The Holy Place: a hall 40 amot from east to west, 20 from north to south, and 40 high — roughly 19 meters by 9.6, under a 19-meter ceiling. It is tall and narrow, almost a nave. Walls and ceiling are gold-plated; the coffered cedar ceiling and the gold floor are taken from the First Temple. Light comes from windows that Rashi describes as narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, so that they send light out rather than take it in. Walking westward, one has the Table on the right, in the north, and the Menora on the left, in the south.
Dimensions
- interior 40 amot (east-west) × 20 (north-south) × 40 high (≈ 19 × 9.6 × 19 m)
- wall of the Heikhal 6 amot
Sources
Project decisionFirst Temple: the cedar ceiling (I Kings 6:9), the gold floor (I Kings 6:30) and the windows (I Kings 6:4, discussed in Menachot 86b); Middot 4:1 speaks only of gold. Yet the Rambam writes “וְאֵין בּוֹנִין בּוֹ עֵץ בּוֹלֵט כְּלָל” (Beit HaBechirah 1:9), which weighs against an exposed wooden ceiling: the cedar is the tour's choice.