Sha'ar Kiponus

The gate of the west, likewise “for entering and exiting.” The Mishna gives it its name, its side, and its use, and Middot 2:3 the dimension of every gate; its place in the wall is a choice. A lintel, as at every gate except Tadi; the tour sets a timora on each jamb.

Dimensions

• in the west, entry and exit
• 10 × 20 amot (Middot 2:3)
• one palm tree per jamb (the tour's choice, after Ye'hezkel 40:26)
• two bronze leaves, open toward the esplanade; a stone frame with a recessed order on each face of the wall (the tour's choice)

Sources

• Middot 1:3“Kiponus in the west served for entering and exiting.”
• Ezekiel 40:26
• Middot 2:3“כָּל הַפְּתָחִים וְהַשְּׁעָרִים שֶׁהָיוּ שָׁם, גָּבְהָן עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה, וְרָחְבָּן עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת”
• Rambam, Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 5:2“רֹחַב כָּל שַׁעַר עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת וְגָבְהוֹ עֶשְׂרִים”
• Middot 2:3“כָּל הַפְּתָחִים שֶׁהָיוּ שָׁם, הָיוּ לָהֶן דְּלָתוֹת, חוּץ מִשֶּׁל אוּלָם”

Project decisionTour's choice: the timorot on the jambs come from Ezekiel 40:26, which describes the future Temple; Middot says nothing of them. The leaves: “all the openings had doors, except that of the Oulam” (Middot 2:3). Their bronze is a choice: gold, the Rambam states only of the gates of the Azara (cited by Tosfot Yom Tov on Middot 2:3).