What is the 3meaning of "mi'Gag ha'Ta l'Gago"?
Rashi: It is from the roof of the cell in the north of the gate to the roof of the cell in the south of the gate.
Malbim: It is from the roof of the cell to the roof of the gate. The three cells on each side pertain to the gate. Ta is an expression of Asa (coming), for it is made to come via it to the gate.
What occupied the 25 Amos?
Rashi: The thickness of the wall of the cell was five Amos, and so was the thickness of the wall of the cell on the other side. It was distanced two and a half Amos from the interior of the opening on each side. The interior of the opening was 10 ? all of these add to 25. This equals the interior of the Ulam inside (13) and the walls on both sides (six each).
Vilna Gaon: The gate was 10 wide. Each cell's interior was six, and its inner wall (next to the gate) cell was one Amah, and its outer wall was half an Amah. The total including both cells and their walls was 25. He needed to measure from the roofs, for the cell wall was a continuation of the Ulam wall. It was discernable only at the top.
Malbim: The gate was 13 wide (verse 11). There was a border of one Amah outside the gate; it pertained to the cell. The cell's interior was six, and the east wall of the cell was five Amos.
Which openings are opposite each other?
Rashi: The opening of the cell by the gate in the south is opposite the opening of the cell by the gate in the north. All of these six cells did not have an opening in the wall on the outside. However, the two cells next to the gate had openings facing the air between them. And so it says below "v'El Eleihemah li'Fnimah la'Sha'ar" (16) ? this teaches that their openings face the gate.
Radak: The opening of this gate is opposite the opening of the gate inside it, of Ezras Nashim and Ezras Yisrael.
Vilna Gaon: There were three pairs of cells opposite each other, on opposite sides of the opening. Their openings of each cell[to the opening] faced that of its 'partner'.
Malbim: All openings of the cells were opposite each other. There were openings between adjacent cells. The southern of the northern cells opened to the gate, and the northern cell opened to the outside. One could enter the cells from any (either) direction. The same applies to the southern cells. Their openings were opposite those of the northern cells.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes that he measured from the roof of the cell in the north to the roof of the cell in the south. If so, why does it say "he measured the gate"? It should say 'from the roof of one cell to the roof of the cell opposite it'! Why did it mention the gate? Also, these measurements were already taught ? why did the verse give their total? Also, the pronoun at the end of "Gago" (its roof) refers to the Sha'ar which was mentioned, and not to the [opposite] cell, which was not mentioned!
Radak #1: Regarding "Gago", we find like this ? "Imo ha'Reuveni veha'Gadi" (Yehoshua 13:8; "Imo" means with Chetzi Menasheh east of the Yarden; before this, the verse mentioned only Chetzi Menasheh west of the Yarden. We find that the Torah gives numbers that we could calculate, e.g. the census of each Degel, the Terumah from the spoils of Midyan? - PF)
Radak #2: These measures for the future Mikdash are not clear to us. We accept what we have in Maseches Midos or Targum Yonasan; the rest, Eliyahu will expound it and teach to us (Menachos 45a). I.e. we do not know how to expound it. Perhaps the cells were narrow at the top ? therefore, he needed to measure the roofs of the cells with the roof of the gate, Eilim and Ulam. It was 25 above, and more below 1 . Likewise, the north gate with its cells, Eilim and Ulamos was 50 long and 25 wide (verse 21) ? perhaps this was with other Ulamos.
Malbim: This can be for Rashi who says that the wall of the Chatzer was six wide. Below were 27 Amos from the beginning of the Ulam to the beginning of the cells. However, Radak says that Kir he'Chatzer was 13 wide, so below were 34 Amos. We cannot say that the roofs narrowed nine Amos, so it was only 25 above!
