The events surrounding the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash
are recorded in various historical sources and religious texts, and many of
these have found their way into the current liturgy of Tisha B’Av. Although
sometimes garbed in poetry and metaphor, the elements being described are real
objects of stone, metal, and wood, and by further examining their details, we
can gain a better understanding of our prayers. Consider the following
incident, referenced in Kinnah 32, that occurred during the final hours
of the First Beis Hamikdash era:
Many groups of young Kohanim gathered together, with the keys to the Heychal in their hands. They ascended
to the roof of the Heychal and
called out, “Master of the World! Since we have not merited to be faithful
treasurers, the keys shall be transferred back to You!” They threw the keys
heavenward and the form of a hand appeared and took the keys from them. The
Kohanim then threw themselves from the roof into the burning remnants of the
Temple below (Taanis 29a).
The Heychal, or Sanctuary
Building, had a large entrance on its eastern side, but this entrance had no
doors and thus needed no keys. The inner part of the building (the Kodesh)
did have an entrance that was blocked off by two sets of doors, but these doors
– which were locked each night – were opened without the use of keys. So
which keys were these groups of Kohanim holding? And why do the Kohanim refer
to themselves as “treasurers”? Let’s take a closer look at the keys of the Heychal.
The Heychal was the largest
structure in the entire Beis Hamikdash. It measured 100 amos (about 150
feet) tall and was given a gleaming coat of white plaster so that from afar it
appeared, in the words of Josephus, “like a mountain clad in snow” (see
diagram). (Although the incident in the Gemara above happened during the times
of the First Beis Hamikdash, the description given here is based on what we
know of the Second Beis Hamikdash, which was similar but not identical.) The
large hall, or Ulam, on the eastern side of the building had an entrance
that measured 20 amos wide and 40 amos tall (30x60 feet). There
were no doors in this entrance; rather, it was blocked off by a large, and
magnificently woven, curtain.
Centered in the Ulam’s
western wall was a gateway leading into the Kodesh (Holy). This gateway
measured 10 amos wide and 20 amos tall (15x30 feet) and had two
sets of doors. One set of doors was affixed near the eastern side of the gate,
and another set of doors was affixed at the western side (see diagram). These
doors were secured from within (i.e., on their western side) using two
different methods: bars of wood or metal that slid into place and held the
doors closed, and some sort of pins (or other manually-operated locking
mechanisms) that prevented the doors from being pushed open.
Now, if the doors were locked from
inside the Kodesh, how did the Kohanim open them? Within the Ulam,
to the north and south of the gateway to the Kodesh, were small
passageways in the Ulam’s western wall (see diagram). These led into a
series of interconnected rooms, called tauim, that were built all around
the outside of the Heychal. The Kohen charged with opening the Heychal
doors would approach the northern passageway and unlock the door located there
with a key. After walking west into the first tau, he then turned to the
south where another passageway led into the Kodesh. After unlocking the
door of this second passageway with a different key, he entered the Kodesh
and approached the two doors at the western side of the Heychal gateway.
The Kohen removed the locking bars and pins and then swung the massive doors
inward to open them. Then he repeated this procedure to open the two doors at
the eastern side of the gateway.
The Mishnah in Keilim
(14:8) discusses the halachic status (with regard to tumah contraction)
of various types of keys. One of the keys described there is the “arkuvah” key, so called because its
shaft was bent at different angles that resembled an arkuvah, or knee,
of a person (see diagram). It is quite possible that this same type of key was
used to unlock the doors of the Heychal.
Thus far, we have accounted for a
total of two keys, yet the Gemara’s account speaks of groups of Kohanim, each
holding keys, implying that there were many more than just two. The missing
keys may be those of the tauim. Thirteen tauim are shown in the
diagram, but there was another level of rooms just below these and another
level just above them, for a total of 38 tauim, all of which were
interconnected and separated by doors. Without working out the specifics of
which of these doors had keyed locks, and taking a rather conservative stance
that there was one only key per tau, this results in 38 keys. If each
group of Kohanim in the Gemara’s story was holding one key, this would
certainly be enough to qualify as “many” keys. This approach would also explain
why they refer to themselves as “treasurers” since the tauim were used
to store the Temple’s gold and silver.
Tisha B’Av brings the memory of
the Beis Hamikdash into sharper focus, but recalling and retelling the details
of its structure has even more of an impact than we might realize. Hashem
encouraged the prophet Yechezkel as follows: “Just because My children are in
exile, shall the building of My House be abandoned? I consider its study as
equivalent to its actual construction. Go tell the people to involve themselves
in the study of the structure and, as a reward for their study of it, I will
consider it as if they are involved in its actual construction!” (Tanchuma
Tzav §14).
May we all merit to see the
building of the Third Beis Hamikdash speedily in our days.
To learn
more about the Beis Hamikdash please visit BeisHamikdashTopics.com or email the
author at yoavelan@gmail.com.
