The Rambam:
The final chapter of Rambam’s laws of “The Chosen House,” concerned with the building of the Temple, details the laws of the guarding of the Temple. The final two laws discuss a nightly inspection of the Temple premises. “The priests held two torches of fire in their hands and divided into two groups. One proceeded eastward and the other, westward.” Meeting each other at the end of their inspection they declared: "Peace be unto you. Everything is at peace." (Hilchos Beis Habechirah 8:11)
The chapter concludes: “This pattern was followed each night except on Sabbath eve. [Then,] they did not hold torches in their hands. Rather, they checked by the light of the candles, which remained burning from the Sabbath eve.” (Ibid, 8:12)
There reason for this was because carrying a torch is forbidden by the sages on Shabbos.
The Questions:
The commentaries question why the Priests were not permitted to carry the torches with them. Although carrying fire is prohibited on Shabbos, the prohibition is only Rabbinic in origin in the category of shvut. The Rambam states (Hilchos Shabbos 21:27) that all Rabbinic prohibitions of this nature were suspended in the Temple.
Additionally, why is this law placed here, in the section concerned with the guarding of the Temple? Seemingly, this inspection was a prequel to the daily service of the Temple, ensuring that all was in order for the upcoming service. Therefore, its proper place would seem to be the laws of daily service.
The Explanation:
Rambam previously explained that the guarding of the Temple is not out of concern for enemies, but as an expression of honor and prestige. The nightly inspection, therefore, can also be seen as part of the honor of the Temple. This is why the laws about the inspection are included in this section of laws of the Temple’s building, for they are concerned with the Temple’s honor.
Being that the objective of the inspection was to express our respect and honor for the Temple, we can understand why we would want to avoid transgressing a rabbinic prohibition even if it is technically permitted in the Temple: Regarding the Chanukah miracle of the pure olive oil lasting eight nights, the question is posed: there is an opinion that maintains that the prohibition against using a ritual impure substance for a sacrifice applies only to an individual, a service on behalf of the community, in this case, the Menorah, can be performed with ritually impure oil. Why, then, did G-d need to perform a miracle to allow them to use ritually pure oil? The answer is offered that G-d saw the pure dedication of the people to rededicate the Temple and responded with a similar straining beyond the expected, giving the people a chance to light with ritually pure oil, instead of relying on a legal dispensation.
In other words, when it comes to the honor of the Jewish people, G-d did not rely on legal loopholes. Similarly, when it comes to the honor of the Temple, we do not rely on the legal loophole that would permit us to carry the torches on Shabbos. We want to observe even the rabbinic prohibitions while inspecting the Temple, so that we accord it, and the Presence which resides within it, the greatest possible respect.
A Second Explanation:
Alternatively, the service in the Temple overrides the prohibitions of Shabbos, but the building of the Temple does not. The people would have to cease working on the building when Shabbos arrived. The building of the Temple does not only include the actual construction, but everything necessary to prepare it for the Temple service. Since the honor accorded to the Temple is part of the preparation, it is part of the “building” of the Temple, and therefore does not override Shabbos prohibitions.
This ties together the beginning of this section of Rambam with its conclusion: In chapter one Rambam defined the Temple as a place that is primed for the sacrificial service, and the final law stresses this conception of the Temple as well.
A Homiletic Reading:
A deeper idea alluded to in the final law: Shabbos is a microcosm of the world to come, the coming of the Mashiach. On “Shabbos,” in the Messianic age, the preparations for the Temple service will be carried out with the “light kindled on the Shabbos eve,” representing the present, exilic, age. Our service at present generates spiritual light. We will use that light to prepare for the sacrifices to be offered in the Third Temple.
