Copper Mirrors

Vayakel

Ex. 35:1 - 38:20

 

Précis: Moses instructs the People again on the laws of Shabbat and asks for a donation of gifts (both of material and service) for the construction of the Tabernacle. The appointment of the construction leaders is also included, and the construction begins. There are again specific descriptions of implements, articles, and of the Ark itself.

 

Ex. 38:8 – “He (Bezazel) made a lever of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors of the women who crowded at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

            Rabbi Hilly Haber speaks to the specific contributions of women to the building of the implements of the Mishkan in this week’s reading (10 Minutes of Torah, 3/4/24). Noting the great detail about accoutrements of precious metals and fine fabric and jewels, we are a bit surprised near the end about a relatively ordinary object: the bronze basin the priests will use to clean themselves before entering the Mishkan, made from women’s mirrors. 

            Haber cites midrash suggesting that during the time of slavery in Egypt, Pharoah not only imposed harsh labor but also tried to mandate celibacy.  As a response, the Israelite women brought food and drink to their husbands toiling in the fields, and the women would take their mirrors and look at them with their husbands, and she would say, 'I am more beautiful than you.'" This erotic banter aroused mutual desire, and as a result, the Israelites "were fruitful and multiplied."

            The midrash tells us the Israelite women refused to let death and despair have the last word. They saw a future, a life beyond Egypt. It was these mirrors of bronze that the women brought to help build the Mishkan. Haber points to a pun: the women who crowded the entrance (tzov'ot) bore the "hosts" (tz'va'ot) of Israelites who went forth from slavery.

            Our parasha is more than an explanation of a building project. The Priests are to prepare for their duties from a basin made in defiant, courageous resistance to illegitimate authority, the persistence of love, and the power of hope. We need to honor these brave women who demanded to be heard, and who saved the Jewish People.  The mirrors should be a reminder that we all need to keep hope alive.