This week’s parsha is Parshat Vayakhel. The Parsha goes very in depth about every piece donated for the Mishkan by the Jewish people because while building the mishkan, there were not many resources available to them.
The Jewish people could have used it to fabricate the mishkan. Even so, the Jewish people still managed to give so many donations to the point where Moshe even had to reject some of them. Women, specifically, were donating a variety of things; the most common yet unusual object that they donated towards the Mishkan were their handheld mirrors.
What purpose could mirrors have in the mishkan?
This led Moshe to not want to accept the mirrors as he thought they were simply used for vanity or beautification. Contrary to his individual opinion, Hashem explained otherwise. Hashem told Moshe that this was, in fact, a gift that he had to accept. Hahsem considered the mirrors to be the most beloved donation to him.
The mirrors were used by the women to beautify themselves for their husbands. The husbands of these women did not want to bring children into the hardships of slavery, and had given up even attempting to do so. Therefore, the mirrors were used by women as a tool to make sure that the Jewish nation would not deplete. These mirrors helped the women ensure that the Jewish people will populate immensely and be very fruitful.
The unusual donation was so dear to Hashem because it was used towards creating children of their own and reproducing, leading to the Jewish nation and legacy.
The Jewish people would not have been the plentiful nation that we are today if it was not for those women and their mirrors.
We should never judge a book by its cover, or assume something is negative without getting all of the details. At first, Moshe immediately assumed that these mirrors weren’t a valuable donation, yet Hashem considered them to be the most valuable ones.
Shabbat Shalom!
By: Tamar Van Dam (9th) & Abie Zohar (9th)
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