open fifteen cubits, because beyond them lay the chambers on the right and left. In that open space of fifteen cubits stood the chamber of the Kohanim, the sons of Tzadok.
וַיָּמָד אֶת־הֶחָצֵר אֹרֶךְ מֵאָה אַמָּה וְרֹחַב מֵאָה אַמָּה מְרֻבָּעַת, וְהַמִּזְבֵּחַ לִפְנֵי הַבָּיִת׃ - And he measured the courtyard, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, square; and the Altar was in front of the House.
After describing the inner chambers, he measures the entire courtyard: one hundred cubits by one hundred cubits, approximately fifty meters by fifty meters. "And the Altar was in front of the House" - the Altar stood in front of the entrance to the Heichal (Sanctuary). The Malbim explains that it is very reasonable to follow the view of Rabbi Yehudah, who holds that the Altar was centered precisely in the middle of the Azarah (Courtyard): if you measure from right and left, and from the direction of the Heichal and from the east where people enter, the Altar stands exactly in the middle. Although there is a dissenting opinion, and the verses can be reconciled according to that view as well, the straightforward reading aligns with Rabbi Yehudah.
וַיְבִאֵנִי אֶל־אֻלָם הַבַּיִת, וַיָּמָד אֵל אֻלָם חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת מִפֹּה וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת מִפֹּה, וְרֹחַב הַשַּׁעַר שָׁלֹשׁ אַמּוֹת מִפּוֹ וְשָׁלֹשׁ אַמּוֹת מִפּוֹ׃ - And he brought me to the Ulam of the House, and he measured the post of the Ulam, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.
Let us visualize the entire layout: someone entering from the outermost area first reaches the outer courtyard; from there inward to the inner courtyard that we just discussed, which contains the Altar, is an unroofed open area, and is where the Kohanim performed the service and where the Ezrat Yisrael stood; and going further inward, one arrives at the Ulam (Vestibule), which is further inside and is already roofed. The interior structure is divided into three sections: the Ulam, the Heichal, and the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), which we will explore primarily in the next chapter. Here, Scripture addresses the entrance from the inner courtyard into the Ulam.
The measurements: the entrance to the Ulam of the House is partitioned into five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side, and the width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. Note that this does not refer to an actual swinging door. Earlier in the courtyard, there was an actual gate, a literal door, whereas here it was walled off on each side, three cubits from here and three cubits from there, effectively narrowing the entrance from both the right and the left. A "gate" normally refers to the barrier that closes the gateway opening, but the Ulam had no such swinging gate. If we deduct three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side - which narrow the opening like non-opening doors - the remaining open passageway was fourteen cubits wide. Since the width of the Ulam was twenty cubits, subtracting three cubits from each side (six cubits) leaves fourteen cubits.
אֹרֶךְ הָאֻלָם עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה וְרֹחַב עַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה, וּבַמַּעֲלוֹת אֲשֶׁר יַעֲלוּ אֵלָיו, וְעַמֻּדִים אֶל־הָאֵילִים אֶחָד מִפֹּה וְאֶחָד מִפֹּה׃ - The length of the Ulam was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits, and by the steps which they would ascend to it; and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side and one on that side.
"The length of the Ulam" runs from north to south - meaning from right to left as one enters - twenty cubits, matching the width of the Heichal. "The width" runs from east to west, how far forward you walk: eleven cubits, at which point you reach the Heichal. In the Second Temple, this Ulam was the area known as the Beit HaChalifot, the place where they stored the slaughtering knives (chalifim). In the Second Temple, the Ulam was wider in front and narrower in the back, but in the Third Temple this is not so; its width corresponds uniformly to the width of the Heichal and the Holy of Holies behind it.
"And by the steps which they would ascend to it" - there were steps by which they would ascend to the Ulam, as the Temple Mount was built on an upward incline, with stairs leading from one level to the next. This is the concept of the ma'alot (steps/ascents), as in "Shir HaMa'alot," which refers to the ascent into the Azarah where there were steps upon which the Levi'im would stand and sing.
"And pillars stood by the posts, one on this side and one on that side" - posts stood along the sides, and as we have seen, these posts were one cubit by one cubit. In addition to them, pillars stood there as well, and the pillars were much thicker than the posts. Remember that here we are discussing a roofed area, and since it is covered, it requires pillars capable of supporting the ceiling. These two pillars correspond to Yachin and Boaz: just as Shlomo made two pillars in the First Temple, Yachin and Boaz, so too here were two pillars corresponding to those pillars from the First Temple.
In this part of the chapter, the guide leads the prophet round and round: from the northern and southern gates of the outer courtyard, whose dimensions all match those of the eastern gate, with the only new details mentioned being the steps and the posts before them (from which we learned that the eastern gate had been identical); through the measurement of one hundred cubits from gate to gate, whose entire purpose was to show that the gates were aligned precisely entrance facing entrance; and from there to the gates of the inner courtyard, where the vestibule extends outward and eight steps ascend to it. Inside, we saw the tables in the vestibule of the gate and its entryways - sixteen tables for slaughtering and four for the implements - the ledges for hanging and flaying the sacrificial offerings, the chambers of the singers and the chambers of the Kohanim who keep charge of the Temple and the Altar, the square courtyard of one hundred cubits by one hundred cubits with the Altar at its center, and finally, the entrance to the vestibule of the Temple with the two pillars corresponding to Yachin and Boaz. Above all, we are left with the moral insight of Rabbi Tanchuma's teaching: the windows of the Beit HaMikdash were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside, unlike ordinary human dwellings, to teach that the Holy One, Blessed is He, has no need for our light - for the Beit HaMikdash itself is the light of the world.