What do we learn from "veha'Leshachos ha'Elyonos Ketzuros"?
Hagahah in Rashi (3): The higher chambers (the Mikdash is on a mountain; they are on a higher part, in the west), two of them are narrow, because the Atikim diminish them.
Radak: The chambers of the third story are narrower than the others. This is the opposite of the cells ? the higher ones were wider than the lower (to enable resting ceiling beams where the wall recesses at the top of the cell), lest they need to be held in [holes in] Kir ha'Heichal, like I explained (refer to 41:6:5:1).
Vilna Gaon: The walls of the top chambers were narrow, because the Atikim enter the thickness of the walls [and join to them]; the Atikim were wider at the bottom, to strengthen the building.
Malbim: I explained (refer to 42:3:3:3) that they laid beams from the roof of Lishkos ha'Me'ah to the roof of Lishkos ha'Esrim and to the roof of Lishkos ha'Me'ah to the roof of Lishkos ha'Ritzpah, and built Atikim on top of them. The "Binyan" (walls) of the top chambers were narrow, to enable placing beams on which the Atikim were built (refer to 42:5:2:3), but the interior of the chambers were not narrower.
What is the meaning of "Ki Yochelu Atikim me'Henah"?
Rashi: This is like Yochelu with an Aleph 1 ; they consume and diminish the space of the chambers. Rashi (3) - I do not understand what are Atikim, and how they consume from the lower and middle [chambers].
Radak: I am unsure how these chambers were made. Perhaps they were like domes, which are narrow at the top 2 . "Me'Henah" is like it explains after this - "meha'Tachtonos umeha'Tichonos." The pronoun precedes the noun, like "va'Tir'ehu Es ha'Yeled" (Shemos 2:6) and similar verses. In the future, Eliyahu will explain this Parashah.
Vilna Gaon: The walls of the lower chambers were wider, because the Atikim join to them, and consume from the interior of chambers (the Atikim were wider at the bottom).
Malbim: The Atikim were built on beams on the chambers. Therefore, it was necessary to make the wall of the middle chamber narrow, to leave room to place the floor beams of the bottom Atik. E.g. if the walls of the bottom chamber were two Amos, they made the walls of the middle chamber one and a half Amos 3 , so half an Amah remained on each side on which they put the floor beams of the bottom Atik. The walls of the top chamber were one Amah wide, so half an Amah remained on each side on which they put the floor beams of the middle Atik. The floor beams of the top Atik were on the roof of the top chamber. The Atikim were widened due to the narrowing of the chambers' walls, therefore it says that they ate from them.
Radak: Aleph, Hei, Vov and Yud are interchangeable. It refers to occupying space, like Chazal said 'how much did the Luchos consume in the Aron? Six [Tefachim]' (Bava Basra 14a).
Radak: However, if so the lower chambers were wider than the middle chambers ? the verse did not mention this! (Refer to 42:5:2:3*.)
Malbim: The verse did not say that the walls of the middle chamber were narrower than those of the bottom chambers, for this is understood. There is no other way to place the floor of the bottom Atik! It teaches that the walls of the top chamber were narrower than those of the middle chamber, for this is a Chidush. One could have placed the floor of the middle Atik on top of the bottom Atik, and not narrowed the walls of the top chamber! Rather, the floor was placed on the chamber, for this is stronger.
