There was one gate on each side of the Temple Mount, but on the south side there were two gates. This is because the city was to the south of the Temple and most visitors would enter from that side. These gates were named the Chulda gates.
Unlike the other gates where one entered level with the ground of Har Habayis, the Chulda gates were below ground. After entering, one had to climb up a pathway of stairs to reach the Temple Mount.
Because of this, they were named after a Chulda - a type of rodent that lives in the foundations of the house beneath the floor.
The Chulda is a metaphor for the descent of the Neshama into this lowly world, the descent of the Jewish people into exile and the challenges that we face in life.
Sometime our path to G-dly revelation, arriving on the "Temple Mount", is with easy, level access. But this type of experience is generally limited to the lofty souls of the Tzaddikim. Most of us must enter through the Chulda gates as our path to reaching spiritual heights comes from below ground. We face challenges and struggles and we have to put in effort to climb upwards.
But these experiences of descent ultimately bring us to greater heights as alluded to in the verse in Tehillim: מושיבי עקרת הבית אם הבנים שמחה “He seats the barren one of the house as a happy mother of children".
The sages explain that the words עקרת הבית can also denote the foundations of the house and describes the Jewish people in our lowly state. From there we will become a happy mother, bearing the fruits of spiritual accomplishment.
