משנה א׳ פִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל הֵיכָל גָּבְהוֹ עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה וְרָחְבּוֹ עֶשֶׂר. וְאַרְבַּע דְּלָתוֹת הָיוּ לוֹ, שְׁתַּיִם בִּפְנִים וּשְׁתַּיִם בַּחוּץ. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּשְׁתַּיִם דְּלָתוֹת לַהֵיכָל וְלַקֹּדֶשׁ״.

mishna 4:1 The entrance to the Sanctuary was twenty cubits high and ten cubits wide, and it had four doors: Two on the inside, i.e., on the side of the entrance that was adjacent to the Sanctuary, and two on the outside, on the side of the entrance that was adjacent to the Entrance Hall. As it is stated: “And the Sanctuary and the sacred area had two doors” (Ezekiel 41:23), i.e., two doors were adjacent to the Sanctuary and two were adjacent to the sacred area, which is the Entrance Hall. Each door was five cubits wide, so that when closed they would fill the space of the entrance.

הַחִיצוֹנוֹת נִפְתָּחוֹת לְתוֹךְ הַפֶּתַח לְכַסּוֹת עוֹבְיוֹ שֶׁל כּוֹתֶל, וְהַפְּנִימִיּוֹת נִפְתָּחוֹת לְתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת לְכַסּוֹת אַחַר הַדְּלָתוֹת, שֶׁכָּל הַבַּיִת טוּחַ בְּזָהָב, חוּץ מֵאַחַר הַדְּלָתוֹת.

The mishna explains the function of these doors when open: The outer doors, near the Entrance Hall, would open into the space of the entrance to the Sanctuary, and their function was to cover the entire thickness of the wall of the Sanctuary entrance. And the inner doors would open into the Temple Sanctuary, and their function was to cover the five cubits of the Sanctuary wall that were behind the doors when they were open. Why was it necessary for doors to cover part of the wall? The reason is that the entire Temple was coated with gold except for the wall that was behind the doors, and therefore it was appropriate for that part of the wall to be covered by the doors.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: בְּתוֹךְ הַפֶּתַח הָיוּ עוֹמְדוֹת, וּכְמִין אִצְטְרָמִיטָה הָיוּ, וְנִקְפָּלוֹת לַאֲחוֹרֵיהֶן, אֵלּוּ שְׁנֵי אַמּוֹת וּמֶחֱצָה וְאֵלּוּ שְׁנֵי אַמּוֹת וּמֶחֱצָה,

Rabbi Yehuda says: The inner doors would not open into the Sanctuary. Rather, they too would stand inside the entrance when they were open, and in order that all four doors could open without interfering with one another, they were like hinged [ itzteramita ] doors, i.e., each door comprised two plates attached by hinges, and therefore when they opened they would fold back. Consequently, the width of these outer doors after they folded was two and a half cubits, and likewise the width of those inner doors was two and a half cubits after they were folded.

חֲצִי אַמָּה מְזוּזָה מִכָּאן וַחֲצִי אַמָּה מְזוּזָה מִכָּאן. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שְׁתַּיִם דְּלָתוֹת לַדְּלָתוֹת שְׁתַּיִם מוּסַבּוֹת דְּלָתוֹת שְׁתַּיִם לְדֶלֶת אַחַת וּשְׁתֵּי דְלָתוֹת לָאַחֶרֶת״.

Together with half a cubit of a doorpost from here, for the outer doors, and half a cubit of a doorpost from there, for the inner doors, the folded doors covered all six cubits of the space of the opening. From where is it derived that each of these doors contained two folding plates? As it is stated: “And the two doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other” (Ezekiel 41:24). In other words, each door had two sections, which turned and folded on one another.

משנה ב׳ וּשְׁנֵי פִשְׁפְּשִׁים הָיוּ לוֹ לַשַּׁעַר הַגָּדוֹל, אֶחָד בַּצָּפוֹן וְאֶחָד בַּדָּרוֹם. שֶׁבַּדָּרוֹם לֹא נִכְנַס בּוֹ אָדָם מֵעוֹלָם. וְעָלָיו הוּא מְפוֹרָשׁ עַל יְדֵי יְחֶזְקֵאל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי ה׳ הַשַּׁעַר הַזֶּה סָגוּר יִהְיֶה לֹא יִפָּתֵחַ וְאִישׁ לֹא יָבֹא בוֹ כִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּא בוֹ וְהָיָה סָגוּר״.

mishna 4:2 And the large gate of the Sanctuary had two wickets, one to the north, to the right of one who would enter the Sanctuary, and one to the south. No person ever entered through the gate that was to the south. And the wicket’s status is described explicitly by the prophet Ezekiel, as it is stated: “Then he brought me back the way of the outer gate of the Sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut. And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; and it shall be shut” (Ezekiel 44:1–2).

נָטַל אֶת הַמַּפְתֵּחַ וּפָתַח אֶת הַפִּשְׁפֵּשׁ וְנִכְנַס לְהַתָּא, וּמֵהַתָּא לַהֵיכָל.

The northern wicket was used for entry to the Sanctuary in order to open its doors. The priest who would enter each morning to open these doors would take the key to the Sanctuary doors and open the northern wicket with a different key, and would enter the adjacent compartment through it; and he would enter the Sanctuary from the compartment and open its doors from the inside.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: בְּתוֹךְ עוֹבְיוֹ שֶׁל כּוֹתֶל הָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ, עַד שֶׁנִּמְצָא עוֹמֵד בֵּין שְׁנֵי הַשְּׁעָרִים, וּפָתַח אֶת הַחִיצוֹנוֹת מִבִּפְנִים וְאֶת הַפְּנִימִיּוֹת מִבַּחוּץ.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The priest would not enter the Sanctuary in order to open the doors. Rather, the wicket had a door that would open into the thickness of the wall separating between the Entrance Hall and the Sanctuary. The priest would go there and would walk inside the thickness of the wall until he was found to be standing in between the two gates. And he would then open the outer doors from the inside and the inner doors from the outside.