“And from it Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and feet.” (Shemot, 30:19) When the Cohanim washed from the laver (kiyor) in the Holy Temple they did so in order to remove and kind of negia (personal motive, partiality) Washing teaches of this, as we find in the passage of the beheaded heifer (Footnote Devarim, 21:6, the eiglah arufah, where the elders first take general responsibility for the death and then wash their hands, declaiming to God “our hands did not spill this blood), “and the elders of the city shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded.” Here they are saying that they are clean from negia associated with the death and have no portion in it. So too, the Cohen who serves needs to wash, meaning that he removes any negia in his life, nullifying his own mind and will before God’s will. This means that all his service is only what God desires. So it is with how we are commanded to wash in the morning and before a meal, for before one begins to fulfill the needs of the body he needs to pray. If some worldly matter comes upon him and leads him astray, God forbid, he then prays to God to remove any desire he might have not only from a sin, but even from something permitted that might be a mixture of good and its opposite. For if one were to eat in a way that is permitted to him and then go on and use the energy from this to transgress, then it is made clear that he did not receive any goodness from the food. Concerning this we have ritual washing, which is a kind of prayer that we only see goodness from our actions. We pray to God that our behavior is on condition, the condition being that only good comes out of it. It is for this reason that in the morning service our sages included this passage about washing from the laver before we say the daily sacrifices, meaning that we ask that even what we pray for is only what God desires.
וְרָחֲצוּ יְדֵיהֶם וְרַגְלֵיהֶם. עִנְיַן רְחִיצַת הַכֹּהֲנִים מֵהַכִּיּוֹר הוּא עִנְיַן סִילּוּק וַהֲסָרַת נְגִיעָה, כִּי רְחִיצָה מוֹרָה עַל זֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב אֵצֶל עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה (דברים כ"א,ו') "וְרָחֲצוּ זִקְנֵי כוּ' וְאָמְרוּ יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ" כוּ', וְהוּא שֶׁאָמְרוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם שׁוּם נְגִיעָה וְחֵלֶק בְּזֶה הַמַּעֲשֶׂה, וְגַם הַכֹּהֵן הָעוֹבֵד הוּצְרַךְ לִרְחִיצָה, הַיְינוּ שֶׁיָּסִיר נְגִיעָתוֹ וּמְבַטֵּל דַּעְתּוֹ וּרְצוֹנוֹ נֶגֶד רְצוֹן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, הַיְינוּ שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹבֵד רַק מַה שֶּׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ חָפֵץ. וְכֵן אֲשֶׁר נִצְטַוֵּינוּ לִטּוֹל יָדֵינוּ שַׁחֲרִית וְקוֹדֶם סְעוּדָה, הוּא גַּם כֵּן קוֹדֶם שֶׁיַּתְחִיל הָאָדָם לַעֲסוֹק בְּצָרְכֵי הַגּוּף צָרִיךְ תְּפִלָּה לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, בְּאִם שֶׁיָּבֹא לְיָדוֹ דָּבָר מֵעִנְיְנֵי עוֹלָם הַזֶּה שֶׁהוּא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם נֶגֶד רְצוֹן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, אָז הוּא מְבַקֵּשׁ מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ שֶׁיִּטּוֹל וְיָסִיר אֶת תַּאֲוָתוֹ מִזֶּה, וְאַף גַּם בִּדְבַר הֶיתֵּר נִמְצָא גַּם כֵּן טוֹב וְהִיפּוּכוֹ, כִּי בְּאִם יֹאכַל הָאָדָם דְּבַר הֶיתֵּר וְיֵלֵךְ אַחַר כָּךְ בְּכֹחַ הַזֶּה וְיַעֲשֶׂה עֲבֵירָה, אָז נִגְלָה הַדָּבָר כִּי לֹא קִבֵּל כֹּחַ הַטּוֹב שֶׁבְּזֶה הַדָּבָר, וְעַל זֶה הוּא הָרְחִיצָה שֶׁהוּא תְּפִלָּה לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ שֶׁבְּכָל דָּבָר לֹא יְקַבֵּל רַק כֹּחַ הַטּוֹב שֶׁנִּמְצָא, כִּי נַחֲלָה הַבָּאָה לוֹ לָאָדָם מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר מַתְנֶה עָלֶיהָ שֶׁלֹּא יִירָשֶׁנָּה, וְלָזֶה קָבְעוּ לוֹמַר פָּרָשַׁת הַכִּיּוֹר קוֹדֶם הַתְּפִלָּה וְקוֹדֶם פָּרָשַׁת הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת, הַיְינוּ שֶׁלֹּא נִתְפַּלֵּל רַק עַל מַה שֶּׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ חָפֵץ.
“And from it Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and feet.” (Shemot, 30:19)
When the Cohanim washed from the laver (kiyor) in the Holy Temple they did so in order to remove and kind of negia (personal motive, partiality) Washing teaches of this, as we find in the passage of the beheaded heifer (Footnote Devarim, 21:6, the eiglah arufah, where the elders first take general responsibility for the death and then wash their hands, declaiming to God “our hands did not spill this blood), “and the elders of the city shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded.” Here they are saying that they are clean from negia associated with the death and have no portion in it. So too, the Cohen who serves needs to wash, meaning that he removes any negia in his life, nullifying his own mind and will before God’s will. This means that all his service is only what God desires.
So it is with how we are commanded to wash in the morning and before a meal, for before one begins to fulfill the needs of the body he needs to pray. If some worldly matter comes upon him and leads him astray, God forbid, he then prays to God to remove any desire he might have not only from a sin, but even from something permitted that might be a mixture of good and its opposite. For if one were to eat in a way that is permitted to him and then go on and use the energy from this to transgress, then it is made clear that he did not receive any goodness from the food.
Concerning this we have ritual washing, which is a kind of prayer that we only see goodness from our actions. We pray to God that our behavior is on condition, the condition being that only good comes out of it. It is for this reason that in the morning service our sages included this passage about washing from the laver before we say the daily sacrifices, meaning that we ask that even what we pray for is only what God desires.