In our Parashah, the Most High commands Moses to build a copper basin for washing and place it in front of the Ohel Moed, the tent of the Sanctuary. This basin was used by the priests, the Kohanim, before their service in the Sanctuary, as it is written: "And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands from it, and his sons when they come to the Ohel Moed." This washing had two purposes:
1) Cleansing and purification: The Cohen is required to undergo additional cleansing and purification prior to beginning his service to God in the Sanctuary.
2) Holiness - through washing, the Kohen reached a higher level of holiness, and for this reason, this washing was also called - the sanctification of the hands and feet"2
WE ARE ALL COHANIM
It is true that the Holy Temple is destroyed, but the conceptual meaning of its services and its structure remains valid even today. In that sense, every Jew is a kind of "cohen," since the entire people of Israel are called in the biblical text "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."3 And indeed, the concept of washing before serving the Creator is also fulfilled in our lives.
Rambam writes in the Laws of Prayer4: "In the morning - wash his face, his hands and his feet, and then he shall pray.".
It is known5 that prayers are in place of the offerings that were brought to the Holy Temple, and the washing before prayer is similar to the purification and sanctification of the Kohanim before service in the Sanctuary.
WASH YOUR FACE
Rambam adds a detail not found in the Torah's instructions for the Kohanim: they were commanded to wash only their hands and feet, while Rambam added washing their faces as well. This also has a special significance related to the period following the destruction of the Holy Temple.
The hands and feet symbolize the physical strength that man possesses, while the face symbolizes the innermost forces—the intellect, sight, hearing, speech, and the like. Worldly matters should be accomplished through the hands and feet—that is, only the most external capacities and strengths within us should be invested in them, as it is said: "By the effort of your hands you will eat." The "palms" should be invested in worldly life, while the higher powers and capacities should be reserved for the essence of life—serving the Most High.
THE INSIDE IS ALWAYS PURE
And here lies the difference between the Temple era and our own time: in the time of the Holy Temple, the face was inherently separate from the worldly, and therefore there was no need for special purification and sanctification prior to service in the Temple. But in exile, when tranquility is disturbed by the Galut (exile), and it may happen that even the inner strength of man is immersed in daily life—then additional purification is required, to purify the face as well.
This is the conceptual meaning of what the Rambam adds regarding the need to wash one's face before prayer. However, there are halachic legislators<sup>7</sup> who do not mandate washing one's face before praying. According to their opinion, the very declaration of a Jew upon waking from sleep, "I give thanks before You," emphasizes that the inner sphere of the being always remains connected to the Most High, and therefore there is no need for a special act of purification of the face and the inner self. Since the inner being of the Jew is always prepared to serve Hashem, there is no impurity that can harm it. And as the Rambam's well-known ruling<sup>8</sup> states, every Jew always desires to fulfill the will of his Creator.
(Likutei Sichot Volume 31, Page 184)
NOTES: 1.Shemot 30:19 2.Mishnah Yomah 28,a 30,a 31,b Ramban Hilchot Tefillah Ch.5 Halacha 1 3.Shemot 19:6 4.Ch. 4 Halacha 3 5.Brachot 26,b 6.Tehillim 128:2 7.Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken, Siman 1, paragraph 58.End Ch. 2 by Hiljot Girushin