As Sefer Shemot comes to a close with Parshiyot Vayakhel and Pekudei, the Mishkan is built and ready to function. One temple vessel after another, one strip of cloth on another, it has all come together. The final vessel that is put into place is the kiyor – the laver – from which the kohanim washed their hands and feet, as the Torah teaches: “He placed the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing. From it Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash their hands and feet; they washed when they entered the Tent of Meeting and when they approached the altar—as the LORD had commanded Moses” (Shemot 40:31-32).
The commandment to wash before entering the holy precincts does not constitute part of the service itself, rather it is preparation, allowing the kohen to enter the Mishkan and perform the service. This is a new element that did not exist before. In previous interactions between man and God – e.g., sacrifices, erection of altars, etc. – washing hands and feet was not required. Perhaps we can suggest that once God established a place on Earth that was His, a separation is created between the sacred and the profane, requiring formal transition and preparation.
The act of washing is important and significant. According to the halakhah, if the High Priest neglected to wash before entering the Temple on Yom Kippur, his service is void – although if he misses one of the required immersions in the course of the day, the service remains valid (see TB Zevahim 19a).
This washing also needed concentration, as can be understood from the disagreement as to how it had to be performed. According to the Tanna Kamma the kohen would hold his right hand over his right foot and his left hand over his left foot to be washed. R. Yosi b’R. Yehuda required him to hold one hand over the other and one foot over the other when washing. The other sages objected to this, arguing that it would have been impossible for someone to wash that way. Rav Yosef explained that he would need assistance from the other kohanim to wash. All of this had to be performed using a vessel to pour out the water, since hands and feet could not be dipped into the kiyor, based on the words: “From it” they would wash their hands and feet – “from it” and not “in it” (TB Zevahim 21a, Rav Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 159:1).
The midrash teaches that the commandment to wash hands did not remain a special precept only for the kohanim:
“ ‘From it Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash …they washed when they entered the Tent of Meeting.’ But regarding the rest of Israel, what is written? ‘You shall sanctify yourselves and be holy’ (Vayikra 11:44). This led Rabban Gamaliel to eat non-sacred food only when he was in a state of ritual purity, saying: Holiness was not given over only to the kohanim…Based on this they said, whosoever makes light of handwashing, it is a bad omen for him…” (Eliyahu Rabbah 16, see also BT Berakhot 15a).
The Torah notes that there is a general commandment on all Jewish people to be holy, which serves as the source for ritual handwashing. Jewish law mandates that the handwashing ritual borrowed from the kohanim is to be performed every morning upon waking. This ritual also requires attention to the amount of water used and the manner in which it is poured, and if not done, it impacts on the entire day’s work: “it is a bad omen for him.”
In his book, “A Psychologist in a Bratslav Yeshiva,” the psychologist Jonathan Shatil examines the phenomenon of ritual handwashing, making use of a technique of field research known as “participant observation.” In an attempt to understand the experience, Shatil joined the yeshiva and – under the direction and supervision of fellow students – fully participated in the daily life of a yeshiva student. His mentors instructed him in the minutiae of the requirements of ritual handwashing, and, as a secular, non-believer, he describes the experience:
“This activity strengthens the awareness of the separation between sleep and wakefulness. The apparent purposelessness of the act is the very thing that heightens that feeling. Once again, I am conscious and in control…now you are again responsible for everything that happens to you. From now on, your actions and thoughts are directed by your awakened consciousness. This is how one shakes off sleep, dreams, the realm of the unconscious.
“The activity requires focus and concentration; it can't be done half-asleep...
“What is odd is that the daily focus on hand-washing is not connected with a sense of hygiene. One feels that their hands have been cleansed with “waters of significance” that purify one’s values. No cleaning agent is used – one does not even rub hands together. In truth, this morning ritual introduces a daily “metaphysical cleansing” that combines an act of physical washing with a ritual that offers spiritual purification… This cleansing of the hands that takes place first thing in the morning happens even before the hands have performed any activity, so it constitutes a kind of “mobilization order” for all of their activities throughout the day – as if the hands were dressed in invisible uniforms…”
This colorful description of the experience of morning handwashing may help explain the need for kohanim to wash before they enter the sanctuary. With the building of the Mishkan, a clear division was established between inside and outside, between the sacred and the profane. The opportunity for purification offers the possibility of a change of consciousness that is required by the change in circumstance. By washing our hands in the morning, we become like kohanim entering into their sacred work, and we commit to a workday focused on honesty and purity – a day of work as pure as that of the sacred service in the Temple.