Mirror, mirror, ... in the washbasin?

This week, our Torah portion is known as a double portion. It is the last two portions of the Book of Shemot, also known as Exodus, and the last two portions are Veyechel and Pekudei. Veyechel continues the lengthy description of the building of the mishkan, the portable tabernacle in the wilderness, and Pekudei is the accounting of all the work that has been done. Today I would like to focus on Pekudei.

Pekudei opens with the words, “This is the sum of the things of the tabernacle, of the tabernacle of Testimony, as it was counted…”

Pekudei is a conjugation of the Hebrew word pekudim. It is a Hebrew word which means “to number” or “count” something. It comes from the root pakad  which means “to number, attend to, visit, appoint, allocate, or oversee.”

Pekudim is used once in the whole of the Tanakh; the only time is in this week’s parasha, in Exodus 38:21, our opening verse.

As background information, in the previous parasha, Vayakhel, the people donated an abundance of precious metals and materials to be used for the construction of the Mishkan, including gold, silver, and copper, as well as dyed wool, linen, goat hair, animal skins, wood, olive oil, spices, and precious stones.  They brought more than enough gifts—so many, that Moses had to ask them to stop giving.

And now we arrive at Pekudei, which opens with a detailed accounting of the gold, silver, and copper which was contributed. This detailed accounting was given, so that the people knew exactly how the contributions were used. Moses was being transparent, showing that he had been responsible with their contributions, and had not benefited personally, and that he had no ulterior motives of gaining personal wealth from them, because he did not encourage the gifts to keep coming after enough had been received for the construction of the Mishkan. Moses exemplified due diligence, accountability, and trustworthiness.

Pekudei, as we have seen, encourages us to give an accounting. That is how this parsha opens, and the meaning of the very word itself. Let’s look, then, at the different ways of giving an account, of being accountable.

Giving an account can be at the level of behaviors and motives. Have I displayed trustworthiness and not squandered my resources? Have I been honest and forthright in all of my relationships and dealings? Have I been a responsible caretaker of both the things and the relationships with which I have been entrusted? Have my intentions been good and honorable ones?

Giving an account can also be at the level of accomplishments. What all have I accomplished today? Did I achieve the goals and objectives I set out to achieve? Did I slack off on my duties or responsibilities? Did I procrastinate to a degree which will cause problems down the road for me or others? Did I meet deadlines as best I could? Did I accomplish those tasks which were crucial for me to accomplish today? Did I go above and beyond?

Let’s call our attention to another interesting note in our portion, verse 8: “He made the washbasin of copper and its base of copper, from the mirrors [mar’ot] of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” (38:8). B’mar’ot hatzov’ot literally means “the mirrors of legions,” but as The Women’s Torah Commentary explains, because hatzov’ot is grammatically feminine, the text must be talking about the women, legions of women with their mirrors.

Mirrors? Where did they get mirrors? And why would women’s mirrors, which clearly are a symbol of vanity, if not indulgence, become the very essence of the item used to prepare the kohanim for holy service?

In ancient times, these mirrors were highly polished disks of  metal––usually copper or bronze––which were fitted with handles made of metal, wood, or ivory. The women had used them as anyone today might: to check their appearance. These highly polished  mirrors were accepted by Moses and used for making the kiyor, the washbasins, which stood outside the Mishkan. These women, who were at the bottom of the occupational and social scale, displayed unselfish generosity in donating their valuable mirrors.

There is a midrashic tale about how these mirrors helped perpetuate the Jewish population, but our focus today is the question Pekudei begs us to ask: Are mirrors merely articles of vanity, or do they reveal something much deeper about ourselves? Rather than mere appearances, can they be used as instruments leading us to deeper holiness?

How do these mirrors relate to pekudei beyond the fact that they were used to make the washbasins? The root pakach, is related to pakad which is the root of pekudei, and means “to open the senses, especially the eyes, and figuratively, to be observant.” This is where we see the root pakad being used as an overseer. And we can’t give a detailed accounting if we are not keenly aware and looking at the tiniest of details.

Are mirrors only used for reasons of vanity?

I read a horrific story of a woman who lived through the 8 year Iran-Iraq war, amidst the sirens of air raids, the sound of heavy explosions around her day and night, of the fear and terror and fragility of life. When the young woman grew up and left Iraq, she started an organization that works with women in war zones. She tells the story of women in Bosnia during the days of the siege of Sarajevo, and she asked the brave women what she should bring to them on her return visit. They asked for lipstick.

She was confused. Why not vitamins? “No, we want lipstick”, the women clamored. So she asked, “why lipstick and not vitamins?” The women answered that “lipstick is the smallest thing. We put it on every day so we can feel beautiful. That is how we resist, because they want us to feel dead, to feel ugly. We put on the lipstick before we leave our houses because we want a sniper to know before he shoots us that he is killing a beautiful woman.”

For these women, lipstick was deeper than a mere cosmetic. It was a symbol of beauty and hope, of maintaining what little control they still had over their lives. It was their way of singing under oppression and in the darkness despite the war which raged around them.

There is a similar story from the Holocaust, and that a tiny tube of lipstick boosted the morale and resilience of the female prisoners. The Colonel who rescued them remarked that, “you saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders and scarlet lips… that lipstick gave them back their humanity.”

So let’s bring all of our information together. . .

We’ve already explored a few ways we can give an account of ourselves. The mirrors, the mar’ot, challenge us to go yet deeper in our self-discovery. Beyond asking about my motives and behaviors for the day, deeper still than the tasks which I have accomplished and other things I have achieved, the mirrors remind us to go deeper yet, to look in that mirror, and see, who have we become at the end of the day? Did what I accomplish matter as much as whether I acted G!dly? Did I look for, and bring, beauty in the world? Was G!d first in my mind and heart, or was I looking only at the surface, the accomplishments, counting the superficial things, tasks, and achievements rather than my qualities of being?  Did I take the time to be with others as the very presence of G!d, of Shechinah, just as we find in the Mishkan?

Living and acting by right principles are important. Being accountable and trustworthy are valuable virtues. Do not make light of those. The Mishkan is now completed and all its components are brought to Moses, who erects it and anoints it with the holy anointing oil, and initiates the Aaronic priesthood. They are fully decked out in a bedazzling appearance, and here it comes, the very thing all their work was for: a divine cloud appears over the Mishkan, signifying the Divine Presence that has come to dwell within.

What do we see in the mirror looking back at us at the end of the day? Is it the smoke and mirrors of flashy appearances? Or is it the Holy Smoke and Sacred Mirrors of being the very Presence of G!d in our relationships and our world? Of bringing beauty to our world?

Every day we are called to give an accounting. Your accountability will show what matters most in your life. Is your awareness at the superficial level? The heart level? The soul level? What account will you give when you gaze into the polished mirrors, the washbasins, the kiyor, where the priests would wash their hands and feet before entering into service in the Mishkan? The kiyor which sit at the intersection of the sacred and the mundane? Was it for reasons of vanity the women used these mirrors, or was it to bring beauty into their lives as slaves?

The Book of Exodus concludes with P’kudei. The portable Tabernacle is ready. A cloud rests on it by day; by night a pillar of fire, “in the view of all the house of Israel through their journeys” (Exodus 40:38). The journey continues.

And we take with us on that journey the attention to detail that reminds us about hopefulness even in dark times. We are the presence of G!d in the world, even as we look forward to the future.

Chazak chazak v’nit’chazeik.

From strength to strength, may we strengthen each other.