The Kodesh - Inner Sanctuary
The doorway of the Kodesh was 10 cubits wide and 20
cubits high. Over the doorway was a carving of a golden
menorah donated by Queen Helena, a convert to Judaism.
The
morning service could not begin before sunrise. The
Temple was surrounded by high walls, and it was not
possible to see the rising sun, so a priest had to be
sent outside to see if it was time for the service
to begin.
After Queen Helena
donated the Menorah, it was no longer necessary to
send a priest outside the Temple. As the sun rose
in the east it shone against the menorah and the reflected
light was cast into the Azarah. The priests then knew
that the morning service could begin.
The
Doorway
The doorway was 6 cubits thick and had four doors.
The doors were made of olive wood overlaid with gold.
Carved in the gold were angels, palm trees, and flowers.
The front walls of the Heichal and the doorposts were
6 cubits thick.
Two doors were
set at the front of the 6-cubit doorway, and two doors
were set at the rear. The front two doors opened inward,
and folded against the inner wall of the doorway.
The
rear doors also opened inward, and folded against
the wall. (R. Yehudah has a different opinion concerning
the doors).
In front of the
doors was a curtain that could be raised and lowered.
When the High Priest was in the Kodesh, the curtain
was lowered to afford him privacy.
The
Windows
The windows of the Kodesh were 20 cubits high,
and consisted of long narrow openings in the walls.
The openings were wider on the outside than on the
inside. In a private dwelling, window openings were
narrow on the outside and wide on the inside to cause
the light to spread inside. The rabbis viewed the
Heichal as the "light source" of the world,
so the windows were constructed thus to spread the
light outward.
The Kodesh was
40 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and 40 cubits high.
The walls were paneled with wood and overlaid with
gold, except for the places the doors covered when
they were open. Engraved in the gold were palm trees,
vines, flowers, and angels.
The
Holy Vessels
Near the northern wall of the Kodesh was the Shulchan
(Golden Table). It was placed in an east-west orientation.
On the Table were the twelve showbreads and two spoons
filled with frankincense. There were the other golden
tables in the Kodesh; five north of the Golden Table,
and five to the south. These were to enhance the beauty
of the Golden Table.
The Menorah was
placed with a north-south orientation near the southern
wall of
the Kodesh, though some say it was placed with an east-west
orientation. There were ten other menorahs in the
Kodesh. Five were placed north of the Menorah, and
five were placed to the south. These, too, were from
ornamental purposes.
In the center of
the Kodesh was the golden Altar. The Menorah, Altar,
and Table were placed within the inner half of the
Kodesh. The Altar was slightly off to the east.
In
the First Temple, a wall 1 cubit thick separated the
Kodesh from the Holy of Holies. In that Temple the
ceiling was only 30 cubits, the Second Temple had a
height of 40 cubits between floor and ceiling. A wall
1 cubit thick could not be erected to the 40 cubit
height. They did not want to make a wider wall so
as not to diminish any area of the Kodesh or the Holy
of Holies.
It was decided
to build the Kodesh a full 40 cubits long and the
Holy of Holies a full 20 cubits. A neutral space of
1 cubit would be place between them, and marked off
by two curtains.
One curtain
was placed between the end of the Kodesh and the beginning
of the cubit space. The other curtain was placed between
the end of the cubit space and the beginning of the
holy of Holies. The outer curtain was folded back
on its southern side and the inner curtain folded
back on its northern side.
The curtains were
never opened except during festivals, when they were
rolled back so that the people could see the carvings
of the angels on the wall. The angels in the carvings
were embracing, which represented the love of G-d
to the children of Israel.
