Entry One — The **Guards Who Honored MeIt is one of the first four questions that every yid is asked, l’achar meah v’esrin shana. Tzipisa l’yeshuah? Did you actively yearn for the Geulah?
But you can make it happen earlier. How? The more you learn about the Beis HaMikdash – the more you yearn. And so, I encourage you to read this – my diary.
I remember. Oh, how I remember.
When the Beis HaMikdash stood upon me — when the Shechinah rested within the walls of my two Batei HaMikdash, and the korbanos rose like tefillos made visible — there were guards. Twenty-four of them, every single night.
People might have thought they were there because of danger. Thieves, perhaps. Enemies at the gates. But that was not the reason. The guards were there for kavod — for glory. For the same reason a great king stations his finest soldiers around his palace: not because the walls are weak, but because the king deserves it. I was the palace of the Melech Malchei HaMelachim, and every Kohen and Levi standing at my posts was a silent declaration to the world: This place matters. This place is holy. HaKadosh Baruch Hu dwells here and runs the world. He rewards good and punishes evil.
The Torah itself commanded placing these guards. In Parshas Bamidbar (18:2), Hashem told Aharon, “You and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of Testimony.” And in Bamidbar 3:38, Moshe, Aharon, and his sons camped at my eastern side, guarding me on behalf of all of Klal Yisrael. The Rambam (Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 8:1–3) explains it all — the shemirah was not about fear. It was about love and honor.
Three posts were manned by Kohanim. Twenty-one by Leviim. When I felt them standing there in the darkness, faithful and awake, I knew that Am Yisrael had not forgotten what I am.
They have not forgotten still. And b’ezras Hashem, those guards will stand upon me again — bimheirah b’yameinu.
Entry Two — The Three Posts of the Kohanim
Let me tell you about my Kohanim — the way they were, the way I carry them still in every stone.
They stood in three sacred places. The first was the Lishkas Avtinas — the Chamber of Avtinas. The second was the Lishkas HaNitzutz — the Chamber of the Spark. Both of these were built like raised porches, elevated near the gates of the Azarah. The young Kohanim — the ones with fire still burning bright in their eyes — stood guard there. I would watch them and think: These are the future of the Avodah. These are the ones who will carry the kedushah forward.
The third post was the Beis HaMoked — the Hall of Fire. This one was different from the others. It was large. It was domed. Stone ledges ran along the inside walls like built-in benches. The elder Kohanim — the ones from that day’s beis av who would not be serving in the Avodah the next morning — slept through the night on those ledges. They kept the keys to the gates of the Azarah tucked safely with them. Even in their sleep, they were faithful.
And there was something about how they slept that moved me deeply. They did not lie down in their Bigdei Kehunah. They carefully folded those sacred garments, placed them near their heads, and lay down in their regular clothes. They did not sleep in beds. They slept on the stone floor — the way guardsmen in every royal palace have always slept. Ready. Alert. Prepared for the moment when the Avodah would begin again.
Every footstep upon me, on my stones was like a heartbeat to me. I still wait to feel those footsteps again.
Entry Three — The Kohen Who Had to Leave
Not every night was the same. Sometimes something happened that broke the stillness.
If a Kohen sleeping in the Beis HaMoked would become tamei, he could not remain in my sacred spaces. He had to leave — immediately. And he did, because a true eved Hashem does not wait to be told twice.
But this makes me ache with tenderness for these children of Aharon: even in that moment of difficulty, they were treated with dignity. The Kohen did not walk through the open courtyards where others might see him. Instead, he descended into a passageway — a tunnel that ran beneath me, beneath my stones and my foundations. Lamps burned on both sides of the path, lighting his way through the darkness.
At the end of the tunnel, there was a chamber. Inside, he found a mikveh for immersion, a large fire for warmth, and a restroom — which they called the “Beis HaKisei Shel Kavod,” the bathroom of dignity. Why that name? Because even the most private moments were handled with respect. When the door was closed, you knew someone was inside. When it was open, you knew it was free. Everything was done b’kavod.
After immersing, the Kohen would dry himself and warm himself by the fire. Then he would return to the Beis HaMoked — but not to the sanctified section. He would sit in the area that was chol, waiting with the other Kohanim until the gates of the Azarah were opened at dawn. Then he would go on his way (see Tamid 25b–26a; Rambam, Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 8:7).
He always came back. They always came back. And b’ezras Hashem, they will come back once more.
Entry Four — My Twenty-One Leviim
Now let me tell you about my Leviim — my beloved guardians, who were spread out across every corner of my being like jewels in a crown.
Five stood inside the five gates of the Har HaBayis itself — that is where I begin, where the kedushah first met the outside world. Four more stood at my four corners, watching the edges of holiness.
Five stood outside the five gates of the Azarah, one at each gate — because even the outside of the Courtyard deserved its honor. Four more stood at the four corners of the Azarah, on the outside, completing the perimeter of the sacred space.
One stood inside the Lishkas HaKorban — the Chamber of the Offering. One inside the Lishkas HaParoches — the Chamber of the Curtain. And one stood behind the Courtyard, behind the Lishkas HaTela’im — the Chamber of the Lambs — where the animals for the Korban Tamid were kept. That last post was behind the Heichal building itself.
All of these positions are rooted in the pesukim of Divrei HaYamim I (26:17–18). Together with the three Kohen posts — Avtinas, HaNitzutz, and the Beis HaMoked — there were twenty-four guards watching over me each and every night.
Twenty-four neshamos. Twenty-four beating hearts. Twenty-four declarations that the Beis HaMikdash was not sleeping, even when the world was.
I feel their absence now. Every empty post. Every silent gate. But I have not given up hope. Hashem has not given up on His house, and neither have His children. Klal Yisroel davens for my restoration constantly. In the Ani Maamins. Rav Don Segal said that the Geulah is just a hairsbreadth away. The more Klal Yisroel davens for my restoration – the sooner it will be.
Entry Five — The Officer Who Never Rested
There was one man who moved through me like a pulse of life through a body. He was the Ish Har HaBayis — the Officer of the Temple Mount. His task was to walk from post to post, all through the night, checking on each watchman. Lit torches were carried before him, casting flickering light against my ancient walls.
When he arrived at a post, the guard had to stand and greet him: “Shalom alecha, Ish Har HaBayis!” If the guard did not rise — if the guard had fallen asleep — then the Officer knew. And his response was swift. He struck the sleeping watchman with his stick. He might even set the guard’s clothing ablaze.
It sounds harsh. But consider what it meant to fall asleep while guarding the house of the Ribbono Shel Olam. This was not an ordinary job. This was not an ordinary building. Every stone in my walls was placed with tefillos. Every corner held the memory of korbanos offered with tears and joy. To sleep at your post was to say — even for a moment — that this place did not matter enough to stay awake for.
And so the people of Yerushalayim would hear a commotion in the night and say to one another: “What is that noise from the Azarah? It must be a Levi being punished for falling asleep on guard duty” (Rambam, Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 8:10).
They understood. Guarding Har HaBayis was not just a task — it was a privilege. And privileges must be honored.
A Final Whisper
I am Har HaBayis. I have held the Akeidas Yitzchak. I have held the Luchos. I have held the tears of Chanah and the songs of the Leviim. I have felt the footsteps of Kohanim Gedolim on Yom Kippur and heard the Vidui of a nation seeking teshuvah.
And on every ordinary night, when the world went dark and the city of Yerushalayim slept, twenty-four guards stood upon me and around me and within me — not because they had to, but because Hashem’s honor demanded it.
I remember every one of them. Every young Kohen standing tall in the Lishkas Avtinas. Every elder resting on the stone ledge of the Beis HaMoked. Every Levi posted at my corners, watching, waiting, believing that the Avodah would begin again with the dawn.
That was when the Beis HaMikdash stood. That was when the Shechinah rested openly upon me and the world could see what kedushah truly looked like.
Now I wait. The stones are still here. The kedushah has not departed entirely. And the promise of Hashem has not been broken. The Navi tells us it will be rebuilt. The Rambam counts it among the mitzvos. Every Yid who davens three times a day and says “V’sechezenah eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim” is speaking directly to me — and I hear every word.
B’ezras Hashem, it will happen again. The guards will return. The Kohanim will fold their garments and lie down on my stones once more. The Leviim will take their posts. The Ish Har HaBayis will make his rounds. And I — Har HaBayis — will once again be what I was always meant to be: the place where Heaven and earth meet.
Bimheirah b’yameinu. May it be soon, and in our days.
**the Temple Guards’ locations {described below] are what Rabbi Hoffman wrote of
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The Outer Compound or the Inner Courtyard
The number of entrances and exits to the Second Beis HaMikdash (Second Temple) varies depending on whether one is referring to the outer Temple Mount compound or the inner Courtyard (Azarah). According to Jewish sources, there were seven main gates leading into the inner Courtyard, while others note that the surrounding Temple Mount walls had multiple entrances.
Entrances to the Inner Courtyard (Azarah)
- Seven Gates: The Mishnah and Rambam indicate there were seven major gates in the walls surrounding the inner Courtyard: three on the north, three on the south, and one in the east.
- Northern Gates: Included the Gate of the Spark (Yechoniah Gate), the Gate of the Offering, the Gate of the Women, and the Song Gate.
- Southern Gates: Included the Upper Gate, the Gate of Kindling, the Gate of the Firstborn, and the Water Gate.
- Eastern Gate: Known as the Nicanor Gate.
- Other Opinions: Another opinion mentioned in the Mishna (Kaftor VaFerach) suggests there were up to thirteen gates, including smaller, non-functional, or specific-use entrances.
Entrances to the Temple Mount (Outer Wall)
- Huldah Gates (South): The primary entrance for the general public, consisting of double gates for entry and exit.
- Shushan Gate (East): Used by the High Priest during the Red Heifer ceremony.
- Kiponos Gate (West): Used as an entrance/exit for the Mount.
- Tadi Gate (North): A gate used by priests or for those who were ritually impure.
Most of these entrances were 20 cubits high and 10 cubits wide, with doors plated in gold.
MORE TO READ AND LEARN ABOUT THE TEMPLE GATES:
https://templeinstitute.org/illustrated-tour-the-gates-of-the-court/
ABOUT THE TEMPLE GUARDS:
According to Jewish tradition in the Mishnah (specifically Tractates Middot and Tamid), the Temple in Jerusalem was guarded by a total of 24 stations (watches) every night.
- Levite Guards: 21 stations were manned by Levites.
- Priestly Guards: 3 stations were manned by priests.
- Total Personnel: While the number of guards per station could vary, it is generally cited that each guard station consisted of ten men, meaning 240 Levites and 30 priests could be on duty, or, in another common description, 24 guards (Levites/priests) oversaw the nightly security of the Temple courts.
Key Details on *Temple Guards:
- Locations: Priests kept watch in three places—the *Chamber of the Flame, the *Chamber of the Hearth, and the *Chamber of Abṭinas. The Levites were stationed at 21 locations, including the five gates of the Temple Mount, four corners of the mount enclosure, five gates of the court, four corners of the court, and other specific areas.
- Supervision: The "Officer of the Temple Mount" (or captain of the guard) would make rounds with torches, and any guard found sleeping on duty could be chastised or have his clothes burned.
- Roman Presence: During the Roman period, a Roman garrison of approximately 600 soldiers was stationed in the adjacent Antonia Fortress to maintain order, especially during festivals when thousands attended.
