of water for the water libation on the festival of Sukkot, as they would ceremoniously draw the water from the Pool of Siloam and bring it to the altar through this gate. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov says: There was a different reason for this name. It was called the Gate of Water because through it the water would trickle [mefakim], and in the future this water will increase and go out from under the threshold of the House. Facing these gates were the ones in the north, listed in order from the one closest to the west: The Gate of Jeconiah; the Gate of the Offering, through which they would bring the offerings of the most sacred order, as these could be slaughtered only in the northern part of the courtyard; the Gate of Women, where women would enter the courtyard to place their hands on the heads of their offerings; and the Gate of Song, through which they would bring the musical instruments into the courtyard. The mishna asks: And why was it called the Gate of Jeconiah? The reason is that through it Jeconiah went out to his exile. Before Jeconiah was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon he came to take leave of the Temple, and he left through this gate. The mishna resumes the list with the gates that are in the east: the Gate of Nicanor, which was named after Nicanor, who brought the doors of this gate from Egypt (see Yoma 38a). And the Gate of Nicanor had two wickets [pishpeshin], one on its right and one on its left. And there were two gates in the west that did not have a name, making a total of thirteen gates.

GEMARA: The mishna taught that there were thirteen gates in the courtyard. The Gemara notes that the mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Abba Yosei ben Yoḥanan, who said in Middot 2:6 that the thirteen prostrations were performed opposite the thirteen gates. However, according to the opinion of the Rabbis, in Middot 1:4, there were only seven gates in the courtyard. Consequently, according to the opinion of the Rabbis, where were these thirteen prostrations performed, if there weren't a corresponding number of gates? The Gemara answers that the prostrations correspond to that which we learned in a mishna there (see Middot 2:3): There were thirteen breaches in the soreg, the lattice fence between the walls of the courtyard and the Temple Mount, that the kings of Greece breached. They did this to allow foreigners to enter the courtyard and to demonstrate that this area was not reserved exclusively for priests. And the sons of the Hasmonean dynasty returned and fenced in those breaches, and decreed that thirteen prostrations should be performed opposite them. Anyone who encircled the courtyard and passed by one of the places where a breach had been sealed would prostrate in gratitude to God for removing Greek control and the decrees against the Jews of Eretz Yisrael.

The Gemara expands upon the idea expressed by Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov that in the future the water from the Gate of Water will increase and emerge from under the threshold of the House: It is written in a prophecy concerning the end of days: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: Half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be" (Zechariah 14:8), and it was taught in a baraita: From the house of the Holy of Holies to the curtain, the stream of water will be as thin as the antennae of silai and khilai, two types of snails. From the veil to the golden altar the stream of water will increase slightly until it is like the antennae of grasshoppers. From the place of the golden altar to the courtyards it will further increase to the thickness of a thread of the warp of a loom. From the courtyards to the threshold of the House the stream will widen to the size of a thread of the woof, which was thicker than the thread of the warp. From here onward the stream will reach the width of a stream of liquid poured from the mouth of a cruse. The Gemara cites another baraita on this topic. It is written: "And, behold, there trickled forth waters on the right side. When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles" (Ezekiel 47:2-3). This verse teaches that at a distance of a thousand cubits the height of the water was up to the ankles. The next verse states: "Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees," which indicates that after an additional thousand cubits the water was up to the knees. The verse continues: "Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the loins" (Ezekiel 47:4), which teaches that after the next thousand cubits the height of the water rose until the loins. From here onward the water continued to rise, until "he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through" (Ezekiel 47:5). After the last thousand cubits the water was so high that even a large Liburnian ship, a type of a warship, could not pass through the current. What is the explanation of the verse: "Neither shall gallant ship pass thereby" (Isaiah 33:21). Why? "For the waters were risen, waters to swim in [mei saḥu], a river that could not be passed through" (Ezekiel 47:5). What is the meaning of the phrase mei saḥu? It means that the water flowed so fast and high it prevented one from swimming. Similarly, Rav Ḥuna said to clarify the meaning of the word "saḥu": In our locale they call swimming saḥona, as in the verse: "And when he shall spread forth his hands in its midst, as he who swims spreads forth his hands to swim [hasoḥeh lisḥot]" (Isaiah 25:11). The Gemara presents an alternate explanation for this verse. What is the meaning of "waters to swim in [saḥu]"? Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Bun, said: Water that is discussed in the world. The term saḥu is associated with siḥa, which means discussion or conversation. The verse indicates that this river will be the topic of every discussion, due to its high waters and strong current. The Gemara continues to discuss this river. It is written: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for purification and for sprinkling" (Zechariah 13:1). This river will be used for the purification of the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The Gemara asks: Since this river can serve to purify any member of the Jewish people, why did the verse single out the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem? The Gemara answers: The verse is not listing those who are fit to be purified by this river. Rather, it is delineating the various parts of this river that serve different functions. As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman explained in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: From the dwelling place of the house of David until the residences of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the water in this river is considered running spring water, which is fit for the purpose of purifying a menstruating woman, as well as for use in the waters of purification, i.e., spring water that was mixed with the ashes of the Red Heifer. From here onward it is considered combined water, a mixture of spring and rain water, which is fit for the purification of a menstruating woman but unfit for the waters of purification. The Gemara presents an alternate explanation of the verse. Rabbi Elazar said: From the palace of the house of David until the residences of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the water is fit for the purification of a menstruating woman as well as for the waters of purification. From here onward, it is considered water running down slopes [ketafrisot], and is unfit both for the purification of a menstruating woman and for the waters of purification.

In Ezekiel's prophecy concerning this river, it is further written: "Then he said to me: These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and when they shall enter into the sea, into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed" (Ezekiel 47:8). This eastern region mentioned in this verse is the Sea of Samkhu, which is the modern Hula Lake in the northern Galilee. "And shall go down into the Arabah," this phrase refers to the Sea of Tiberias, i.e., the Sea of Galilee. "And when they shall enter into the sea," this is the Dead Sea. "Into the sea of the putrid waters [mutza'im]," this is the Great Sea, the Mediterranean Sea. And why was it called mutza'im, which literally means taken out? This corresponds to the two occasions that the sea went out and overran the dry land, once in the Generation of Enosh, when idolatry proliferated, and once in the Generation of the Dispersion, i.e., that of the Tower of Babel. Until where did the sea overrun the dry land? Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: In the first instance, the Generation of Enosh, it went out until Calabria, in southern Italy, and in the second instance, the Generation of Dispersion, it went out until the rocks of Barbary in North Africa. Rabbi Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: In the first instance the sea went out until the rocks of Barbary, and in the second instance it went out until Akko and until Jaffa. The Gemara adds that there is support for this claim from the verse: "Thus far [ad po] you shall come, but no further, and here your proud waves shall be stayed" (Job 38:11). The phrase ad po is similar in meaning to ad ko, which alludes to the city of Akko. The verse is saying that until Akko you shall come, but no further. Likewise, in the last part of the verse: "And here [ufo] your proud waves shall be stayed," the similarity between the words ufo and Yafo, Jaffa, hints that until Jaffa your proud waves shall be stayed. The Gemara stated above that the waters of the river that emerge from the Temple Mount will reach four seas: The Sea of Samkhu, the Sea of Tiberias, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Gemara asks: It works out well that the river will reach the Great Sea, i.e., the Mediterranean Sea, and the Dead Sea, in order to sweeten them, and render them drinkable, as they contain saltwater. However, with regard to the Sea of Tiberias, and the Sea of Samkhu, whose water is already sweet, for what purpose will this river reach them? The Gemara responds that when the water of this river reaches these seas, their waters will be blessed by an increase in the number of their fish, as it is written with regard to this river: "Their fish shall be after their kinds" (Ezekiel 47:10). This verse teaches that their fish will be of multiple kinds, great in number and variety. It was likewise taught in a baraita that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There was an incident in which I went to Sidon, north of the Sea of Galilee, and they brought before me more than three hundred kinds of fish in one pot.

The Gemara continues to interpret the verses in Ezekiel: "And the waters shall be healed…But its miry places and its marshes shall not be healed; they shall be given for salt" (Ezekiel 47:8-11). The Gemara points out an apparent contradiction: It is written: "And the waters shall be healed," and yet you say that the waters shall not be healed? The Gemara responds that it is a place called Velo Yerafu, which means: They will not be healed. This verse is detailing the locations where the waters will heal, namely the miry places, the marshes, and a place called Velo Yerafu.

It is further written there: "And by the river upon its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail; it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the Temple; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing" (Ezekiel 47:12). What is the meaning of the phrase "it shall bring forth new fruit every month"? It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda said: The meaning of the verse is that in this world, grain produces a crop six months after it is planted, and a tree produces fruit twelve months after its fruit is harvested. However, in the future, grain will produce crops in one month, and a tree will produce fruit in two months. What is the explanation of the words in the verse: "It shall bring forth new fruit every month [ḥodashav]?" The term ḥodashav, which incorporates the plural of the word month, indicates that the fruit will grow in two months. As the time required for grain to ripen is half the time of that of fruit, grain will ripen in a single month. This Gemara presents a dissenting opinion. Rabbi Yosei said: The meaning of the verse is that in this world grain produces a crop six months after it is planted, while a tree produces fruit twelve months after its fruit is harvested. However, in the future, grain will produce crops in fifteen days, and a tree will produce fruit in one month, as we found that grain produced a crop in the days of Joel that ripened in fifteen days, and the omer offering was brought from that grain on the sixteenth of Nisan. In that year they brought the omer offering from grain fifteen days after it was sown. What is the explanation of the verse: "Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He gives you the first rain in just measure, and He causes the rain to come down for you, the first rain and the latter rain, at the first" (Joel 2:23)? The Sages explain that there was a severe drought that year, and the first rains fell only on the first of Nisan (see Ta'anit 5a). The prophet commanded the people to plant their fields, and they found sufficient seeds to sow the fields. The second rains fell on the fifth of Nisan, and miraculously the grain ripened so quickly that they were able to bring the omer offering from that grain on the sixteenth of the month. In the future the grain will ripen as quickly as it did then. The Gemara asks: And how does Rabbi Yosei establish the meaning of the verse: "It shall bring forth new fruit every month," which apparently indicates that fruit will grow in two months? He explains that the verse means that each and every month the tree will bring forth fruit. The aforementioned verse states: "And its leaf for healing [terufa]" (Ezekiel 47:12). The Sages dispute the meaning of this phrase. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The word terufa with a tav is similar to terufa with a tet, which means food. Therefore the verse means: For its food he sucks the leaves of the tree that grows on the banks of that river, and ingests their sustenance, as the leaves of this tree nourish as much as its fruit. Rav and Shmuel both interpreted terufa as an allusion to lehatir pe, to release the mouth, but differed over the exact meaning. One said it means to release the upper mouth, i.e., to open the mouth of a mute person, such that he will be able to speak if he eats from the fruit of this tree. And the other one said it means to release the lower mouth, a reference to the womb; a barren woman who eats from this tree will be able to conceive. Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi disagree in a similar manner. One said the verse means to release the mouth of infertility, and the other one said it means to open the mouth of the mute.

In its list of the gates in the Temple, the mishna stated: Facing the gates in the south were additional gates in the north, etc. One of the gates in the north was the Gate of Jeconiah, through which this king departed for exile. The Gemara relates that you find at the time that Nebuchadnezzar ascended to Eretz Yisrael to remove Jeconiah, Jehoiachin, from his throne, three months after he had crowned him instead of his father Jehoiakim. He came and settled in Dofnei of Antioch, where he set up his camp. And the Great Sanhedrin came out to greet him and said to him: Has the time come for this House to be destroyed? Is that the purpose for which you have arrived? He said to them: The king that I crowned to rule over you, give him to me as a captive and I will go. They came and said to Jehoiachin, king of Judea: Nebuchadnezzar requires that you be taken into captivity to Babylon. When he heard this from them, he took the keys of the Temple and ascended to the roof of the Sanctuary and said before Him: Master of the Universe, in the past we were faithful to You and Your keys were handed over to us. Now that we are not faithful, Your keys are handed over to You. Two amora'im dispute what happened next: One said that Jehoiachin took the keys and threw them up to the heavens and they have not yet descended from there. And one said that the likeness of a hand came and took them from his hand. When all