meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt_done/Mishnah/Seder Kodashim/Mishnah Middot/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Mishnah Middot
  משנה מדות
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Mishnah Middot
  
  
  
  
  
  In three places the <i>Kohanim</i> stood guard in the Temple: in the Chamber of Avtinas, in the Chamber of <i>Nitsots</i> [sparks] and in the Chamber of Fire. The Levites would [guard] in twenty one places: five [Levites] on the five gates of the Temple Mount, four [Levites] on the four  corners [of the Temple Mount walls] from the inside, five [Levites] , on the five gates of the courtyard, four [Levites] on the four corners [of the courtyard] from the outside, one in the Chamber of the Sacrifices, one in the Chamber of the Curtain, and one behind in the Chamber of the Cover [the holy of holies].
  The man [who is in charge] of the Temple Mount would go around to each and every guard. In front of him there were lit torches and any guard who was not standing [on guard], the man of the Temple Mount would say to him [the sleeping guard] "Peace onto you." If it was apparent that he [the guard] was sleeping he would hit him with his stick. He even had permission to burn his [the sleeping guard's] clothes. [If that occurred] they [the people on the outsde] would say "What is that noise in the Temple Courtyard?" [They were told that] it is the voice of a Levi  being beaten and whose clothes are being burned because he slept on guard duty. Rebbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: "They once,  found my mother's brother sleeping and they burned his cloak."
  There were five gates to the Temple Mount. [The] two Chulda gates in the south, used as entrance and as an exit. Kiponos in the west, used as an entrance and an exit. Tadi in the north, was not used at all. The Eastern Gate, was decorated with Shushan the capital [of Persia], and through it [the gate] the <i>Kohen Gadol</i> would burn the [red] heifer [for the purification ritual] and all those attending to it would exit to the Mount of Anointing [Mount of Olives].
  There were seven gates in the Temple Courtyard. Three to the north and three to the south and one to the east. In the south was the Fuel Gate [the wood for the altar was bought in through there]. Second to it was the Gate of the Sacrifice. Third to it was the Water Gate. In the east was the Nikanor gate, and it had two chambers, one on its right and one on its left. One was the chamber of Pinchas the Outfitter, and one was the Chamber of the Makers of the <i>Chavitin</i> [for the <i>Kohen Gadol's</i> daily offering].
  And in the north, the Gate of <i>Nitsots</i>. And it was [built] like a portico and upon it was built an upper story, where from that the <i> Kohanim</i> guarded from above and the Levites from below. It had a door to the <i>Cheil</i> [a low fence around the Temple, which served as a boundary, beyond which entry to those impure was prohibited]. Second to it, the Gate of Sacrifice. Third to it,was the Hall of Fire.
  And there were four chambers in the Hall of Fire, like alcoves opening into an auditorium. Two [of the alcoves] were in a consecrated part [of the Hall of Fire] and two in an unconsecrated part, and the ends of the beams [indicating the boundary] separated between consecrated and unconsecrated. And what were they used for? The southwestern one was the Chamber of the Sacrificial Lambs [blemish-free lambs were stored there]. The southeastern one was the Chamber of the <i>Lechem HaPanim</i> [showbread]. [In] the northeastern one the Hasmoneans hid the stones of the altar that were defiled by the kings of Greece. [Through] the northwestern one  they [the <i>Kohanim</i> descended to the Room of Immersion [mikvah].
  The Hall of Fire had two gates, one opened to the <i>Cheil</i> and one opened to the courtyard. Rabbi Judah said: the one that was open to the courtyard had a small doorway that they [the <i>Kohanim</i>] would enter through it to observe the courtyard.
  The Hall of Fire was domed, and was a large room, surrounded with ledges of stone, and the elders of the heads of the household would sleep there with the keys to the courtyard in their hands, and the young  <i>Kohanim</i> [slept] with their clothing on the ground.
  There was a space there [in the Hall of Fire], one <i>amah</i> [measurement of size] by  one <i>amah</i> and there was a tile of marble with a ring installed in it, and a chain that the keys [to the Courtyard] were hanging from. When the time for closing the gates had arrived, [the <i>Kohen</i>] would lift the tile with the ring, and take the keys from the chain, the <i>Kohen</i> would lock the gates from the inside, and a Levite would sleep on the outside. When he had finished locking all the gates, he returned the keys to the chain, and the tile to it's place. He would place his clothes on it [the tile] and go to  sleep. If one of them [the <i>Kohanim</i>] experienced a seminal emission [and became impure], he would exit via a tunnel which went under the building, and there were candles lit here and there, until he arrived at the Room of Immersion. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: [They would exit] via the tunnel that went under the <i>Cheil</i>, and would exit through the Tedi [Gate].
  
  
  
  The temple mount was five hundred <i>amah</i> [cubit] by five hundred <i>amah</i>, with most of it [its chambers]  in the south, second to it [number of chambers] was in the east, third it [number of chambers] was in the north, and the least were in the west. The area which had the most measure [number of chambers] had the most use.
  All who would enter the temple mount entered toward the right, and would encircle it and exit through the left, aside for one to which something [unfavorable] has occurred, that he would encircle it towards the left [even when he entered]. [If he was asked] "Why are you encircling towards the left?" [If he answered]  "Because I am a mourner, [they would respond] "He who rests in this house should comfort you". [If he answered] "Because I am excommunicated", [they would respond] "He who dwells in this house should put into their [the judges'] hearts and they will draw you near". These are the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosi said to him [Rabbi Meir] "You have made as if they [the judges] have exceeded the law [in their excommunication] against him. Rather [they would say] "He who dwells in this house should put into your heart that you will listen to the words of your colleagues and they will draw you near".
  Inside  of it [the wall of the Temple Mount] was the <i>Soreg</i> [a low fence around the Temple, which served as a boundary, beyond which entry to those impure was prohibited] ten <i>tefachim</i> [hand-breadths] high. There were thirteen breaches in it, made originally by the Greek kings, and when the Jews fixed these breaches, they enacted thirteen prostrations equivalent to them. Inside the <i>Soreg</i> was the <i>Cheil</i> [a low fence around the Temple, which served as a boundary, beyond which entry to those impure was prohibited], [which was] ten <i> amot</i> [wide]. There were twelve steps there, and the height of each step was half an <i> amah</i>, and its tread was  half an <i> amah</i>. All the steps that were there [in the Temple]  had a height of  half an <i> amah</i> and a tread of a  half an <i> amah</i>, except those into the Antechamber. All the entrances that were there  were twenty <i>amot</i> high and ten <i>amot</i> wide except to the Antechamber. All entrances that were there had doors  except for of the Antechamber. All the gates that were there had lintels, except for the Tadi [gate], which had two stones leaning one on top of the other. All the [doors of the]  gates were changed to gold [from copper] except the gates of Nikanor, since a miracle happened with them. Some say it is because its copper shone [like gold].  
  All of the walls that were there [around the Temple] were high except for the Eastern wall, so that the <i>Kohen</i> who would burn the [red] heifer could stand on top of Mount of Anointing [Olives] and see the opening of the vestibule [over the eastern wall] the time that he sprinkled the blood [of the red heifer].  
  The Woman's Courtyard was one hundred and thirty five [<i> amah</i>]  by one hundred and thirty five [<i> amah</i>].  And there were four chambers in its four corners each forty <i>amot</i> [long] and they did not have a roof.  And this is the way they will be in the future [in the Third Temple], as is stated "And he took me to the outer Courtyard and passed me around the four corners of the Courtyard, and an enclosure in the corner of the Courtyard etc. And at the four corners of the Courtyard were enclosures that were <i> keturot</i>.(Ezekiel 46:21-22). The word <i> keturot</i> means nothing but  without roofs. And what were these chambers used for?  In the southeastern corner was the chamber of the <i>Nezirim</i> where the <i>Nezirim</i> would cook their peace offerings, shave their heads, and throw [the hair] underneath the pot.  The Northeastern chamber was the chamber of the wood, where the <i>Kohanim</i> who were [physically] blemished would check the wood [to be used on the alter] for worms.  Any piece of wood containing a worm was unfit for use on the alter.  In the Northwestern corner was the chamber of the lepers.   The Southwestern corner, Rabbi Eliezer son of Yaakov said "I forgot what it was used for."  Abba Shaul said it was used to store the wine and oil. It was called the Chamber of the House of Oil.  [The wall around the Women's Courtyard] was originally smooth [with no protrusions from it] but later a balcony was built around it, so that the women could watch from above with the men from below so they would not intermingle. There were fifteen steps going up [from the Women's Courtyard] to the Courtyard of the Israelites, equivalent to the fifteen songs of Ascent in psalms, and upon them the Levites would sing their songs.  They [the fifteen steps] were not straight but rounded like a semi circular threshing floor.  
  There were chambers underneath the Israelite courtyard that opened to the Women's Courtyard, which is where the Levites would put their harps, lyres and cymbals and all other musical instruments.  The Israelites' Courtyard was one hundred and thirty five <i>amot</i>  long and eleven [<i>amot</i>] wide.  Similarly the <i>Kohanim's</i> Courtyard was one hundred and thirty five <i> amot</i>  long and eleven [<i>amot</i>] wide. The tops of beams [stuck in the ground] separated between the  Israelites' Courtyard and the  <i>Kohanim's</i> Courtyard.  Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said that there was a step [the length of the <i>Kohanim's</i> Courtyard] one<i> amah </i> high and a platform [where the Levites stood when they sang] was placed on it. It [the one <i> amah</i> step] had three steps [leading to the platform], each was one half <i> amah </i> [high]. As a result we find that the <i>Kohanim's</i> Courtyard was two and a half <i>amot</i> higher than the Israelite's Courtyard.  The entire courtyard was one hundred and eighty seven [<i>amot</i>] long and one hundred thirty five [<i>amot</i>] wide. There were thirteen prostrations there [in the Courtyard].  Abba Yosi ben Chanan says, [these prostrations] corresponded to the thirteen gates [of the Courtyard].  [The names of the gates] The southern [gates] that were close to the west [were called] the Upper Gate, the Kindling Gate, the Firstborn's Gate and the Water Gate.  Why was it called the Water Gate? Because it was through that gate that the jug of water was carried for the libation of the festival [Sukkot].  Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says, because there the water became a stream and in the future it will come out from underneath the Temple.  And opposite [the southern gate] on the northern [side] close to the west was the Gate of Yechoniah, the Gate of the Sacrifices, the Gate of the Women and the Gate of Song.  Why was it called the gate of Yechonia? Because it was through that gate that [King] Yechoniah left [the Temple] on his way into exile.  On the eastern side was the Gate of Nikanor, and there were two smaller doors next to it one on its right and the other on its left.  There were also two gates in the west that had no name.
  
  
  
  The altar was thirty two [<i> amah</i>] by thirty two [<i>amah</i>]. It rose up one <i>amah</i> and indented one  <i> amah</i>. This [tier] was called the <i>yesod</i> [base].  We thus find [that at this level, the altar was] thirty   by thirty  [<i>amot</i>]. It rose another five [<i>amot</i>] and indented one [<i>amah</i>]. This was called the <i>sovev</i> [ledge]. We thus find [that at this level, the altar was] twenty eight by twenty eight [<i> amot</i>]. The area for the horns [on the corners of the altar] was one <i> amah</i> on this side and one <i> amah</i> on this side.  We thus find [that at this level, the altar was] twenty six by twenty six [<i>amot</i>]. The area designated for the <i>Kohanim</i> to walk around [the top of the alter] was one <i>amah</i> on this side and one <i>amah</i> on this side. We thus find [that at this level, the altar was] twenty four by twenty four   [<i>amot</i>] which was the area of the pyre.  Rabbi Yosi said, in the initially [in the first Temple] the base [of the altar] was only twenty eight by twenty eight [<i>amot</i>], rising and indenting in the same pattern until we find that the area of the pyre was twenty by twenty [<i>amot</i>]. When the Jews returned from [the Babylonian] exile they added four <i>amot</i> to the south and  four <i>amot</i> to the west in the shape of [the Greek letter] <i>gamma</i> [L shaped], as its stated  "And the hearth was twelve <i>amot</i> wide and twelve <i>amot</i> long, a square" (Ezekiel 43:16) .  We might have thought that it [the altar] was only twelve by twelve [<i>amot</i>]. However when it says "to its four quadrants," it teaches us that the measurement was taken from the center of the altar and it was  twelve [<i>amot</i>] in every direction.  And there was a red line that circled [the altar] which was the dividing line [midway] between where blood [that needed to be placed] on the upper half of the altar and [those that had to be placed] on the lower half [of the altar]. The base went around the entire northern side and western side of the altar and took up [only] one <i>amah</i> on the southern side and one <i>amah</i> on the eastern side. 
  On the southwestern corner [of the base] there were two holes like two thin nostrils where the bloods placed on the western base and on the southern base would channel through them and mix in the stream [that flowed in the Courtyard] and then go out to the Kidron Valley. 
  Beneath the floor at that [the southwestern] corner, there was a [underground] place [a tunnel] one <i>amah</i> by one <i>amah</i> which had a marble tile with a ring attached to it, through which they would go down to the pit [where the blood would collect] and clean it.  There was a ramp on the southern side of the altar which was thirty two <i>amah</i> [long] by sixteen  <i>amah</i>   wide.  There was a little compartment on the western side where they would place the invalid  bird sin-offerings.
  Both the stones of the ramp and the stones for the altar [came] from the valley of Beit Kerem. They would dig below [the stones] virgin soil  and would bring complete stones that were never touched by iron, because iron renders them [the stones] unfit by just touch. [They are also unfit] if they are chipped through any means. If one of them were chipped, it is rendered unfit, but the rest [of the sones] are not. The [walls and the top of the altar] were whitewashed twice a year, once on Pesach and once on Sukkot. The vestibule [was whitewashed] once a year, on Pesach. Rebbi says, every Friday they would be whitewashed with a cloth because of the blood stains. The whitewash was not applied with an iron trowel, out of the concern that the iron trowel would touch the stones, and render them unfit, since iron was created to shorten man's days, and the altar was created to extend man's days, and it is improper that that which shortens be placed upon that which extends. 
  There were rings [in the floor] to the north of the altar. [They were set] six rows with four rings [in each], while some say [there were] four rows with six rings [in each], through which they would slaughter the holy [sacrifices]. The slaughtering area was north of the altar. There were eight low stone pillars there, and squares of cedar wood were placed on top of them. Hooks of iron were attached to them and [each block] had  three rows of hooks from where they hung and skinned the animals, [then placing the meat] on tables of marble [that were] between the pillars. 
  The laver was between the vestibule and the altar, drawn towards the south. Between the Sanctaury and the altar there were twenty two <i>amot</i> and there were twelve steps there. The height of each step was half an <i>amah</i> with a tread of one [<i>amah</i>]. [They were divided ino three sets of four steps each]. [The first set rose] one <i>amah</i> and one <i>amah</i> [a total of two <i>amot</i>] with a landing of three <i>amot</i>. [The second set also rose] one <i>amah</i> and one <i>amah</i> [a total of two <i>amot</i>] with a landing of three [<i>amot</i>]. The top [set rose] one <i>amah</i> and one <i>amah</i> [a total of two <i>amot</i>] with a landing of four [<i>amot</i>]. Rabbi Yehuda says that at the top [set rose] one <i>amah</i> and <i>amah</i> [a total of two <i>amot</i>] with a landing of five [<i>amot</i>].  
  The entrance to the Antechamber had a height of forty <i>amot</i>, and a width of twenty <i>amot</i>. There were five decorated beams of milas [cedar] wood on top of it [as a lintel]. The lowest [beam of the lintel] was wider [than the entrance] one <i>amah</i> on this side and  one <i>amah</i> on this side. And the one above it was  was wider [than the one below it]  one <i>amah</i> on this side and  one <i>amah</i> on this side. So, it was found that the one on top was thirty <i>amot</i> [wide]. There was a layer of stones between each beam.
  Poles of cedar were attached from the wall of the Sanctuary to the wall of the vestibule, to prevent it from collapsing. Gold chains were attached to the ceiling beams of the Sanctuary [from] where the young <i>Kohanim</i> would climb and see the crowns, as it says "The crowns will be be a remembrance for Helem, for Tuviah, for Yedayah and for Chen the son of Tzefaniah in the Sanctuary of Hashem. (Zechariah 6:11) There was a golden vine at the doorway to the Sanctuary, supported by poles, and anyone who offered a donation of a [gold] leaf, a grape, or a cluster would hang them on it [the vine]. Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Tsadok said: Once, three hundred <i>Kohanim</i> were commissioned to clear it away [to someplace else]. 
  
  
  
  The entrance of the Sanctuary was twenty <i>amot</i> high and ten <i>amot</i> wide. It had four doors, two on the  inside [of the entrance], and two on the outside, as it says, "There were two doors to the Sanctuary and to the Holy of Holies" (Ezekiel 41:23) The outer ones [doors] open into the opening [of the entrance] to cover the walls, while the inner ones open into the Sanctuary as to cover the behind the doors, for the entire Sanctuary was covered with gold, except for behind the doors. Rabbi Yehuda says, [the doors] were placed in the middle of the entrance way, and looked like folding doors, these [the outer doors] cover two and a half <i>amot</i> and these [the inner doors] cover two and a half <i>amot</i>, [leaving] half an <i>amah</i> and a doorpost at one end, and half an <i>amah</i> and a doorpost at the other end, as it says,  There were two doors for [each] door, two swinging doors, two for one door, and two for the other." (Ezekiel 41:24) 
  The great gate had two small doorways, one on the north, and one on the south. No person ever entered from the southern doorway, and the reason was spelled out by Ezekiel, as it says  "And Hashem said unto me: 'This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it, for Hashem, the God of Israel, will come through it, it shall be shut."' (Ezekiel 44:2) He [the <i>Kohen</i>] took the key and opened the small door, and he entered the cell, and from the cell, he entered into the Sanctuary. Rabbi Yehuda says, he would walk along in the thickness of the wall, until he found himself standing between the two doors [to the space between the two gates]. He opened the outer doors from the inside, and the inner doors from the outside. 
  There were thirty-eight cells [within the walls of the Sanctuary], fifteen in the north, fifteen in the south, and eight in the west. On the north and on the south, [there were three levels] five cells [built] on top of five cells and five more on top of them. In the west there were three [cells were built] on top of three and two on top of them. Each cell had three openings; one to the cell on the right, one to the cell on the left, and one to the cell on top. [to the cell] in the northeastern corner there was five openings: one to the cell on the right, one to the cell above it, one to the <i>Mesibah</i> [a winding ramp within the walls of the  Sanctuary], one to the small doorway, and one to the Sanctuary. 
  The [cell] on the bottom [row] were five <i>amot</i> wide and [they formed] a ledge six <i>amot</i> wide, and the middle [cells formed] a ledge of seven <i>amot</i> and the [cells] on top [were] seven [<i>amot</i> wide], as it says , "The lowest cell was five <i>amot</i> wide, and the middle was six <i>amot</i> wide, and the third was seven <i>amot</i> wide." (I Kings 6:6) 
  The Winding Ramp rose from the northeast corner to the northwest corner, by which they used to go up to the roofs of the cells. He would go up the Winding Ramp facing west and traverse the entire northern [side of the building], until reaching the west [side of the building]. When he reached the west, he turned to face south, and then traversed the west side until reaching the south. When he reached the south, he turned to face the east, and he then traversed the south side, until he reached the opening of the upper story, for the door of the upper story opened to the south. In the opening of the upper story, there were two poles of cedar, which they used to climb to the roof of the upper story. The ends of the beams divided the upper story between [the area above] the Holy [part] and the Holy of Holies . There were shafts open in the upper story into the Holy of Holies by which artisans were lowered down in boxes, so that their eyes should not gain pleasure of the Holy of Holies. 
  The Sanctuary was a hundred [<i>amot</i>] by a hundred [<i>amot</i>] with a height of a hundred [<i>amot</i>]: The  base was six <i>amot</i>, and the height [of the lowest story of the Sanctuary reached an height of] forty <i>amot</i>,  one <i>amah</i> for its ornamentation, two <i>amot</i> for the supporting [beams], one <i>amah</i> for the  ceiling, and one <i>amah</i> for the pavement. The height of the upper chamber was forty <i>amot</i>,  one <i>amah</i> for its ornamentation, two <i>amot</i> for its supporting [beams], one <i>amah</i> for the  ceiling, and one <i>amah</i> for the pavement. Three <i>amot</i> [were taken up by the] fence [around the roof], and an <i>amah</i> for the  raven-chaser [spikes]. Rabbi Yehuda says, the spikes were not included in the measurement; rather, the fence was four <i>amot</i>.  
  From east to west [the Sanctuary was] one hundred [<i>amot</i>] by one hundred [<i>amot</i>]: The [eastern wall of the] vestibule was five [<i>amot</i> thick]; the vestibule was eleven [<i>amot</i> wide]; the [eastern] wall of the Sanctuary was six [<i>amot</i> thick] and its interior was forty [<i>amot</i> long]; one <i>amah</i> for the [place of] the partition between the Holy of Holies and the Sanctuary; and twenty <i>amot</i> was the Holy of Holies. The [western] wall of the Sanctuary was six [<i>amot</i> thick]; the cell [in back of it] was six [<i>amot</i> wide]; and the [outer] wall of the cell was five  [<i>amot</i> thick]. From north to south the Sanctuary was seventy <i>amot</i>. The wall of the Winding Ramp was five [<i>amot</i> thick] and the Winding Ramp [itself] was three [<i>amot</i> wide]; the wall of the cell was five [<i>amot</i> thick]  and the cell was five [<i>amot</i> wide]. The [southern] wall of the Sanctuary was six [<i>amot</i> thick]; the cell was six [<i>amot</i> wide] and the wall of the cell was five [<i>amot</i> thick]. The [place known as] the House of Lowering the Water  was three [<i>amot</i> wide] and its wall was five [<i>amot</i> thick]. The vestibule was longer than it [the Sanctuary] fifteen <i>amot</i> to the north, and fifteen <i>amot</i> to the south. This [longer section] was called the Chamber of the Knives [for that is where] that the knives were stored. The Sanctuary was narrow in the back [the eastern side] and wide at the front [the eastern side], like a lion, as it says, "Ah, Ariel [lit. Lion  of God] Ariel, the city where David encamped."  (Isaiah 29:1) Just as a lion is narrow in his back and wide in front, so too was the Sanctuary narrow in the back and wide in the front.  
  
  
  
  The whole courtyard was one hundred and eighty seven [<i>amot</i>] long by one hundred and thirty five [<i>amot</i>] wide: From east to west it was one hundred and eighty seven [<i>amot</i>], the place where Israelites were permitted to walk was eleven <i>amot</i>; the place where the <i>Kohanim</i> could walk was eleven <i>amot</i>; the altar was thirty two [<i>amot</i>]; between the vestibule and the altar was twenty two <i>amot</i>; the Sanctuary was one hundred <i>amot</i> and there were eleven <i>amot</i> behind the Holy of Holies.  
  From north to south [the courtyard] was one hundred and thirty five [<i>amot</i>]: The ramp and the altar [together] were sixty two [<i>amot</i>]; between the altar and the rings were eight <i>amot</i>; the space of the rings was twenty four [<i>amot</i>]; between the rings and the tables were four [<i>amot</i>]; between the tables and the low stone pillars [from where they hung the animals to skin them] were four [<i>amot</i>];  between the low stone pillars and the [northern] wall of the courtyard was eight <i>amot</i>. The remaining [twenty five <i>amot</i>] were taken up by the space between the ramp and the [southern] wall [of the Courtyard] and the space of the low stone pillars. 
  There were six chambers in the Courtyard, three on the north side and three on the south side.  The ones on the north side were the Chamber of Salt;  the Chamber of <i>Parvah</i>, and the Chamber of Rinsing.  The Chamber of Salt was where they stored the salt for the sacrifices.  The Chamber of <i>Parvah</i> was where they would salt the hides of the sacrifices and on its roof was a Room of Immersion, [mikveh], which the <i>Kohen Gadol</i> used on Yom Kippur.  The Chamber of Rinsing was where they would rinse the innards of the sacrifices, and within this chamber, a spiral staircase went up to the roof of the [nearby] Chamber of <i>Parvah</i>. 
  On the south side was the Chamber of Wood, the Chamber of Diaspora and the Chamber of Hewn Stone. [Concerning] the Chamber of Wood, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said,"I forgot what it was used for."  Abba Shaul said, the Chamber of the  <i>Kohen Gadol</i>was behind the two other chambers [the Chamber of Exile and the Chamber of Hewn Stone] and all three roofs were even.  In  the Chamber of Diaspora there was a well, upon which a wheel was placed and from there they drew [drinking] water to supply [the people] the Courtyard.  The Chamber of Hewn Stone was where the Grand <i>Sanhedrin</i> [highest court, charged with deciding cases and appeals that had national significance. It was comprised of 71 scholars who had received the full traditional rabbinical ordination, and its decisions fixed Jewish practice for subsequent generations.] of Israel sat and judged the <i>Kohanim</i> [if they are fit to serve]. A <i>Kohen</i> who was found to be unfit would don a black [robe] and wrap his head in black and leave [the Temple Mount].  If he was found to fit, he would don a white [robe] and wrap his head in white and enter the Courtyard to serve with the other <i>Kohanim</i>. They [those found to be fit] would make a day of celebration [to celebrate] that nobody unfit was found in the children of Aaron the <i>Kohen</i>.  And this is what they said: "Blessed is Hashem that nobody unfit was found in the children of Aharon.  And Blessed is Hashem who chose Aaron and his children to stand and serve before Hashem in the Holy Temple." 