“So declares God, the Lord: ‘The gate to the Inner Courtyard facing east”¹ 46:1. – this refers to the wicket at the northern side of the gate to the Sanctuary – “shall be closed during the six days of work; it shall be opened on the Shabbos day and it shall be opened on the day of the New Moon.” The Sanctuary is referred to as “the Inner Courtyard,” as reflected in Rashi’s commentary to the verse, “And it will come to pass when they enter the gates of the Inner Courtyard.”² 44:17. Consult that source.

footnotes: ¹ Yechezkel ² Rashi, Yechezkel

“And the Nasi will enter the courtyard from the outside via the vestibule of the gate. He will stand at the doorpost of that gate,”³ 46:2. i.e., at the northern wicket. “The kohanim will prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offering. He will prostrate himself on the threshold of the gate and depart, but the gate will not close until the evening. The people of the land will prostrate themselves at the entrance to that gate on Shabbasos and the days of the New Moon before God.”⁴2-3. “When the Nasi will offer a freewill-offering… they shall open the gate.”⁵12. Previously, in his commentary,⁶, Yechezkel 45:17. Rashi states, “Here, the term Nasi refers to the kohen gadol. This applies whenever the term is mentioned in the passage. [However,] I heard in the name of Rabbi Menachem that it refers to the king.”

footnotes: ³ Yechezkel ⁴ Ibid.: ⁵ Ibid.: ⁶ Rashi

Concerning this wicket, the mishnah teaches:⁷ 4:2, regarding opening the Sanctuary in the morning. See sections 64-69 where this concept is explained at length. “He would take the key, open the wicket, and enter the cell. From the cell, he would enter the Sanctuary.” Rambam explains⁸ 4:6. that after entering the wicket, “he would proceed between the two walls⁹ until he reached a place that opened to the left side of the Sanctuary.¹⁰ He would enter the Sanctuary through it, proceed to the Great Gate, and open it.”

footnotes: ⁷ Middos ⁸ See Hilchos Beis HaBechirah ⁹ The wall of the cell and the wall of the Sanctuary. ¹⁰ I.e., when looking to the east, the north is to the left.