Sweeping the floor in the Beis Hamikdash

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  • #616662
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Who swept the floor in the Beis HaMikdash?

    #1113042
    Joseph
    Participant

    Who said the floors were ever dirty or needed to be swept?

    #1113043
    twisted
    Participant

    I think I remember from Midos or Meilah that there was a water source that ran in a channel through the Mikdash. They plugged the outlet, flooding the floor, and then unplugged to flush out the ‘wash water’.

    #1113044
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Probably the open orthodox female kohanim.

    #1113045
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    They used to fight over who would do the terumas hadeshen, which pretty much boiled down to taking out the garbage.

    #1113046
    golfer
    Participant

    Yes, in my own mikdash me’at we also fight over who takes out the garbage…

    #1113047
    555
    Participant

    PBA: are you OTD or just on a D tour?

    #1113049
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Who said the floors were ever dirty or needed to be swept?

    Why would you say it never got dirty? Of course it did.

    People walked on it all day. Blood and other liquids certainly got spilled on it numerous times.

    The Gemara describes how people used to be lowered into the Kodesh HaKadoshim in partitions to clean it. If the Kodesh HaKadoshim didn’t keep itself clean, then certainly the floor of the chatzar didn’t.

    Lastly, the Mishna in Avos lists 10 miracles that happened in the Bais HaMikdash. Keeping itself clean is not one of them.

    As to who actually did it — my guess (and that’s all it is) is that the levi’im or hired help cleaned the chatzar and the kohanim of the active mishmar cleaned the heichal (or, perhaps, they cleaned both).

    The Wolf

    #1113050
    Sam2
    Participant

    PBA: They had female Kohanim at many times in the Beis Hamikdash. They weren’t OO, They were OAZ.

    #1113051
    Joseph
    Participant

    My bracha for Torah613 is that she be given the honor of being the cleaning lady in the Ezras Noshim of the Beis HaMikdash.

    #1113052

    a kohain did it each day

    #1113053
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Thank you everyone for your responses.

    Twisted, that’s so interesting, but they would have to do that every single day and then it would be very humid…. is that what they did all the time, or once in a while?

    PBA: LOL

    Wolfish: There was great competition for even the tiniest job in the Bais HaMikdash.

    I remember learning that the Kohen Gadol swept the floor, but someone told me this isn’t true. Does anyone have an actual source as to by whom the floor was swept?

    #1113054
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Bump. No sources?

    #1113055
    Little Froggie
    Participant

    Don’t know. All I know was that Yerushalim was swept every day.

    #1113056
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Wolfish: There was great competition for even the tiniest job in the Bais HaMikdash.

    And so? That supports my contention that it was possibly done by a Kohein from the active mishmar.

    Or did I miss something?

    The Wolf

    #1113057
    sam4321
    Participant

    Twisted: you were probably thinking of the Mishna in Pesachim daf 64a which discusses this. Here is how Rashi(and how Twisted explained it) explains the process:

    ??? ??????? ?????? ?????. ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????:

    #1113058
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Sam: Thank you for a source

    #1113059

    PBA: are you OTD or just on a D tour?

    He’s just not serious (except when he’s talking about halocho).

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