The Mirrors Of The Sanctuary

This discourse was taught by the Rebbe on Shabbat Vayakhel in 1959. Moses gathers the people to tell them about the Sanctuary, because the Sanctuary relates to every Jew.  Within the Sanctuary is the Laver (washbasin) for the Priests to wash their hands and feet. The laver was made of copper mirrors, donated by the women of Israel. This becomes an image of the Divine service of every Jew.  We connect to G-d through the clear prism of Torah and Mitzvot, and through the less clear prism, the mirror, of our struggle with the Animal Soul.  The mirror provides only a reflected image, but in certain ways this reaches even higher than the direct vision of the clear prism.