ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף יחזקאל 42:8

“The length,”⁶Ibid.:8. The term length here refers to the distance from north to south, i.e., the distance from the Temple building to the wall of the Outer Courtyard. It was 120 cubits long, while the portion of the courtyard that ran from east to west was only 100 cubits wide. i.e., the measure from north to south, “of the chambers located in the Outer Courtyard was fifty cubits.” In this verse, the term “length” refers to the width of the chambers, because the end of the verse discusses the chambers’ length: “Behold, in front of the Sanctuary,” i.e., the entire span of the Beis HaMikdash from east to west, including the Ulam, the Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, and the cell behind it “was 100 cubits [long].”

Alternatively, Rashi may have mentioned the wall of the chamber on the eastern side because it was exactly 50 cubits. In contrast, the wall of the chamber on the western side was one cubit longer. To explain: Above, in sec. 70, it was stated that the chambers began 5 cubits from Beis HaChalifos. The wall of the Inner Courtyard was built at the end of those 5 cubits on the east side. This wall separated between the Inner Courtyard and the Outer Courtyard, and was 6 cubits thick. Five of those cubits were opposite the 5 cubits mentioned immediately beforehand, and there was an additional cubit. From this wall outward, the Outer Courtyard extends 100 cubits, as explained in sec. 22. This creates an apparent contradiction between two verses: One verse states¹³See Yechezkel 42:8. As mentioned above, although the verse uses the term length, it is describing the chambers' width. that the chambers were 50 cubits wide, while another verse¹⁴Yechezkel 42:2. speaks of “[a space] 50 cubits wide.” This refers to the width of the courtyard in front of the chambers, as we explained above. According to the reckoning above, which calculated that the chambers included 1 cubit that adjoins the wall of the Inner Courtyard, that cubit is not included in the measure mentioned in either verse. Where will it be?

There is no difficulty regarding the area opposite the building of the Beis HaMikdash on either side. As explicitly stated,⁵²See Yechezkel 42:3. there were 20 cubits between the building of the Beis HaMikdash and the chambers on the complex’s north and the south. The chambers themselves were 50 cubits wide.⁵³Ibid. 42:8. Their entire area was consecrated, and the kohanim would eat the sacrifices of the highest order of holiness inside them.⁵⁴Ibid. 42:13. Thus, the accumulated width of the consecrated area was divided as follows: 100 cubits for the holy chambers, evenly distributed with 50 cubits on each side; 40 cubits between the chambers and the building of the Beis HaMikdash, evenly distributed with 20 cubits on each side; and the width of the Sanctuary and its side-chambers, which measured a total of 70 cubits. This adds up to a total of 210 cubits. Thus it is wider than the 135 cubits of the Second Beis HaMikdash. Nevertheless, the Inner Courtyard, which comprised the space in front of the building of the Beis HaMikdash only measured 100 cubits.⁵⁵Ibid. 40:23.