In the second Beis Hamikdosh they were unable to build a wall. The Gemoroh in Bava Basra explains that in the first Beis Hamikdosh the height of the Heichal was thirty amos, and therefore a wall with the width of one amoh and the height of thirty amos could stand. In the second Beis Hamikdosh the height of the Heichal was forty amos, and a wall one amoh wide and forty amos tall, could not stand. It was therefore necessary to make a curtain (Paroches) instead of a wall.
What remained unclear to them was, what was the status of that amoh? Did it have the kedushah of the Heichal or the kedushah of the Kodesh Hakodoshim? The curtain must be placed on the line separating the two areas. It was therefore necessary to make two curtains at both edges of the amoh. The outer curtain had an entrance from the southern side and the inner one from the northern side. This way it was impossible for a person standing outside to see into the Kodesh Hakodoshim. On Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol would walk along the southern wall of the Heichal past the first curtain, turn right, to the north and enter the Kodesh Hakodoshim along the northern wall.
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