The Mishnah states:¹ 3:6. “The basin was situated between the Ulam and the Altar, positioned towards the south.” True, the basin is not mentioned in Yechezkel’s vision. Nevertheless, it is frequently mentioned² 30:18, 31:9, 38:8. in the Torah conveyed to us by Moshe, and the words of Yechezkel do not, heaven forbid, contradict Moshe Rabbeinu’s words.

footnotes: ¹ Middos ² See Shmos

Originally, the basin had only two faucets. Afterwards, one of the Kohanim Gedolim, ben Katin, upgraded the basin so that it had 12 faucets, as stated in the Mishnah in Tractate *Yoma.*³ 3:10. This improvement enabled all the kohanim who would be involved in offering the daily sacrifice to sanctify themselves at the same time.⁴ 25b. There were twelve kohanim – in addition to the slaughterer. The slaughterer was counted separately, since he did not have to be a *kohen.*⁵ 27a. As Tosafos Yom Tov notes, the passage states that in fact thirteen kohanim were involved in the offering of the daily offering and explains that since it was permitted for the slaughterer to be an Israelite, even when – as was usually the case – he was a kohen, it was not absolute obligatory for him to sanctify his hands and feet. Hence, a faucet was not fashioned for him. The 12 are enumerated in the Mishnah in Tractate *Tamid.*⁶ 3:1.

footnotes: ³ Yoma ⁴ Yoma ⁵ Ibid. ⁶ Tamid