3,946. The Wells and the Curtains

Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 7:15

An official was in charge of digging wells and cisterns, as well as repairing the public wells so that there would always be water in Jerusalem, both for the residents and for those who come for the Festivals. There was also an official in charge of the craftsmen who made the showbread, and he supervised their work. There was likewise an official in charge of the craftsmen who made the incense, and he supervised their work.

Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 7:16

The official in charge of the curtains supervised those who wove the curtains and embroidered the patterns on them so that they would be ready for the Heichal and the gates. They made two curtains per year to separate between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. The threads of these curtains were six-stranded. Four different textiles were used: linen, blue wool, purple wool and crimson wool, each of which was six-ply, with the result that there were twenty-four strands. The width of the curtains was a handbreadth (about 3”). They were woven with 72 heddles.* The curtains’ dimensions were forty cubits (about 60’) by twenty cubits (about 30’).

*A heddle is a wire with an eye in the middle. In a loom, each warp thread passes through a heddle.