C'erano cinque porte sul Monte del Tempio. [Le] due porte Chulda a sud, usate come entrata e come uscita. Kiponos a ovest, usato come entrata e uscita. Tadi nel nord, non è stato usato affatto. La porta orientale, era decorata con Shushan la capitale [della Persia], e attraverso di essa [la porta] il Kohen Gadol avrebbe bruciato la giovenca [rossa] [per il rituale di purificazione] e tutti coloro che vi partecipavano sarebbero usciti sul Monte di Unzione [Monte degli Ulivi].
Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
משמשים כניסה ויציאה – that through them they would enter and leave the Temple Mount.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
The Temple Mount had five gates, which the mishnah now lists.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
קינפונוס מן מערב – the gate of the Temple Mount that is on the western side Kiponos is its name, and of the north Tadi is its name.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
There were five gates to the Temple Mount: Huldah was a prophetess mentioned in II Kings 22:14, but there is she found in Jerusalem, not necessarily at these gates. Perhaps these were the gates where she sat, albeit in the First Temple. We should note that one can still see these southern gates at the southern walls of the Temple. This seems to be the most common entrance and exit.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
עליו שושן הבירה צורה – when they (i.e., the exiled Jews in Babylonia) went up from the Diaspora, the Kings of Persia commanded them to draw the form of Shushan the capitol on the gates of the temple, in order that there would be fear of the kingdom, and they drew it in the Eastern Gate.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
The two Huldah gates on the south were used both for entrance and exit; We don’t really know who Kiponus was. It is possible that he was the man who donated the gate.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
כהן גדול השורף את הפרה – Our Mishnah is [according to] Rabbi Meir who holds that the Red Heifer is not burned other by the High Priest. But it is not Halakha (see Tractate Parah, Chapter 4, Mishnah 1).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
The Kiponus gate on the west was used both for entrance and exit. The Taddi gate on the north was rarely used. One exception will be brought at the end of this chapter. Again, Taddi seems possibly to have been the man who donated the gate.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
וכל מסעדיה (and all its attendants) – all of the Kohanim who are assisting and supporting the Kohen who burns it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Middot
The Taddi gate on the north was not used at all. Over the eastern gate was a drawing of Shushan, Persia. This was in commemoration of the place where the Jews were during the exile. It might have also served as a tribute to Cyrus who let the Jews leave Persia to return to Israel. To the east of the Temple lies the Mount of Olives, where the red heifer was burned. The high priest and the other priests involved in this ceremony would go through this gate on their way to the Mount of Olives to burn the red heifer.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Middot
להר המשחה – to the Mount of Olives which is to the east of Jerusalem, there they would burn the [red] heifer.
