The Amah Traksin (Dividing Curtains)
The curtains separating the "Kodesh" from the
Holy of Holies were a feature only of the Second Temple.
When King Solomon built the first Temple,
the height of the Heichal was only thirty Amos. It was possible to
support a one Amah wide wall of thirty Amos. However the ceiling
of the second Temple was ten Amos higher, and that was more than the builders
were willing to take on. Therefore, two curtains - one behind the
other - were hung from the ceiling.
Why two curtains? Because the area of the original
wall had been a part either of the main Hearth (Kodesh) or of the Holy
of Holies. They didn't know which. So to avoid the problem
(because they couldn't take a chance on "stealing" space from either side)
they built the Kodesh a full forty Amos long and the Holy of Holies twenty
Amos, with the amah between the curtains filling an extra amah beyond the
first Temple's dimensions.
The curtains did not completely fill the width
of the room. The outer curtain (the one to the east) was flush with
the southern wall and to the north was rolled back over itself a bit, leaving
a space between its end and the north wall and allowing for an entrance.
The western curtain was the opposite; its opening was to the south. Thus,
there was a way for the high priest to enter, yet those standing outside
in the Hearth were unable to see the room itself.
The Holy of Holies
After all the build up, you're perhaps a little
unsure what to expect here in the Kodesh Hakodashim. But in light
of all the wonders we've seen until now, perhaps it's the simplicity of
this room which stands out more than anything else.
While it's true that the walls were coated with
gold (even the ceiling and floor were covered), there was precious
little else in the way of furniture. In the second Temple there wasn't
even an holy ark on the floor, just an empty room with carvings or paintings
of Keruvim (cherubs) on the wall (for everyone
to see) and a small stone projecting out a few inches from the floor.
In the first Temple, the ark
sat in the middle. Its length stretched north/south and its carrying poles
east/west. The stone tablets given by G-d to Moses, the staff of
Aaron and one jar of manna from the generation of the desert also found
their place here.
Though it's impossible for us to understand
how, for all the room's simplicity, the Divine Presence rested here. It
was here that the Eternal met this world; that the greatest achievements
of man came in as close a contact with G-d as is possible.
The stone, incidentally (called the Even
Shesia), marks the spot from which the creation of the world began...
Above the Holy of Holies was an attic, nearly
identical to the rooms below it. The space might have been used for
storage of things of great value (some say that the beams and curtains
of Moses' Tabernacle were kept there).
The part of the attic which was directly above
the Holy of Holies had a series of holes in the floor. If repairs to the
walls below were ever needed, elevator-like boxes with workers inside were
lowered through these holes.
The Aron (Ark)
The holy ark (Aron Hakodesh) was actually a small golden box
(two and a half Amos long, one and a half wide, and one and a half high)
- or, more accurately, three small boxes, one inside the other.
The outer and inner layers were solid gold and the middle layer was wood.
Covering the mouth of the box was a golden board called the Kapores.
Built over the
Kapores in the Tabernacle version, were two winged figures with baby-like
faces - the cherubim (Keruvim). They were made from one solid piece of gold. In King Solomon's Temple, the Keruvim
were standing on the floor at each end of the Aron, their wings stretched
behind and above them, filling the room.
Incidentally, according to at least one opinion,
these golden wings were built with hinges, allowing them to open and close
like the real thing in case the figures had to be taken in or out through
the small door.
Miraculously, although the Aron and the Keruvim
above it were very large, from the perspective of an observer standing
in the room, they took up no space (in other words, you could walk through
the space where the figures were supposed to be).
Next to the Aron on the floor (of the first
Temple) lay Aaron the Priest's staff (see Numbers 17:16-26)
and a jar of manna left over from the Jews' sojourn in the desert (see Exodus 16:32).
Rashi tells us there that during the time
of the first Temple this jar was taken out and shown to the nation.
It seems that their struggle for physical survival didn't leave them enough
time for Torah study, so the peoples' leaders Navi pointed to the jar of
manna, saying
"Your fathers were sustained in the desert
for forty years through the miracle of the manna. Just as their food
was provided then, so now are there many ways for Hashem to send your needs..."
The Offices
Hidden behind the golden walls of the hearth (Heichal)
was a whole complex of offices, storage rooms, building structural support,
and drainage systems. The offices were reached through the small
door to the right (north) of the main door to the Heichal.
First thing each morning, a priest (Kohen)
would use two keys and a lot of stretching to open this small door. Entering,
he would find himself in a small room with three more doors leading in
new directions. One door led into the space between the two sets
of Heichal doors. Once there, the Kohen would open the inside doors,
then the outer doors from the inside. Another door led to the first
of the Ta'im (offices) and a third led outside to a spiral staircase.
In all, there were thirty-eight offices
forming a "U" shape around the bottom twenty Amos of the Heichal.
On each of the Heichal's north and south sides were three levels of five
offices (totalling fifteen on each side). To the west, the bottom two levels
boasted three offices each, with two more above those.
The offices were interconnected by the easternmost office open to the Ulam. Not only were
there doors from one office to its neighbor to each side, but there were
staircases from one level to the next. Each office also had a window
for light.
We don't really know what each of the offices
was used for, but we can assume that some were for storage and others were
for administrative purposes.
Rabbi Boruch Clinton teaches at the Ottawa Torah Institute yeshiva high
school and Machon Sarah high school for girls (both in Ottawa, Canada).
You may reach him with comments and questions at
bclinton@torah.org.
You can now read some of Rabbi Clinton's essays on Torah life at
http://www.ncf.ca/~es625/essays
You can also buy his collection of essays on
the Book of Shmuel (Samuel) in printed form at
www.lulu.com/marbitzmedia
Copyright © 2000 by Rabbi
Boruch
Clinton and Project Genesis, Inc.
