Mirror image

When the Jewish people were building the Tabernacle in the desert, every little detail had meaning. One part of the story that stands out is about the laver, a big basin the priests used to wash their hands and feet before doing holy work. The laver wasn’t made from regular materials—it was made from mirrors. Not just any mirrors, but ones the Jewish women had used back when they were slaves in Egypt.

At first, Moses wasn’t sure about accepting these mirrors. They were used for something very physical—to make the women look beautiful and attract their husbands. Moses thought, “How could something like that belong in the Tabernacle, a place meant for holiness?” But G-d told Moses to accept them. In fact, G-d said these mirrors were precious because of how they were used.

Life in Egypt was brutal for the Jewish people. The men worked all day, beaten down by cruel slave labor. By the time they came home, they were completely drained, physically and emotionally. Many of them felt hopeless and didn’t even want to think about the future.

But the women didn’t give up. They understood that the Jewish people couldn’t survive if families stopped growing. So they used their mirrors in a creative way. They would sit with their husbands, look into the mirrors together, and say, “Look at us. Look at what we have together.” They reminded their husbands of their love, their connection, and the life they were building.

These simple mirrors, which could have been seen as tools for vanity, became tools for saving the Jewish people. They brought hope and strength when it was needed most.

Fast forward to the desert, and now these same mirrors were being used to make the laver. The laver’s purpose was to help the priests get ready for holy work by washing away anything that could distract them from their connection to G-d. It’s interesting, though. You’d think mirrors—used to spark physical attraction—wouldn’t belong in something meant for spiritual cleansing. But that’s exactly the point.

In Judaism, physical things aren’t “bad.” It’s all about how we use them. Those mirrors weren’t just about looks. They were about saving lives, building families, and creating a future. That’s why G-d wanted them in the Tabernacle. They showed that even something as simple as a mirror can become holy when it’s used for a higher purpose.

This story gives us a powerful lesson about life. Every part of our day, even the most ordinary things, can be meaningful if we choose to make them so. Eating isn’t just about filling our stomachs—it can be holy when we say a blessing. Working isn’t just about earning money—it can be meaningful when we do it honestly and help others. Even spending time with family can be more than just “time together” when it’s done with love and purpose.

The women’s mirrors remind us that we don’t have to run away from the physical world to connect with G-d. Instead, we can use the world around us—our relationships, our actions, even our possessions—to make life more meaningful and spiritual.

The women in Egypt didn’t let their hard lives stop them from doing something extraordinary. They took something simple—a mirror—and used it to keep love alive, to keep hope alive, and to keep the Jewish people alive.

Today, too, life is full of “mirrors,” moments where we see who we are and the choices we make. Are we using those moments to just focus on ourselves? Or are we finding ways to make them matter?

If they could do that in such difficult times, imagine what we can do in our own lives. Every small action, every choice, can be turned into something holy. We just have to look in the mirror and see the potential.