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What was the purpose of the tiny rooms surrounding the Heichal?

I've never seen anything about how they were used, but there are a lot of them and they are in a very holy place.

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My best guess is they were primarily used for storage. The verses in Tanach often refer to the otzaros of the Beis Hashem without saying where they were. These rooms seem to be good candidates.

I also found this answer in a sefer in my house called Beis Hamikdash Harishon in the name of a sefer Tavnis Heichal.

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  • Perhaps brings a link to the pesukim to enhance the answer? Otherwise this is more like a personal comment – Dov Aug 28 at 11:18
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I believe that the tiny rooms were used for the people who would fix any damage that happened in the kodesh hakadoshim.

My source is 99b and if you need 100a of bava batra

rashi can help

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  • Also, you're thinking of the boxes inside which the workers would be lowered into the Kodesh Hakodashim. The OP is asking about permanent structures. – Meir Mar 24 at 0:32
  • @Meir Yes, the OP is asking about the tzela’ot. They are also discussed in the inner parts of Torah. I seem to recall something from Ramchal in Mishkanei Elyon. – Yaacov Deane Aug 27 at 23:07
  • @YaacovDeane I believe the tzela'ot may only be applicable to the Third Beit Hamikdash. The question is about the Second Beit Hamikdash, as it references the mishna in Middot. – H. Eugene Walters Aug 28 at 20:21
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    They are also listed in Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Beit HaBechirah which is not limited to the the 3rd Temple but describes the general requirements of the Temple. – Yaacov Deane Aug 28 at 20:36
  • @H.EugeneWalters In fact, Rashi on the posuk there in Yechezkel says that "in the second Beis Hamikdash there were 38 of them" (by contrast with the third Beis Hamikdash, in which there will be 33). And since the Gemara (Bava Basra 61a) tells us הוא צלע הוא יציע הוא תא, then they're the same as the יציע in the description of the first Beis Hamikdash (though there it doesn't say how many there were). – Meir Aug 28 at 21:05

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