The Kiyor's Placement and the Kohen's Authority Beyond Bechor Avodah

Rabbi Zweig opens with a series of textual difficulties in the parsha of the kiyor (washbasin). First, why is the kiyor's command separated from the other kelim of the Mishkan, which appear in Terumah and Tetzaveh? Second, why does the Torah (תורה) specify "venosata sham hamayim" (you shall put water there)—isn't it obvious that water is used for washing? Third, why must the Kohanim wash their hands and feet simultaneously (right hand on right foot, left hand on left foot), contrary to the normal top-to-bottom washing order? Fourth, why does the Torah mention both the Ohel Moed and the Mizbeach separately as places requiring washing before avodah—shouldn't the more stringent requirement (Ohel Moed) automatically include the less stringent (Mizbeach)? Fifth, why does one verse say "yirchatzei mayim" and another "v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem"—why the extra word "mayim"? And finally, why is the kiyor placed between the Ohel Moed and the Mizbeach rather than east of the Mizbeach, where one would first encounter it when entering the chatzer? Rabbi Zweig proposes that the kiyor serves two distinct functions depending on whether one is approaching the Mizbeach or the Ohel Moed, but its placement reveals that even for Mizbeach service, the washing is fundamentally oriented toward the Ohel Moed. This is not a law of the avodah itself—neither the Mizbeach service nor the Ohel Moed service intrinsically requires washing. Rather, it is a din in making the Kohen ra'ui (fit) to enter the Ohel Moed. The key insight is that the definition of a Kohen who may perform Mizbeach service is someone who is qualified to enter the Ohel Moed. This is not about the avodah needing the washing; it is about the hechsher haKohen—the preparation of the Kohen himself.