בס”ד

Parashat Ki Tisa

This week’s Torah reading talks about the Kiyor, a big washing basin for the Kohanim (priests) to wash their hands and feet before starting the daily service in the Temple. The material used to build it and it’s usage has an eternal lesson.

Ki Tisa – Transforming the Past into Holiness

The Kiyor: The Washing Basin in the Temple

This week’s Torah reading is called Ki Tisa, which means “when you count.” One of the subjects in this reading is something in Hebrew called the Kiyor. The Kiyor was a washing basin used by the priests, the Kohanim, who worked in the Temple. In the time of the desert it was used in the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, and later in the First Temple and the Second Temple.

Before the priests began their service, they had to wash their hands and their feet. Only then could they begin their work.

Interestingly, this Kiyor was made of copper, but not just any copper. It was copper collected from women who donated their mirrors. In those days, mirrors were made out of polished copper. These mirrors were given for the construction of the Mishkan.

Now, the altar in the Mishkan was also made of copper, but that copper came from other donations. The copper used specifically for the Kiyor—the washing basin—came from these mirrors donated by the women.

The Story Behind the Mirrors

When Moshe Rabbeinu received these mirrors, there was an issue. What had these mirrors been used for?

Our sages explain that during the time in Egypt, when the Jewish people were in exile, the men worked extremely hard. They came home exhausted after long days of forced labor. The women, however, encouraged them. They would use their mirrors playfully, saying things like, “I am more beautiful than you,” and the men would respond, “No, I am more beautiful than you.”

Through this playful interaction, affection and intimacy were awakened, and families continued to grow.

From only seventy people who originally came from the land of Canaan into Egypt, the Jewish people multiplied into around four million people in just 210 years. Going from seventy individuals to millions in such a relatively short time is extraordinary.

Why Moshe Initially Refused the Mirrors

In a certain sense, these mirrors were connected to what might be called the yetzer hara, the evil inclination—connected to physical desire and intimacy.

Because of that, Moshe Rabbeinu did not initially want to accept them. In his eyes, these mirrors were associated with something not so pure or elevated. Therefore, he did not want to use them for the Mishkan.

However, G-d told him otherwise.

G-d said: “Receive this copper. Make the Kiyor—the washing basin—from these mirrors. And you should know that this copper is more precious to Me than anything else.”

The Deeper Meaning: Transforming the Evil Inclination

Why would this copper be so precious?

One explanation is connected to the idea that every person has both a good inclination (yetzer hatov) and an evil inclination (yetzer hara). Of course, we are not supposed to follow the evil inclination. It tries to lead us away from the will of G-d.

Instead, we are meant to follow the commandments: Jews have the 613 mitzvot, and non-Jews have the seven Noahide commandments and their many ramifications.

The evil inclination is always there to challenge us.

There are several ways this inner struggle can unfold.

One way is that the good inclination overpowers the evil inclination. The evil inclination remains, but the good inclination wins.

Another possibility is that the good inclination “kills” the evil inclination—meaning it is completely suppressed.

But there is a third and much deeper way.

In this higher way, the good inclination actually educates the evil inclination. It explains how good G-d is. G-d gives food, health, livelihood, and life itself. When a person understands this deeply, even the part of themselves that once resisted G-d begins to love Him.

Instead of having one good inclination fighting one evil inclination, a person ends up with two forces working toward good: the natural good inclination, and the transformed inclination that now also serves G-d.

From Mirrors to a Holy Vessel

Returning to the mirrors: the copper used in them had originally been connected to the evil inclination. Yet G-d told Moshe Rabbeinu not to reject them.

Why?

Because the purpose was not to destroy the evil inclination, but to transform it.

Those mirrors were transformed into something holy: the Kiyor, a sacred vessel used in the Mishkan.

Washing Hands and Feet: Preparing to Serve G-d

There is an additional layer of meaning here.

As mentioned before, the priests used the Kiyor to wash their hands and feet before beginning their service. What does this represent?

The message until now is that when a person comes closer to G-d, they do not have to destroy their past. Instead, they transform it and use it in a positive way.

However, for this transformation to truly work, one must first “wash the hands and the feet.”

Hands and feet symbolize the parts of a person that come into the most contact with the world. Through this contact, a person absorbs ideas, influences, and habits from society.

Of course, if a person has lived in ways that go against the will of G-d, they must do teshuvah—repentance—and return to G-d.

But this washing does not mean cutting off the parts of ourselves that interacted with the world. It means cleansing them.

Washing with the Waters of Torah

And what is the water used for this cleansing?

The Torah itself.

The Torah is compared to water. Just as water flows from a high place to a low place, the Torah also descends from a higher spiritual place to reach us here below.

Before beginning one’s service of G-d—just as the priests did in the Temple—we must wash ourselves in these “waters.” We must make sure that the influences we absorbed from society or from our past are cleansed through the wisdom of Torah.

In this way, our service can align with the will of G-d.

A Message for Everyone

This message is strong for Jews, but it also carries an important lesson for non-Jews.

Often, non-Jews come from environments and cultures that are very different from the ideas of the Torah. Therefore, before beginning one’s service of G-d, the first step is to “wash the hands and the feet.” In other words, cleanse the influences that came from the outside world.

But again, this does not mean destroying one’s past.

Rather, the past should be transformed and used in a positive way—turned into holiness (kedushah).

Just as those mirrors, once connected with the evil inclination, were transformed into the Kiyor, the very first vessel used by the priests in their service.

It was the preparation for serving G-d.

Talk from Rabbi Tuvia Serber


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