Pensamento Judaico sobre Ezequiel 44:1

“Then he returned me in the direction of the outer gate of the Sanctuary which faces the east.”¹Yechezkel 44:1. This verse refers to the gate of Sanctuary which was before the Holy of Holies. The narrative continues, describing the wicket entrance next to this gate, “It was closed. God said to me, ‘This gate shall be closed. It will not be opened. Man shall not enter through it, because God, the Lord of Israel, has entered it. It has been closed.’ ”²Ibid.:1-2. Our Sages understood this verse as referring to the wicket entrance at the southern side of the gate to the Sanctuary. Thus, the Mishnah states in both Tractate Tamid³See Tamid 3:7. and Tractate Middos:⁴See Middos 4:2. “The Great Gate⁵I.e., the gate to the Sanctuary. had two wicket entrances [at its sides], one in the south and one in the north. No one ever entered the one in the south. The [prophet] Yechez­kel speaks explicitly concerning it: ‘This gate shall be closed.’ ” In his commentary, Rav Ovadiah of Bartenura states that the mishnah is referring to two small entrances that were slightly removed from the gate.