משנה ז׳ שְׁנַיִם שְׁעָרִים הָיוּ לְבֵית הַמּוֹקֵד, אֶחָד פָּתוּחַ לַחֵיל וְאֶחָד פָּתוּחַ לָעֲזָרָה. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה: זֶה שֶׁהָיָה פָּתוּחַ לָעֲזָרָה – פִּשְׁפֵּשׁ קָטָן הָיָה לוֹ, שֶׁבּוֹ נִכְנָסִין לִבְלוֹשׁ אֶת הָעֲזָרָה.

mishna 1:7 The Chamber of the Hearth had two gates; one, on the north side, was open to the rampart, and one, on the south side, was open to the courtyard. Rabbi Yehuda said: This gate that was open to the courtyard had a small wicket in the very large door of the gate, through which the priests would enter each morning before the service to examine the courtyard, in order to ensure that everything within was in order.

משנה ח׳ בֵּית הַמּוֹקֵד – כִּיפָּה, וּבַיִת גָּדוֹל הָיָה, מוּקָּף רְבִידִין שֶׁל אֶבֶן. וְזִקְנֵי בֵית אָב יְשֵׁנִים שָׁם וּמַפְתְּחוֹת הָעֲזָרָה בְּיָדָם, וּפִרְחֵי כְהוּנָּה אִישׁ כְּסוּתוֹ בָּאָרֶץ.

mishna 1:8 In the Chamber of the Hearth there was no upper story, as its ceiling was round like a cupola. And it was a large hall, surrounded by stone benches protruding from the walls into the hall, one on top of the other, with each bench narrower than the one underneath, similar to stairs. And the elders of the patrilineal priestly family tasked with the Temple service that day would sleep there, on the non-sacred side of the Chamber of the Hearth, and the keys to the courtyard would be in their possession. And the young men of the priesthood who were to perform service in the Temple that day would also sleep in the Chamber of the Hearth. They were not allowed to sleep on benches. Rather, each of the young priests would place his garment on the earth and sleep on it.

משנה ט׳ וּמָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם, אַמָּה עַל אַמָּה, וְטַבְלָא שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ, וְטַבַּעַת הָיְתָה קְבוּעָה בָּהּ, וְשַׁלְשֶׁלֶת שֶׁהַמַּפְתְּחוֹת הָיוּ תְּלוּיוֹת בָּהּ.

mishna 1:9 And there was a place there, on the non-sacred side of the floor of the Chamber of the Hearth, whose area was a cubit by a cubit, and a marble tablet was there, covering that space, and a ring was fastened to the outer side of the tablet to assist the priest in raising it. And a chain upon which the keys of the gate between the Chamber of the Hearth and the courtyard were hanging was fixed to the underside of the tablet.

הִגִּיעַ זְמַן הַנְּעִילָה – הִגְבִּיהַּ אֶת הַטַּבְלָא בַּטַּבַּעַת, וְנָטַל אֶת הַמַּפְתְּחוֹת מִן הַשַּׁלְשֶׁלֶת, וְנָעַל הַכֹּהֵן מִבִּפְנִים, וּבֶן לֵוִי יָשֵׁן לוֹ מִבַּחוּץ. גָּמַר מִלִּנְעוֹל – הֶחֱזִיר אֶת הַמַפְתְּחוֹת לַשַּׁלְשֶׁלֶת וְאֶת הַטַּבְלָא לִמְקוֹמָהּ, נָתַן כְּסוּתוֹ עָלֶיהָ, יָשַׁן לוֹ.

When the time arrived for the locking of the door of the courtyard in the evening, the priest would lift the tablet with the ring, and would take the keys from the chain. And the priest would then lock the Chamber of the Hearth from the inside, and the Levite on watch outside the Chamber of the Hearth would remain sleeping on the outside. Once the priest finished locking the gate, he would return the keys to their place on the chain, and restore the tablet to its place. He would then place his garment upon it, and sleep on the garment.

אֵירַע קֶרִי בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶם – יוֹצֵא וְהוֹלֵךְ לוֹ בַּמְּסִיבָּה הַהוֹלֶכֶת תַּחַת הַבִּירָה, וְהַנֵּרוֹת דּוֹלְקִים מִכָּאן וּמִכָּאן, עַד שֶׁהוּא מַגִּיעַ לְבֵית הַטְּבִילָה.

If a seminal emission befell one of the priests leave the Chamber of the Hearth and go by the circuitous tunnel that extended beneath the Temple. And to help him traverse this path there were lamps burning from here and from there, i.e., on both sides of the tunnel throughout its length. He would continue through this tunnel until he would reach the Hall of Immersion, where he would immerse before returning to his place in the Chamber of the Hearth.

רַבִּי אֶלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר: בַּמְּסִיבָּה הַהוֹלֶכֶת תַּחַת הַחֵיל יוֹצֵא וְהוֹלֵךְ לוֹ בְּטָדִי.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: Even after immersion this priest would be impure until nightfall and prohibited from entering the Temple. Consequently, he would not return to his place in the Chamber of the Hearth. Rather, he would leave the Temple Mount via the circuitous tunnel that extended beneath the rampart, which is a non-sacred area, and go out through the Tadi Gate.

משנה א׳ הַר הַבַּיִת הָיָה חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת אַמָּה עַל חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת אַמָּה. רוּבּוֹ מִן הַדָּרוֹם, שֵׁנִי לוֹ מִן הַמִּזְרָח, שְׁלִישִׁי לוֹ מִן הַצָּפוֹן, מִיעוּטוֹ מִן הַמַּעֲרָב. מָקוֹם שֶׁהָיָה רוֹב מִדָּתוֹ, שָׁם הָיָה רוֹב תַּשְׁמִישׁוֹ.

mishna 2:1 The Temple Mount was surrounded by a wall and measured five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits inside the wall. The Temple was not situated in the middle of the Temple Mount, but was closer to its northwest corner, such that the majority of the vacant area between the wall of the Temple courtyard and the wall of the Temple Mount was in the south. The vacant area second in size was the area in the east; third was the area in the north, and a minority of open space was in the west. In the place where most of the measure of open space was located, there was the majority of its usage, i.e., most of the chambers serving the priests were in the southern portion of the Temple Mount.

משנה ב׳ כָּל הַנִּכְנָסִין לְהַר הַבַּיִת, נִכְנָסִין דֶּרֶךְ יָמִין, וּמַקִּיפִין וְיוֹצְאִין דֶּרֶךְ שְׂמֹאל, חוּץ מִמִּי שֶׁאֵרְעוֹ דָּבָר, שֶׁהוּא מַקִּיף לִשְׂמֹאל.

mishna 2:2 All who would enter the Temple Mount through any of its gates for any purpose, even if their destination was immediately to their left, would nevertheless always enter via a gate situated to the right of the gate they would eventually leave from, and they would circle around the Temple counterclockwise until they arrived at the place they wanted. And when they finished they would not return the way they came, but would continue circling and leave via a gate situated to the left of the gate through which they entered. This was the practice for everyone, except for one to whom an unfortunate matter occurred, e.g., a mourner or a person who has been ostracized, as he would enter and circle toward the left, clockwise.

״מַה לְּךָ מַקִּיף לִשְׂמֹאל״? ״שֶׁאֲנִי אָבֵל״, ״הַשּׁוֹכֵן בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה יְנַחֶמְךָ״. ״שֶׁאֲנִי מְנוּדֶּה״, ״הַשּׁוֹכֵן בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה יִתֵּן בְּלִבְּךָ וִיקָרְבוּךָ״, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר.

When people would ask him: Why are you circling via the left, he would respond: The reason is that I am a mourner, to which they would reply: May He Who dwells in this House comfort you. If he would say: The reason is that I am ostracized, they would answer: May He Who dwells in this House place an inclination in your heart and the heart of those who ostracized you that they may draw you near again, i.e., cancel your state of ostracism; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir.

אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: עֲשִׂיתָם כְּאִילּוּ עָבְרוּ עָלָיו אֶת הַדִּין?! אֶלָּא ״הַשּׁוֹכֵן בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה יִתֵּן בְּלִבְּךָ וְתִשְׁמַע לְדִבְרֵי חֲבֵרֶיךָ וִיקָרְבוּךָ״.

Rabbi Yosei said to Rabbi Meir: If so, it appears that you have rendered those Sages who ostracized this individual as though they performed an injustice to him, as the statement of the well-wishers can be understood as an indication that he was wrongly ostracized. Rather, they would say to him as follows: May He Who dwells in this House place an inclination in your heart that you repent and listen to the statements of your colleagues, and then may they draw you near again.