intended to increase the knowledge, interest, and anticipation of the reader, thereby hastening the realization of our hopes and prayers for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash.

Lishkat Ha'eitzim - The Chamber of Wood
"The chamber in the northeastern corner of the Ezrat Nashim, the Court of the Women, the outer court of the Mikdash complex - was the Lishkat Ha'eitzim, the Chamber of Wood. There, Kohanim who had a physical defect (barring them from serving at the Mizbei'ach) would examine wood for worms. Any wood wherein was found a worm was invalid and could not be burnt on the Mizbei'ach" (Midot 2:5), but worm-ridden wood could be used elsewhere in the Mikdash. Dry wood could have worms removed manually and need not be invalidated (Menachot 85a). It was not always easy to guarantee a regular supply of wood for the needs of the Mikdash.

During the early years of Bayit Sheini, the wood supply was at best irregular. It may have been because of apathy, the sheer difficulty of finding enough wood in the very small area originally occupied by the returning exiles, or simply a lack of organization. Nechemia, appointed governor of Judah by Artaxerxes King of Persia (444BCE),took the matter in hand. Noting the state of religious indifference, growing immorality, and rampant corruption, Nechemia (and Ezra) organized an assembly of the entire community calling for repentance. The assembly leaders promulgated 18 decrees including a ban on intermarriage with the surrounding peoples as well as rulings designed to bolster and deepen Shabbat observance. The people also took upon themselves to properly maintain the newly built Beit Hamikdash and took practical steps to ensure a steady supply of wood for the Mizbei'ach. Nechemia recalls, "And we cast lots, the Kohanim, the Levites, and the people for the wood-offering, to bring it into the House of our G-d, according to our fathers' houses at times appointed year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our G-d…" (Nechemia 10:35).

Ten families, as a result of winning that lot- tery, forever obligated themselves to provide this wood on nine specific dates (Ta'anit 4:5).

Nechemia believed that the institution of the "Wood-offering", guaranteeing a steady sup- ply of wood for Korbanot and other needs of the Mikdash, was so important that he concludedhis narration of his life's work with this summarization. "Thus I purified them from everything foreign, and appointed watches for the Kohanim and the Leviyim, everyone in his (appointed) work. And for the wood-offering at appointed times, and for the first fruits… (Nechemia 13:30-31). The Gemara says, "Our rabbis taught: Why was it necessary to fix special days for the Wood Festival (when wood was brought into the Mikdash) for the Kohanim and the people? It is said that when the exiles returned to the Land of Israel, they found no wood in Lishkat Ha'eitzim. (There is a difficulty here. The returning exiles under the leadership of Zerubavel began to rebuild the destroyed Beit Hamikdash on their return from Babylonian exile; they certainly did not find an existing wood chamber. But the message is clear; the regular supply of wood for the Mizbei'ach had to be assured.)

The Nevi'im, who lived at that time, then made a condition that in the future, that, evenif Lishkat Ha'eitzim were full of wood, (these families) should continue" to supply wood to the Mikdash (Ta'anit 28a). Originally, when the amount of wood required was not that great, it could be supplied by only a few families, but later as the needs of the Mikdash grew, all the people began to bring wood on the Ninthand on the Fifteenth of Av. On those days, the entire nation was able to join with the privileged families and present wood to the Beit Hamikdash. Josephus, referring to the "Festival of Wood-bearing" wrote that "...it was the custom for everyone to bring wood for the Altar… so there should never be any lack of fuel for the eternal fire" (J. Wars II, 17:6). The Mishna reads, "Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, 'There were no happier days for Israel than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur, for then the daughters of Jerusalem used to go out with white garments; and these were borrowed, so no one who did not have her own (white garment) would be embarrassed. And the daughters of Jerusalem went forth to dance in the vineyards. And what did they say? 'Young man, lift up your eyes and see who you would choose for yourself…" (Ta'anit 4:8). Many reasons are given for the joyous observances of these days but probably the most authentic is that given by R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus who lived in the latter days of the Mikdash and survived the Churban. This Tanna, certainly an eyewitness to the celebrations, posited that the festivities were due to the joy of the people, when they able to bring donations of wood of their own to the Mikdash (Megilat Ta'anit 5). Even after the Churban, the ten privileged families continued to commemorate their "wood-day" as a holiday.

But obstacles could arise if a hostile power occupied the country. It is said that once the government decreed that Israel should not bring wood to the altar and they placed guards on the roads just as Yarov’am b. Nevat did to prevent Israel from going on pilgrimage.”

What did the G-d fearing men of that generation do? They took logs of wood and made them into ladders, and carried them on their shoulders. When they reached the guards, they were asked, 'Where are you going?' They replied, 'We are going with ladders on our shoulders to take down young pigeons from the dovecote at a place further along.' When they left the guards, they took apart the ladders and brought the wood to Jerusalem." (Ta'anit 28a) Scholars disagree as to which "government" the Gemara is referring to.

The "wood offering" acquired a semi- sanctified status of its own and it was a requirement that the wood be unused (Menachot 22a). The Mishna asks, "Were all kinds of wood valid for the Ma'aracha (the fire on the Mizbei'ach)? Yes, all wood was acceptable to burn on the Altar except for olive wood and the wood of the vine, but they usually used only the boughs of the fig tree, the walnut tree, and the oleaster - the wild olive tree" (Tamid 2:3). The wood of the fruit-bearing olive and the grape was not used because of the great importance of olives and grapes to the economy of Eretz Yisrael. Also fires fueled by these woods were not hot enough for burning Korbanot on the Mizbei'ach. Worm-free wood destined for the Mizbei'ach, was removed from the Lishkat Ha'eitzim through the nearby Eastern Gate and then brought into the Azara through the Sha'ar HaDelek ("Fuel Gate") on the southern side of the Temple court. Once in the Azara, the wood was brought to a storeroom, not far from the Mizbei'ach and used as needed. There is a very intriguing Mishna about the Lishkat Ha'eitzim that raises fascinating questions. "Once a Kohein was occupied sorting wood (in Lishkat Ha'eitzim), when he noticed that part of the stone floor was different from the rest. He went and told it tohis fellow, but before he was even able to finish (what he had to say), his soul departed. Then they knew for a surety that the Ark was hidden there (Shekalim 6:1).

Catriel is in the process of writing a book: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrims Prospective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service.

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