Commentaire sur Ézéchiel 43:28

And he led me He again led me into the Eastern Gate, and I saw the Glory descending to the Court.

And it was like the appearance of the vision, etc. [Heb. וּכְמַרְאֵה הַמַרְאֶה.] Nine visions [or “mirrors”] (מַרְאוֹת) are written here through which the prophets perceived. Moses, however, was an exception, for he saw through one vision. Therefore, his mirror reflected clearly and he saw reality more closely. And this is [what is behind] the words of the liturgical poet. The mirrors polished with nine visions.

when I came to destroy the city in the section (9:4) of “and you shall mark a sign,” where it says (verse 1): “Bring near those appointed over the city,” and delineates the form of the Celestial Chariot.

speaking to me [Heb. מִדַּבֵּר,] speaking to Himself with me. It is respectful to say concerning Heaven מִדַּבֵּר, equivalent to מִתְדַּבֵּר ; i.e., He spoke between Himself and His glory, and the voice came to me.

and with the corpses of their kings whose houses were near the Temple, as we find with Solomon and with Athaliah. Sometimes they would bury them in the gardens of their houses, as He explains and says, “... by placing their threshold with My threshold.”

and I destroyed [Heb. וָאַכַל,] like וָאֲכַלֶה, [equivalent to] וְכִלִיתִי, and I destroyed.

Now perforce, they will distance [from Me] their harlotry, for I have put up, as a separation for Myself, an encompassment of a large border all around.

You, Son of man, describe etc., that they may be ashamed of their iniquities when I show them My loving-kindness that I do not reject them for their iniquity.

let them measure its plan Let them take measurements through you, for you will show them the measurements of the building plan.

And if they are ashamed i.e., [if] they will be embarrassed and hide their faces because of all they did, then let them know what I am destined to do for them.

the form of the House the perimeter of the House, from front to back, arranged on [all] four sides.

and its scheme the number of its cells and its chambers.

and all its forms the cherubim, palm trees, posts, and halls.

I found: “and all its forms” is unclear.

so that they keep They will learn the matters of the measurements from your mouth so that they will know how to do them at the time of the end. I found [the following]: The second aliyah [to the Holy Land] through Ezra was merited to be like the first entry through Joshua, to come about by force and through a miracle, as expounded (Ber. 4a, Exod. 15:16): “until... pass.” This Building would then have been fit for them as of then, when they emerged from exile, to an everlasting redemption. But [their] sin caused [this not to happen] for their repentance was not suitable, [i.e.,] they did not resolve to stop sinning. [Therefore,] they emerged to freedom [only] through the sanction of Cyrus and his son. Some say that in Babylon they stumbled regarding gentile women.

And these are the measurements of the altar as he explains further (verse 17): “fourteen [cubits in] length by fourteen [cubits in] breadth.”

in cubits; the cubit, one cubit and a handbreadth with a cubit of six [handbreadths], which is a cubit and a handbreadth, [judging] by a cubit of five [handbreadths].

but the base one [ordinary] cubit but its base is measured with an ordinary cubit, which equals five [handbreadths]. The word חֵיק is related to חֵקוּי, permanence, it refers to the one cubit. The cubit is the ordinary cubit, not a cubit and a handbreadth, which is the cubit of six [handbreadths]. So too did we learn in Menahoth (97b) that the base, the circuit, and the horns are measured with a cubit of five [handbreadths].

but the base one [ordinary] cubit This is the yesod.

and such a cubit also for the breadth This is the circuit.

and [likewise on] its border, [going] one span to its edge all around These are the horns, [each of which measured] one span from its center; and they measured a span to each side, totaling a cubit by a cubit.

and equally so the very top of the altar And with this cubit the top of the golden altar was measured [to be] a cubit in length and a cubit in breadth [forming a] square. So it is explained in Erubin (4a). In Menahoth (97b) it is explained more fully in terms of the computation: The base was a cubit in height. It extended upward a cubit, and a cubit was its breadth. The recess of the circuit was recessed a cubit of five [handbreadths], but its height, of which we learned (Middoth 3:1): “It extended upward 5 [cubits] and was recessed a cubit” was not [measured] with a cubit of five [handbreadths].

and [likewise on] its border, [going] one span to its edge The horns, both in their breadth and in their height, were [measured] with a cubit of five [handbreadths].

And from the base on the ground [Heb. וּמֵחֵיק הָאָרֶץ. From the “yesod,” from the floor of the earth.

to the lower ledge [Heb. הָעֲזָרָה, lit. court.] Until the top of the first frame.

two cubits It was not the same in the [Second] Temple, for there, we learned (Zeb. 54a): “They bring a frame of 32 [cubits] by 32 [cubits], whose height is a cubit,” whereas here its height is two cubits.

and the breadth one cubit when one places the second frame upon it. The second frame was thirty by thirty, the result being that it [the bottom, 32 by 32 cubit frame] had a recess around it a cubit wide which was the base. Jonathan renders: עֲזָרָה as מסְתַּמְתָא, a word for floor, [and it was called so] because one would fill the frame with smooth stones, pitch, lime, and molten lead, mix it and pour it out and smooth it out on top, and behold, it would be a kind of floor.

and from the smaller ledge to the greater ledge four cubits From the top of the lower frame until the top of the frame that was upon it was a height of four cubits.

and the breadth, one cubit This is the amount of the recess of the circuit. It went up four cubits and went in one cubit. [In the second Temple, it went up five cubits and went in one.] And this is the “circuit.” The lower one is called smaller because it is only two [cubits] high, whereas the upper one is four.

And the altar hearth The height of the top of the altar, from the circuit and above; and in the [Second] Temple it was only three [cubits]. Jonathan, too, renders: And the altar was four cubits.

And the altar hearth shall be twelve [cubits in] length The [entire] place for the woodpile was twenty-four [cubits] by twenty-four [cubits] and this [section] was twelve by twelve.

to [each of] its four sides [i.e.,] he measured twelve [cubits] from its center to every side. Behold [it was] 24 [cubits] by 24 [cubits]. So is it clear from Zebahim (61b), and so have we learned in Tractate Middoth (3:1): The altar [of the second Temple] was 32 by 32 [cubits]. It extended upward a cubit and receded a cubitforming the baseleaving it 30 by 30 [cubits]. It extended upward five [cubits] and receded a cubitthis is the circuitleaving 28 by 28 [cubits]. The area for the horns was a cubit here and a cubit there, leaving 26 by 26 [cubits]. The area for the priests to walk was a cubit here and a cubit there, leaving 24 by 24 [cubits]the place for the woodpiles.

And the ledge, fourteen [cubits in] length The top of the altar, including the area for the horns and including the area for the feet of the priests, was 28 by 28 [cubits], and the 14 mentioned here were measured from its center, as is explained by “to its four sides.”

and the boundary around it Jonathan renders: and the rim, but our Sages explained it as referring to the horns.

half a cubit He measures from its center; hence it was a cubit by a cubit.

and its base a cubit This is the recession of the base.

and its ascents will look towards the east The ramp upon which they ascended was in the south in order that the one who ascended it would face east, for all the [priests’] turns were made toward the right, and when you place the ramp in the south, the one who ascends it and turns right faces east.

the priests, the Levites [i.e.,] who are of the tribe of Levi.

who are of the seed of Zadok Since he was the High Priest who was the first to serve in the Temple, in the days of Solomon, they are [all] called by his name.

on its four horns [i.e., the four horns] of the altar.

corners of the uppermost ledge the top of the altar.

and make it fit for atonement You shall “wipe” it of its ordinariness to initiate it into sanctity, so that it will befit for [providing] atonement from then on.

at the end of the House [Heb. בְּמִפְקַד.] Jonathan renders: in a place where he sees the House, i.e., in a holy place. בְּמִפְקַד הַבַּיִת means a place where the House terminates, as in (Num. 32:49): “and not one man of us is terminated (נִפְקַד).” This [bull] is the bull of investiture, [used] in the manner that they [used it] in the Tabernacle, and that bull was burnt and not eaten. And our Sages expounded so in Menahoth (45a): They sacrificed investiture offerings in Ezra’s days just as they sacrificed in Moses’ days.

you shall offer a he-goat This was not [done] in the Tabernacle [of Moses’ time], but the investiture of the future will be [done] so by Divine ordinance.

the purification [Heb. מֵחַטֵא,] from purifying.

without blemish shall they make (the burnt offering).

and I will accept you with satisfaction [Heb. וְרָצִאתִי,] from רָצוֹן will.