A very short though on Parashas Pekudei

A very short thought this week.

Throughout this week's parashah, as Moshe completes each phase of the Mishkan, we are told that he did the associated service (he placed the Shulchan (Table) and arranged the bread upon it, he placed the Menorah and lit its lamps, etc.).

With regard to the final object, the Kiyor (Laver), however, we are told that he, Aaron, and Aaron's sons would wash their hands and feet there. Furthermore, we are told that this is what they would be obligated to do every day before they performed any Avodah (Service) in the Mishkan.

On a very simple level, it is possible that, if the assembly was done in the order written, Moshe had completed everything else, and he no longer had the need to wash from the Kiyor that day.

But why does the Torah tell us about the ongoing obligation for the Kohanim to wash their hands and feet?

Fundamentally, a Kohen had no specific obligation to wash from the Kiyor; he only had to wash his hands and feet if he was going to perform the Avodah. The Kohen’s act of washing was thus a his renewing his personal connection to Hashem.

That was something that was not “completed” when the Mishkan was complete. It was a n assembly that was renewed every day.

And it is an “assembly” that we can do each day as we recommit ourselves to doing Hashem’s Will and renew our dedication to Him.

Gut Shabbos.