Kijor
A kijor ( Hebrew כִּיּוֹר 'Square' ) is a wash basin that is used for ritual cleaning of the hands.
The corresponding instruction is in the Book of Exodus :
“The Lord said to Moses, Make a basin of copper and a stand of copper for the ablutions, and place them between the tabernacle and the altar; then fill in water! Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet in it. When they enter the tent of revelation, they are asked to wash themselves with water to keep them from dying. Likewise, they should keep it when they come to the altar to perform the service and to smoke sacrifices made by fire for the Lord. They should wash their hands and feet so that they do not die. This should be an eternal law for them, for Aaron and his descendants from generation to generation. "
This regulation applied to the temple in Jerusalem . Between the altar and the sanctuary there were square sinks made of copper or brass on bases made of the same material. They were filled with water. Faucets were attached to them, with the help of which the priests could let the water run over their hands and feet. In this way, the priests had to wash their hands and feet before making an offering or entering the temple. With the help of a wooden device designed by a priest named Ben Katim, water was drawn into these basins from a large underground cistern . The wooden device was probably a water wheel.
After the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (586 B.C.), synagogues were built as a place of prayer. They assumed a vicarious role for the temple and many of its ritual elements.
Synagogues were usually built with an anteroom or vestibule so that one did not enter the main hall directly from the street. In this vestibule which was Kijor .
In Jewish cemeteries , too, there is often such a washbasin at the exit, which is also sometimes referred to as a kijor . The idea is that contact with the dead makes one unclean and that cleaning should take place when leaving the cemetery.
In modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ) , the word Kijor is used as a word for sink without any religious connotation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roger Liebi: The Messiah in the Temple. Symbolism and meaning of the Second Temple in the light of the New Testament. Verlag Christian Literature Spread , Bielefeld 2003, ISBN 3-89397-641-8 , pp. 454-545: Chapter 10 In the camp of the Schechina .
- ↑ Randall Price: Temple Guide. inner cube GmbH, Düsseldorf 2013, ISBN 978-3-942540-49-0 , p. 95.
- ↑ Alfred J. Kolatch: Understanding the Jewish World. marixverlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-86539-043-9 , p. 155.
- ↑ Lucie Hotová: Židovské synagogy 18. a 19. století v západních Čechách Bakalářská práce, Západočeská univerzita v Plzni, Filozofická Faculty, Katedra archeologie, 2013, p. 18.
- ^ Reuven Sivan, Edward A. Levenston: The new Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary . Bantam Books, New York 1986, ISBN 0-553-26387-0 , p. 108.