<div>Eli writes,</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>The Steipler brings a proof to the shiurim of CI that the width of har habayit (at it narrowest) is just about 500 amot according to CI shiur. If one accepts this then there is absolutely no room on the eastern or western sides outside the 500 amot.
<br>Personally I find the CI shiur hard to accept and that the 500 amot is only<br>a subset of the whole area. However those who accept CI cannot walk on the two sides. I have never put them together but there are articles in techumin that argue for a southern or northern position for the bet hamikdash. Hence I would suspect that if one really took every shitah
<br>into account that there is not much room left</em></div>
<div>As I don't have Rav Goren's book with me at the office, I can't give his exact figures but he lays out about seven different shitot to illustrate how the Bet HaMikdash could be fitted into the Temple Mount and, just as the Mishna has it, Middot 2:1, the most expanisve 'clear' area is on the south, followed by the east, north and west where it becomes the narrowest. Nevertheless, there is room outside of the 500 square cubit. And then we can argue about the Machaneh Leviyah and even further, not to mention the Ra'avad's opinion that entry is completely permissabel everywhere, follwoed by Rav Weingarten's heter based on
<em>halicha bashvil</em> or those who claim the status of the area is still of a war.</div>
<div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Yisrael Medad<br>Shiloh<br>Mobile Post Efraim 44830<br>Israel </div>