Commentaire sur Middot 4:1
פִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל הֵיכָל, גָּבְהוֹ עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה וְרָחְבּוֹ עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת. וְאַרְבַּע דְּלָתוֹת הָיוּ לוֹ, שְׁתַּיִם בִּפְנִים וּשְׁתַּיִם בַּחוּץ, שֶׁנֶאֱמַר (יחזקאל מא), וּשְׁתַּיִם דְּלָתוֹת לַהֵיכָל וְלַקֹּדֶשׁ. הַחִיצוֹנוֹת נִפְתָּחוֹת לְתוֹךְ הַפֶּתַח לְכַסּוֹת עָבְיוֹ שֶׁל כֹּתֶל, וְהַפְּנִימִיּוֹת נִפְתָּחוֹת לְתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת לְכַסּוֹת אַחַר הַדְּלָתוֹת, שֶׁכָּל הַבַּיִת טוּחַ בְּזָהָב, חוּץ מֵאַחַר הַדְּלָתוֹת. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, בְּתוֹךְ הַפֶּתַח הָיוּ עוֹמְדוֹת, וּכְמִין אִצְטְרָמִיטָה הָיוּ, וְנִקְפָּלוֹת לַאֲחוֹרֵיהֶן, אֵלּוּ שְׁתֵּי אַמּוֹת וּמֶחֱצָה, וְאֵלּוּ שְׁתֵּי אַמּוֹת וּמֶחֱצָה, חֲצִי אַמָּה מְזוּזָה מִכָּאן, וַחֲצִי אַמָּה מְזוּזָה מִכָּאן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), וּשְׁתַּיִם דְּלָתוֹת לַדְּלָתוֹת שְׁתַּיִם מוּסַבּוֹת דְּלָתוֹת, שְׁתַּיִם לְדֶלֶת אֶחָת וּשְׁתֵּי דְלָתוֹת לָאַחֶרֶת:
L'entrée du sanctuaire avait vingt amot haut et dix amot large. Il y avait quatre portes, deux à l'intérieur [de l'entrée] et deux à l'extérieur, comme il est dit: "Il y avait deux portes vers le sanctuaire et vers le Saint des Saints" (Ézéchiel 41:23) Les extérieures [ les portes] s'ouvrent dans l'ouverture [de l'entrée] pour couvrir les murs, tandis que les portes intérieures s'ouvrent sur le sanctuaire comme pour couvrir l'arrière des portes, car tout le sanctuaire était recouvert d'or, sauf derrière les portes. Rabbi Yehuda dit, [les portes] ont été placés au milieu de la voie d'entrée, et ressemblaient à des portes pliantes, celles - ci [les portes extérieures] Fermeture deux et demi amot et ceux - ci [les portes intérieures] Fermeture deux et demi amot , [laissant] un demi- amah et un montant de porte à une extrémité, et un demi- amah et un montant de porte à l'autre extrémité, comme il est dit, il y avait deux portes pour [chaque] porte, deux portes battantes, deux pour une porte, et deux pour l'autre. "(Ézéchiel 41:24)
Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
It had four doors, two on the inner side, and two on the outer, as it says, “And the Hekhal and the Sanctuary had two doors” (Ezekiel 41:23).
The outer ones opened into the interior of the doorway so as to cover the thickness of the wall, while the inner ones opened into the Temple so as to cover the space behind the doors, because the whole of the Temple was overlaid with gold except the space behind the doors.
Rabbi Judah says: they stood within the doorway, and they resembled folding doors. These were two cubits and a half [of the wall] and these were two cubits and a half, leaving half a cubit as a doorpost at the one end and half a cubit as a doorpost at the other end, as it says, “And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves, two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other” (Ezekiel 41:2.
Chapter four deals with the Sanctuary or Hekhal in Hebrew. I will call it the Hekhal henceforth in order to encourage the use of Hebrew. The Hekhal was the main structure of the Temple and it stood between the Porch and the Holy of Holies.
Section two: The Hekhal had four doors. Two doors were in the thickness of the wall of the Hekhal, which ran the length of the opening, facing the Hekhal, one on the left and one on the right. Two others were on the other side, facing the Porch.
Section three: The wall of the Hekhal was six cubits in breadth. The doors were each five cubits long, so that when they opened they would cover five of the six cubits of the thickness of the wall. The extra cubit was taken up by the door post. The inner ones opened into the Hekhal, and when opened they would cover the part of the inside of the Hekhal that was not overlaid with gold. The doors were also covered with gold, so that when they were open only gold would be seen.
Section four: Rabbi Judah envisions a different set-up for the doors. Each door was like a folding door and they stood within the doorway and all of them were used to cover the thickness of the wall, each covering 2 ½ cubits of the wall. In other words, the doors did not open into the Hekhal. Rabbi Judah seems to interpret “two turning leaves” as proof that each door was a type of folding door. It is interesting to note that there may be a bit of tension here between the first opinion and Rabbi Judah as to how we know what occurred in the Temple. The first opinion may be based more on tradition or even recollections whereas Rabbi Judah’s opinion is based on more on the text found in Ezekiel.