From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, G-d commands Moses to make a washing basin of brass for the kohanim (priests) and set it before the Tent of Meeting. The kohanim were required to wash before performing their service, as it states, "And Aaron and his sons shall wash out of it, their hands and their feet, when they come into the Tent of Meeting."
Imbued with an Extra Dimension of Holiness
The washing process not only ensured that the kohanim were clean and pure in the physical sense, but imbued them with an extra dimension of holiness. For this reason, it is referred to as "the sanctification of the hands and feet."
In our times, although we no longer have a physical Holy Temple, the services that were performed there continue to be relevant on the spiritual plane. Indeed, every Jew is considered a "kohen" (the Jewish people are "a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation"), and the concept of washing as preparation for spiritual service still exists.
In his laws concerning prayer, the great legal redactor Maimonides writes, "Before the morning service one must wash his face, hands and feet." Nowadays, prayer is the substitute for the offerings in the Holy Temple. In the same way the kohanim washed before executing their duties, so too must we prepare ourselves properly before praying.
There is, however, an important distinction. Whereas the Torah commands the kohanim to wash only their hands and feet, Maimonides includes the face. As will be explained, this has a special significance in the historical period after the destruction of the Temple.
The Difference Between Worldly Concern and a Jew’s Service of G-d
The hands and feet are symbolic of practical action; the face represents the inner faculties: intellect, vision, hearing, speech, etc. When it comes to worldly concerns, a Jew should invest only his most external powers, i.e., his hands and feet. His higher faculties should be reserved for the true essence of his existence, i.e., his service of G-d.
In the times of the Holy Temple, the "face," the true essence of the Jew, was on a higher and more sanctified level, essentially removed from worldly affairs; no special procedure to make it holy was thus necessary. After the destruction, however, the negative atmosphere of the exile affects even the Jew's inner powers, dragging them down into the realm of the mundane. An extra measure of purity and sanctity is thus required.
Always Ready and Willing to Serve G-d
It is interesting to note that other codifiers of Jewish law do not specify that the face be washed. In their opinion, the declaration of "Modeh Ani," thanking G-d for restoring one's soul upon awakening, demonstrates that the Jew is always intrinsically connected to G-d, and that no additional sanctification is necessary. For a Jew's true inner essence is always ready and willing to serve G-d, and impervious to spiritual contamination.
Reprinted from the Parshat Ki Sisa 5762/2002 edition of L’Chaim, a publication of the L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitcher Youth Organization. Ada[ted frp, Volume 31 of Likutei Sichot.
