Why did access to the shitin of the nesachim have to be via the lul, couldnt it have been via a trap door on the floor of the azarah as was the case with the shis for the seyarei hadam? Also rashi is not clear as to the size of the area that the wine ran into, but if as rashi says it was sealed on its floor and four sides it must have been incredibly large for it to only need cleaning once in 70 years?
Z. Rutenberg, London, UK
Dear Mr. Rutenberg,
Thanks for your question. I would offer the following suggestion. The rule is that a chamber located in the Kodesh, equipped only with a doorway leading to the Chol, has the status of Chol. The Shis for the Dam need not be Kodesh since the blood is no longer Kodesh once it was poured on the Mizbe'ach. The wine, however, according to this opinion, remains in its Kedushah, and thus must be stored in an area which has the same Kedushah as the Mizbe'ach. It is thus inevitable that the entrance to this chamber must be from the Mizbe'ach (or the Kevesh, which shares the same status).
Kol tuv,
Y. Landy