"Make a copper washstand along with a copper base for it. Place it between the altar and the Communion Tent,

Most of the Temple vessels were made of gold and silver. Why was the "kiyor", the washstand, made out of copper?

and fill it with water for washing. Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet from it." (Exodus 30:18-19)

Most of the Temple vessels were made of gold and silver. Why was the kiyor, the washstand, made out of copper? Why did it require a base, and why was it placed between the altar and the sanctuary?

Preparing to Serve

Three metals were used when building the Tabernacle, and later, the Temple in Jerusalem: gold, silver and copper. Each metal was employed according to its relative value. Gold, with its great ornamental value, was used to construct the innermost vessels - the ark, the table, the menorah, and the incense altar. Silver is more utilitarian in nature. The sockets which formed the foundation of the Tabernacle, as well as various sacred implements, were fashioned from silver.

Copper, the least valuable of the three metals, was used for those vessels that were not used for the actual Temple service, but rather to prepare for it. Thus, the washstand, where the kohanim washed their hands and feet before starting their holy service, was formed out of copper.

A Permanent Vessel

Why does the Torah require that the washstand be built on a base?

Not all of the vessels of the Tabernacle were also employed in the Temple. Some components of the Tabernacle were transient in nature, only appropriate for the period before the Jewish people had settled down in their own land. But the kohanim would always need to wash their hands and feet before commencing their holy service. Since there would always be a need for a purifying washstand, even in the Tabernacle the washstand was placed on a base, thus indicating its permanence.

Purifying Thought and Deed

What is the significance of the location of the washstand? Why was it placed between the altar and the sanctuary? And why did the kohanim need to wash not only their hands, but their feet as well?

We serve God in two basic ways: with our minds, in Torah study; and with our actions, through practical mitzvot. Washing at the kiyor purifies and prepares for both forms of service.

The sanctuary was called the Ohel Moed, the Communion Tent, "where I will meet with you." It was a place of Divine revelation and prophecy. God's word emanated from the Holy Ark, containing the two luchot of the Ten Commandments, within the sanctuary. This area of the Tabernacle and Temple signifies our intellectual service of God, through prophecy and Torah.

The altar, on the other hand, was the focal point for elevating the ratzon (the will or primal desire) and deed. The

The washstand prepared the kohanim to serve God.

practical aspects of the Temple service were performed around the altar. Offerings brought on the altar served to refine the faculty of ratzon - they were to be leratzon lifnei HaShem, "for a desire that is pleasing before God."

The washstand prepared the kohanim to serve God in both thought and deed. It was situated between the sanctuary and the altar, as both forms of Divine service require the necessary preparation so that they will be performed with purity.

The hands and feet are metaphors for these two faculties. Our hands follow the dictates of the mind, while our feet move almost involuntarily, without conscious effort. When the kohanim washed their hands, they purified themselves for their service of mind and thought. And when they washed their feet, they purified themselves for their service of action and deed.

[Adapted from Olat Re'iyah vol. I, pp. 119-120]