Some introductory notes as background for this poem:
- *The kiyor, the washbasin in the courtyard of the Tabernacle used for purifying before service, was made of mirrors contributed by the women of that generation (Exodus 38:8). According to the midrash, these women had used the mirrors to beautify themselves and entice their tired husbands to be intimate with them during the Egyptian enslavement. Moshe was initially wary of such a contribution, according to the midrash, but was told in no uncertain terms by God that these gifts were the most valuable of all.
- *The word mar’ot, mirrors, is from the root ra’ah, to see. The first use of this root in the Torah is in creation, when God looks at the or, “light,” that He has just created and sees that it is good. Vayar Elokim et ha’aor ki tov. “God saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1:3).
Kiyor Mirrors:
Narcissus died of self love
Upon seeing his reflection in the waters.
The evil queen from Snow White said:
Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Who is the fairest of them all
Not the most generous sentiment.
So Moshe was right to be a bit wary
And, upon seeing what the women brought —
Thought — no, not in our sanctuary!
But God thought differently.
Mirrors can work two ways, you see.
There is cold beauty — which
disconnects.
It comes from insecurity
And leads right back to it.
Am I not better than the rest?
My looks make you feel low — confess!
We tend to cover over all mirrors
In our fear of this frigid beauty.
We say — don’t look at yourself!
Don’t think, reflect, don’t self-engross
In fact, don’t even shine
Lest your shine block out the shine
Of some other poor soul
Who needs it more.
Just stay inside and hide instead.
Then we can all be equal
And dull together.
God sighs at this great loss:
A mirror can bring forth not ice, but nice beauty
A beauty that warms up the room,
And in its confidence can
Spark
The glorious shine of one and other.
Reflecting, refracting, like a prism,
Many colors, now more, not less.
The Israelite women stood at their mirrors
Preening
And flashed their husbands a quick reflected glimpse.
Their words much like the evil queen’s —
“I am more beautiful than you,”
But chirped in a flirty, teasing tone —
Inviting rejoinder and rejoining.
See — my beauty — I am proud
I let it shine.
Where is yours, don’t be so down
Come with me on this journey of self-
And other- love.
You can be as exquisite as I
(Well, almost anyhow)
What makes the difference?
In one a mirror is a closed door
In the other an invitation to explore
We are attracted to confidence
And there is a reason:
It is divine.
It is the knowledge that we are divine.
Upon entering to serve the Lord
The need is not to shut off the light of self
But on the contrary, to celebrate it,
To look into the reflective water
Held inside a multi-mirrored kiyor
And see what God, who was the first to see,
Saw — et ha’or ki tov
Kiyor ki tov
To see the light that is good
To see the good light that is
Us
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
