Mirror mirror on the wall... in our parasha, Vayakhel, Moshe attempts to refuse the gift of mirrors to the Mishkan on the basis that they're a tool of vanity. Hashem disagrees, remembering the role that mirrors played in Egypt. Despite the suffering, women remembered to stay anchored in the physical world, not to give up on the beauty of the world, and to keep their love alive.
It's an important reminder that there's holiness in the physical, the material, the cultural, and that beauty doesn't have to feel frivolous in the face of suffering and ugliness... in fact it can keep us afloat when the world can feel dark.
I love the idea of the Kohanim washing their hands and feet in this mirror-basin, seeing their own reflections and the reflections of their ancestors who found glimmers of hope in their own dark world.
Comments