“The Altar was before the building [of the Beis HaMikdash].”¹ 40:47. In sec. 26, it was explained that it appears that in this vision, the Altar stood 34 cubits from the eastern wall of the courtyard and there were 34 cubits between it and the Ulam, the vestibule of the building of the Beis HaMikdash. Whether in fact it will be positioned there, in the northern portion of the courtyard, the southern portion or in the middle will be explained in sec. 43, with God’s help.

footnotes: ¹ Yechezkel

“These are the dimensions of the Altar in cubits, each cubit [measuring] a cubit and a handbreadth.”² 43:13. I.e., ordinarily a cubit equals 5 handbreadths in measure. These cubits were 6 handbreadths. As I explained in the beginning of this work,³ this applied with the exception of the measures of the foundation, the upper portion of the sovev, and the horns. These were smaller cubits, i.e., each comprising 5 handbreadths, as will be explained.⁴

footnotes: ² Yechezkel ³ In the Preface. ⁴ See sections 38 and 42.

“From the center of the ground” – i.e., from the ground – “until the lower azarah⁵ – i.e., until the upper surface of the first level, the foundation of the Altar, “were two cubits with a width of one cubit.”⁶ 43:14.

footnotes: ⁵ See the end of sections 26-27. ⁶ Yechezkel

How was the Altar built?⁷ 54a. They would bring a square mold made from four beams. Each beam was 32 cubits long and 2 cubits wide. This was the height of the mold.⁸ They would fill it with stones, lime, tar and molten lead. It would form into a solid block, 32 cubits by 32 cubits and 2 cubits – small cubits – high.⁹ 3:1.

footnotes: ⁷ Zevachim ⁸ More specifically, the mold was slightly larger so that it would produce a surface of that size. ⁹ Middos

The foundation did not extend over the entire expanse of 32 cubits by 32 cubits, as stated in Tractate Middos: “The foundation would extend along the entire northern side of the Altar and the entire western side. It would consume one cubit on the south and one cubit on the west.” The intent is that when the square mold for the foundation was made, they would place a filler (i.e., wood or some other substance) in the southeast corner so that it would not be filled with the mixture of stone, lime, and molten lead. Afterwards, the filler would be removed, and that corner would remain empty without a foundation. The empty space would run from the southeast corner along the entire eastern side until the last cubit on the north. Similarly, the empty space would run from the southeast corner along the entire southern side until the last corner close to the west.

I elaborated in the description of the design of the foundation because the printers erred in the picture of the Altar that accompanies Rambam’s Commentary to the Mishnah, and depicted the foundation as running along the southern and eastern sides, leaving only one square cubit of open space in the southeast corner. This is an error on their part.¹⁰ himself (printed in Rav Kapach’s text of the Mishnah), the foundation is depicted as not running along the southern and eastern sides of the Altar, fitting the conception shared by Tosafos Yom Tov above. Nevertheless, the early printers did not have those illustrations and produced their own, making the error described above.

footnotes: ¹⁰ In the illustrations drawn by Rambam