Parsha Halacha

Parsha Halacha – Parshat Devarim – Shabbat Chazon

About the Second Beit HaMikdash

Tidbits from Tractate Middot

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The Torah portion of Devarim is always read on the Shabbat before the Fast of Tisha Be’Av which is known as Shabbat Chazon. According to the Chassidic masters every Jew is shown a vision of the future Beit HaMikdash on this Shabbat which engenders a yearning within us to have it (re)built.^[1] As such, it is an appropriate time to study about the Beit HaMikdash. In addition, the Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that one should learn about the building of the Beit HaMikdash during this time in order to hasten its rebuilding, may this take place speedily in our days.

This article is mostly based on the commentary of the Tosfot Yom Tov on the beginning of Tractate Middot which discusses the structure of the Second Beit HaMikdash.

Learning Middot Will Help us Build the Third Beit Hamikdash

The Tosfot Yom Tov writes^[2] that learning Tractate Middot will assist us in knowing how to build the Third Beit HaMikdash since Middot describes the measurements of the Second Temple which in some aspects resembles the Third. As the Rambam writes,^[3] “The people in the time of Ezra (who came back from the Babylonian exile) built the Second Temple according to the structure of Solomon, including certain aspects which are explicitly stated in Ezekiel (which is a description of the Third Beit HaMikdash).” 

Why did they incorporate aspects of the Third Beit HaMikdash into the building of the Second Beit HaMikdash instead of merely building a replica of the First Temple? Rashi explains^[4] that the Jewish people who returned from Babylonia were supposed to conquer the Land of Israel and rebuild the eternal Beit HaMikdash with Moshiach.^[5] As the verse says,^[6] “Until Your people cross over, G-d, until Your people whom You acquired, cross over.” (I.e., the second crossing over the Jordan river – in the days of Ezra – was supposed to be as miraculous as the first in the days of Joshua.) As a result of their sins,^[7] however, the Jewish people returned to the land under Persian rule and built a Beit HaMikdash which was destined to be destroyed.^[8] Since, originally this Beit HaMikdash was supposed to be the eternal Beit HaMikdash, it was made to resemble it in certain ways. On the other hand, since we did not merit to have the eternal Beit HaMikdash, it could not resemble the future Temple precisely as that design is reserved for the Messianic Era.

The Chuldah Gates

The third Mishnah of Tractate Middot lists the gates of the Temple Mount. The ones on the south side were called the Gates of Chuldah. The Tosfot Yom Tov explains that the prophetess Chuldah would sit between these two gates during the end of the First Temple Era. As such, when they built the Second Temple, those gates were called by her name.

The fact that Chulda would sit between these gates is alluded to in II Kings which recounts how King Yoshiyahu sent messengers to the Prophetess Chulda. (See here for more information about this incident.) The verse says^[9] that וְהִיא יֹשֶׁבֶת בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בַּמִּשְׁנֶה – “She was sitting in Jerusalem in the Mishneh.” 

The word מִּשְׁנֶה/Mishneh can be interpreted in various ways:^[10]

●      A Beit Midrash (since Mishnah is studied in a study hall).^[11]

●      Between the walls of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash. (Mishneh means double.)

●      She was teaching Mishna. (Although the Oral Torah had not yet been transcribed, it was transmitted orally at that time. This means that Chuldah was teaching the Oral Law to the sages of her generation.)

●      She was teaching Mishnah Torah (the book of Devarim/Deuteronomy) whose verses the sages expound in the Oral Law.^[12]

●      According to the Tosfot Yom Tov, it means that she was sitting between the two gates (as mentioned, Mishneh means double) on the southern wall of the Temple Mount. Later these became known as the gates of Chulda as explained above.

Why Two Gates?

The southern wall was the only side of the Har HaBayit (Temple Mount) that had two gates (entrances) as all of the other sides had only one gate each. (Kiponos on the West, Taddi on the North, and the eastern gate upon which was engraved the city of Shushan.)

The reason there were two gates on the southern side is because that’s the side of the Har HaBayit (Temple Mount) that saw the most foot traffic since the city of Jerusalem (of that era) was built to the south of the Temple Mount. The inhabitants naturally used the southern gate to enter and exit. This is also why the southern side of the Har HaBayit had the largest amount of open space before the walls of the Azarah (Courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash).^[13]The eastern side had the next largest amount of space as the people (from the southern side) would turn right in order to enter the Azarah from the eastern side. (See here.)

The Taddi Gate

The name of the gate on the Northern side was טָדִי – Taddi. The above Mishnah says that this gate wasn’t used “for anything.” Despite this, the commentaries say that it had some (limited) use. Specifically, some say that a kohen who became ritually impure at night would exit through that gate (Mishnah 9). This gate was chosen since barely anyone used it, thus sparing the kohen from embarrassment if people would realize that he became ritually impure. (See below for another possible use.)

On top of the lintel of this gate, there were two stones leaning against each other. This haphazard style of construction was supposed to remind people that this gate was not meant to be used under ordinary circumstances (as explained above).

There are several explanations for the unusual name of this gate (Taddi):

●      Some say it was someone’s name (the builder perhaps) who came from the North.^[14]

●      Some say it means “secrecy” as it refers to the kohanim who would leave in secrecy when they were ritually impure.^[15]

●      Rabbi Yaakov Emden suggests^[16] that the word is a contraction of two Greek words טן (which means body) and דו (which means two). It refers to the gate (referred to as a body or item) that is made of two items, i.e., the stones on top.

●      The Tosfot Yom Tov suggests that the word טָדִי refers to a song and that there was a chamber near this gate where the Levites were taught the tunes of the Beit HaMikdash.

●      Some say that the name of the gate was טרי (Teri) and that it comes from the Greek word :Tri” which means three – alluding to the two stones on top of the gate and the lintel beneath them.^[17]

●      Based on the version of טרי, Rabbi Yaakov Emden writes that it may mean “mound” and is thus alluding to the stones on top of the gate which were shaped like a mound (טור means “mountain” in Aramaic).^[18]

May we soon enter through these gates into the Courtyard and into the Beit HaMikdash itself with the righteous Moshiach!

[1] See here for sources.

[2] Introduction to Tractate Middot

[3] Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 1:4

[4] Ezekiel 43

[5] Brachot 4a

[6] Exodus 15:16

[7] As to which sin the Talmud is referring, 

●      Rashi (on Sotah 44a) says that this refers to the excessive sins that were transgressed in the First Temple Era.

●      The Zohar (Parshat Pikudei) says that they had married gentile wives (in the era of Ezra).

●      According to the Maharsha (on Yoma 9b D.H Choma) the fact that only a small number of Jews returned to Israel at that time is the sin that caused their return to be less than miraculous.

[8] The commentaries question how a sin could cause a positive prophecy to be retracted when, according to rules of prophecy, all positive prophecies are supposed to be irrevocable (see Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah 10:4). 

The Ben Yehoyadah explains that this rule only applies to an explicit prophecy. Whereas a vague prophecy which can be interpreted in various ways, can change based on the behavior of the intended beneficiary of the prophecy. 

(See Targum Onkelos who writes that the first crossing in the verse refers to the crossing of the Arnon river and that the second crossing in the verse refers to the crossing of the Jordan River with Joshua. Alternately, the verse can be referring to the two crossings of the Jordan but need not mean that both crossings will be miraculous.)

[9] II Kings 22:14

[10] See Rashi on the verse

[11] Targum Yonatan

[12] The sages expound on all verses in the Torah. But since many of the verses in the book of Devarim repeat that which was already said in the first four books, these interpretations are more essential to understand the meaning of these verses.

[13] See Middot 2:1 “The Temple Mount was five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. The largest (open) part of it was on the south; next to that on the east; next to that on the north; and the smallest part on the west. The part which was most extensive (i.e., with the most open space) was the part most used.”

[14] Radak on Ezekiel 40:14

[15] Tiferet Yisrael

[16] In Lechem Shamayim

[17] Tiferet Yisrael

[18] Lechem Shamayim

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom UMevorach and may we celebrate Tisha Be’Av with Moshiach!