Middos 5:3-4

Middos 5:3

There were six chambers in the courtyard: three in the north and three in the south. Those in the north (or south – different versions of the Mishna exist) were the salt chamber, the Parvah chamber and the laundry chamber. The salt chamber was where they kept the salt for the offerings. The Parvah chamber was where they would salt the skins of animal offerings. On the roof of the Parvah chamber was the mikvah where the Kohein Gadol would immerse on Yom Kippur. The laundry chamber was where they used to wash the innards of the animal offerings. A winding passage led from there to the roof of the Parvah chamber.

Middos 5:4

In the south (or north) were the wood chamber, the exile chamber and the chamber of hewn stone. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says that he forgot what the wood chamber was used for; Abba Shaul says it was the chamber of the Kohein Gadol and it was behind the other two chambers with one roof covering all three of them. In the exile chamber there was a fixed well (that had been dug by the returning exiles, hence the name) with a wheel over it. From this well, they provided water for the entire courtyard. The chamber of hewn stone was where the great Sanhedrin sat and ruled on matters for the kohanim (among other things). A kohein who was ruled disqualified for service would dress in black and wrap his head in black and leave the Temple; one who was not disqualified would dress in white and wrap his head in white and go serve alongside his fellow kohanim. They would make a feast because no disqualification had been found in the descendants of Aaron the kohein. They would say, “Blessed is the Omnipresent One, blessed is He, because no disqualification has been found in the descendants of Aaron. Blessed is the One Who chose Aaron and his descendants to stand and serve before Hashem in the Holy of Holies.”