When the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, the Cohanim had to wash themselves at a copper basin before they could begin performing their duties. According to the Midrash, the basin was made from copper mirrors that were responsible for Israel’s survival in Egypt (Tanchuma, Pekudei 9:1).
You see, one of the ways Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites was by forbidding men and women to live together — the goal being to separate spouses and prevent reproduction. But while the men were out labouring in the fields making bricks, the women would fish in the Nile and prepare picnics along the riverbank for their wary husbands.
Once their husbands had eaten a bit, the women would take out their mirrors and playfully tease their spouses by looking at their reflection and saying “I am more beautiful than you.”
The men, responding to their wives’ flirtations, would say, “No, I am more beautiful than you!” Through these exchanges, the women were able to awaken their exhausted husbands’ desires in order to procreate — despite Pharaoh’s efforts to prevent them from doing so.
It is for this reason that God directed Moses to use these mirrors for the building of the wash basin and its stand — the implements used by the Cohanim immediately before entering into the service of God.
One can only imagine what would have run through the minds of the priests when washing at this copper basin. Would they have been reminded of how acts of love can overcome nearly any obstacle?
Surely offering sacrifices is an act of love — and it is this gesture which helps the people atone for their wrongdoings in order to become closer to God. Or maybe seeing the copper basin would have helped the Cohanim remember just how necessary laughter and playfulness are — especially at life’s gravest moments.
Sadly, we do not know what became of the copper basin after the fall of Jerusalem, but the lessons of this midrash are still applicable today. When life begins to feel too unbearable, some levity, laughter, and love might be what helps get us through those trying times.
