However according to the Torah, the level of sanctity of this court is the same as the outer court of the Temple Mount, and even a corpse could be brought inside. Only Jews who were not impure from exposure to death were permitted entry to the Women's Court by Rabbinical decree. The Court encompassed the area of the Mizbeach and the Heichal. Most of the services of the Mikdash were performed in the Court of the Kohanim. Israelites were also permitted to enter this court for prayer and prostration. Levites stood on this platform to sing the "Song of the Day." Representatives of the tribes of Israel would stand in the Court of Israel to be present during the Tamid (daily) Service on behalf of the entire nation. There was a platform between the Court of Israel and the Court of the Kohanim. On occasion men also gathered there - such as during the Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebrations and the reading of the Torah on Yom Kippur. The Women's Court generally served the women who came to pray and bring their offerings. Israelites could also enter the Court of the Kohanim Court for the purpose of slaughtering their offering, etc. Regarding entry for the impure, the Court of the Kohanim had the same level of sanctity as the Court of Israel.
Its level of sanctity was determined by Torah. Those who needed to bring an offering to complete the process of their purification, but had not yet done so were forbidden entry. The Court of Israel was of a higher level of sanctity than the Women's Court. From the Women's Court and within, entry was also forbidden by Rabbinical decree to people who changed their status to purity on that day.
Rabbinical decree forbade all others from entering into the Cheil (the area surrounding the courts). Only Jews who were pure (free from impurity through contact with a corpse) were permitted entry into the courts. Within the "Camp of the Divine Presence" were the following divisions: The Court of Israel - eleven cubits by one hundred and thirty five cubits the Court of the Kohanim (Priests) - eleven by one hundred and thirty five cubits and the Area "between the Ulam (entry hall of the Sanctuary) and the Mizbeach" - twenty two cubits. The length of all the courts was three hundred and twenty two cubits, of which one hundred and eighty seven cubits was the length of the "Camp of the Divine Presence", and one hundred and thirty five cubits, the length of the Women's Court. The width of the courts was one hundred and thirty five cubits. This was a more recent addition.Īll the courts were surrounded by a wall and were raised above the level of the Temple Mount by twelve stairs - each stair the height of half a cubit. The Women's Court was situated to the east of the Court. The innermost Court of the Holy Temple was the area that included the Heichal (Sanctuary) and the Mizbeach (Stone Altar).This area was also called "The Camp of the Divine Presence." The Court was divided into three section: The Court of Israel, the Court of the Priests, and the Area between the Hall and the Mizbeach.