Parshas Pekudei 5785 - Spiritual Reflections

At the end of Sefer Shemos, the Torah describes the craftsmanship of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and how it was shown to Moshe. Specifically, the Torah enumerates the following items that were brought to Moshe (Shemos 39:39): “The Copper Altar and its copper meshwork, its staves, and all its utensils, the Laver and the base.” The mention of the Laver is puzzling, because earlier the Torah specifies that “seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels” of copper were donated to the Mishkan, and used for ”the sockets of the entrance to the tent of Meeting, the Copper Altar, the copper meshwork that was on it, and all the vessels of the Altar; the sockets of the Courtyard all around, the sockets of the gate of the Courtyard, all the vessels of the Tabernacle, and all the pegs of the Courtyard, all around.” (Shemos 38:29-31). Conspicuously missing is the Laver. If the Laver is included among the copper vessels in pasuk 39, why is it omitted here?

Rashi, the Abarbanel, and others answer that the Laver and its base were not made from the copper that was donated for the Mishkan. Instead, they were made from the copper mirrors of the women who crowded at the door of the Tent of Meeting (see Shemos 38:8). The items listed in pasukim 29-31 omitted the mirrors because the mirrors were not made from the donations of copper but instead were directly donated by the women and not melted down like the other copper donations.  

These Lavers were used for the Kohanim to wash their hands and feet before entering  the Tent of Meeting. (See Shemos 30:18-20). They were essential for the spiritual purification of the Kohanim, who were prohibited from entering in an impure state under penalty of death. Why were these crucial vessels made from women’s mirrors? Mirrors highlight physical appearance and emphasize the body as an object of desire. This seems antithetical to the spiritual function of the Lavers. Why did the women donate these mirrors for the holy Mishkan and why were they accepted and designated for such a spiritual purpose?

Rashi (Shemos 38:8) cites a midrash explaining that Moshe initially rejected the mirrors, considering them עשויים ליצר הרע (tools for indulging the Evil Inclination). However, Hashem accepted them because while in Egypt, the men were downcast and exhausted from the backbreaking work as slaves. Undeterred, the women brought the men food and drink to revive them and also brought along their mirrors. They would pose with their husbands in front of the mirrors to arouse their desire. The result was that the women became pregnant and gave birth, and the Jewish people multiplied despite the deprivations brought on by their servitude. The mirrors not only ensured the survival of the Jewish people, but also fostered שלום בית (marital harmony).

Rashi explains that the Torah conveys a profound lesson. The Torah’s emphasis on spirituality, as embodied in the Mishkan, does not exclude the physical side of life. On the contrary, the Torah teaches us how to elevate the physical aspects of life and to make them holy. The women used the mirrors to enhance their relationships with their husbands and combat the Egyptian attempts to demoralize and destroy the Jewish people. Accordingly, the physical mirrors became a vital, spiritual part of the relationship between husbands and wives. They were therefore an essential component of the Mishkan, enhancing the spiritual purification of the Kohanim.

The lesson of the Laver and the mirrors teaches us that holiness is not achieved by rejecting the physical world but by elevating it. Just as the women in Egypt transformed ordinary objects into instruments of spiritual strength, we too must use our physical gifts in the service of Hashem. May we always strive to bring sanctity into every aspect of our lives, and may we soon witness the ultimate redemption when the entire world will recognize His Divine presence.

[Many of the above ideas can be found in greater detail in Nechama Leibowitz, Studies in Shemot, Parsha Pekudei].