The Model, Righteous Women

Parshat Vayakhel

by Rabbi Avi Billet

“The washbasin and its stand was made of copper of the mirrors of the dedicated women who congregated at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” (Shmot 28:8)

There is much credit given to the women who donated their mirrors for the sake of the creation of the Kiyor/washbasin. Who were these women? Why were they so special to the point of their being enumerated in such a fashion?

According to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s well-researched commentary, the word “Tzavu,” which is translated above as “congregated,” can also be translated as “to worship,” “celebrated,” “exiled themselves,” or who worked as “craftswomen.”

The Ibn Ezra, in his “Peirush Hakatzar,” brings another possibility that the women who donated their mirrors “came regularly (‘tamid’) to the place of the tent to pray, and they rejected all worldy desires. This is why they donated their mirrors! Because (generally) all that women do is beautify their faces.” These women broke that mold.

Before we get all hung up on the Ibn Ezra’s sexism, let us recall first that he was writing in the 12^th century. Adidtionally, he was certainly reflecting one of the Talmudic sentiments recorded in Taanit 31a about womens’ purpose – all of which were purportedly stated by different women describing themselves to potential suitors. More importantly, we must focus on how Ibn Ezra is crediting these uniquely spiritual women who dedicated so much of their time to regularly (always?) pray, to the point that they had no need for their mirrors.

Ramban adds that not only did they come to pray, but they wanted to hear all about the mitzvot – in other words, they came to learn Torah as well. Their donations were completely pure. The copper of their mirrors was particularly burnished, making it extremely high quality. This is why, Ramban claims, Moshe dedicated their copper for this specific vessel – which is meant to help the kohanim achieve purity.

Ramban concludes, however, suggesting the truth to the notion that they also had in mind the Sotah waters, which were gathered from this very same washbasin.

It seems, that as much as there are some women who are very devout and extremely dedicated and God-fearing, these same women were aware that the possibility of the Sotah, the adulteress woman, existed. Maybe they felt that the Sotah waters would always declare the innocence of the accused. Surely they understood that it is not only innocent people who are accused of crimes.

Every group of people, no matter how divided, has its share of stellar, wonderful, model citizens as well as its share of bad apples. There are people who are sincere, humble and dedicated, while some of the similarly dedicated people are arrogant egotists.

There are groups of philanthropists who are magnanimous in their gifting and in their personalities. And there are those who gift and let the whole world know about it.

There are men who are absolute givers, who donate their time, their experience, their advice, their money, their mentoring qualities to those who are lower on the totem pole, to those who need to pay their proverbial dues to climb the ladder. And there are those who look down upon any underling, treat them like trash and make them feel like nobodies on account of their youth, inexperience, naivete, etc.

There are women who are sincere about their dedication to God and holiness. There are also  women who prefer to make sure that they look not just good, but super amazing when they walk away from a mirror in front of which they’ve been looking for hours.

Some care about their Torah knowledge and mitzvah observance. Some focus on their being up to date with the latest fashion trends in all manners of clothing, gear, and sheitels.

Which were the ones whose donations were accepted? According to Ibn Ezra and Ramban, it was the former. And only the former.

We can all learn from these dedicated women – in the times of the Israelites’ journey through the desert, as well as today – to maintain a proper focus of what is most important.

No one is perfect. No one gets it right every time. But what drives us is the real question. Are we God-fearing people, humble before God? Or are we insincere people, focusing on mundane issues which only get in the way of our properly serving the Master of the World?

The righteous women who donated their mirrors to make the Washbasin had pure clarity. May their example serve as a model for all men and women for how to serve God.