....... וְלָמָּה עָשָׂה עִמָהֶם חֶשְׁבּוֹן, וה' מַאֲמִינוֹ לֹא כֵן עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה בְּכָל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא (במדבר יב ז) וּמֹשֶׁה אָמַר בּוֹאוּ וְעָשׂוּ חֶשְׁבּוֹן, אֶלָּא שָׁמַע מֹשֶׁה יִשְׂרָאֵל מְדַבְּרִים מֵאַחֲרָיו. ... ור' חַמָא אָמַר לִגְנַאי, הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים רָאָה צַוָּאר, רָאָה שְׁוָקִים, אֹכֶל מִשֶׁל יְהוּדִים, וְשׁוֹתֶה מִשֶׁל יְהוּדִים, וְכֹל מַה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מִן הַיְּהוּדִים, וַחֲבֵרוֹ מֵשִּׁבוֹ. אָדָם שֶׁשָּׁלַט עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִשְׁכָּן אֵין אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ שֶׁיְּהֵא עָשִׁיר? כִּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁמַע מֹשֶׁה כָּךְ אָמַר לָהֶן חַיֵּיכֶם מִשְׁכָּן נִגְמָר, אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה עַמְּכֶם חֶשְׁבּוֹן...
....But why did he make an accounting with them when the Holy One trusted him? It is so stated (in Numb. 12:7): NOT SO WITH MY SERVANT MOSES; [HE IS TRUSTED IN ALL MY HOUSE]. Yet Moses said: Come and make an accounting with me. It was simply that Moses had heard Israel speaking behind his back....
R. Hama said: They were saying to his shame: Look at the <fat> neck; look at the <fat> thighs. Moses is eating from what belongs to Jews and drinking from what belongs to Jews, for everything he possesses comes from the Jews. Then an associate of his would reply: Would you not want a person in charge of the work on the Tabernacle to be wealthy? As soon as Moses heard that, he said to them: By your life, after the Tabernacle is finished, I am making an accounting with you....
.....וְלֹא הִזְכִּיר בַּכָּאן הַכִּיּוֹר וְכַנּוּ, כִּי לֹא נַעֲשֶׂה בְּמִשְׁקָל, אֲבָל כָּל הַמַּרְאוֹת שֶׁהֵבִיאוּ הַנָּשִׁים הַצֹּ֣בְאֹ֔ת שָׂם בָּהֶם וְלֹא יָדַע מָשָׁה מִשְׁקָלוֹ...
...The basin and its base are not mentioned here, because it was not made according to (a specific) weight – but all the mirrors that the ‘women who gathered there’ brought with them (were included) and Moshe did not know its weight…..
וַיַּ֗עַשׂ אֵ֚ת הַכִּיּ֣וֹר נְחֹ֔שֶׁת וְאֵ֖ת כַּנּ֣וֹ נְחֹ֑שֶׁת בְּמַרְאֹת֙ הַצֹּ֣בְאֹ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר צָֽבְא֔וּ פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃
He made the laver of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
(א) במראת הצבאת. בְּנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ בְיָדָן מַרְאוֹת שֶׁרוֹאוֹת בָּהֶן כְּשֶׁהֵן מִתְקַשְּׁטוֹת, וְאַף אוֹתָן לֹא עִכְּבוּ מִלְּהָבִיא לְנִדְבַת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וְהָיָה מוֹאֵס מֹשֶׁה בָּהֶן מִפְּנֵי שֶׁעֲשׂוּיִם לְיֵצֶר הָרָע, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה קַבֵּל, כִּי אֵלּוּ חֲבִיבִין עָלַי מִן הַכֹּל, שֶׁעַל יְדֵיהֶם הֶעֱמִידוּ הַנָּשִׁים צְבָאוֹת רַבּוֹת בְּמִצְרַיִם; כְּשֶׁהָיוּ בַעְלֵיהֶם יְגֵעִים בַּעֲבוֹדַת פֶּרֶךְ, הָיוּ הוֹלְכוֹת וּמוֹלִיכוֹת לָהֶם מַאֲכָל וּמִשְׁתֶּה, וּמַאֲכִילוֹת אוֹתָם וְנוֹטְלוֹת הַמַּרְאוֹת, וְכָל אַחַת רוֹאָה עַצְמָהּ עִם בַּעְלָהּ בַּמַּרְאָה, וּמְשַׁדַּלְתּוֹ בִדְבָרִים, לוֹמַר אֲנִי נָאָה מִמְּךָ, וּמִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ מְבִיאוֹת לְבַעְלֵיהֶן לִידֵי תַאֲוָה וְנִזְקָקוֹת לָהֶם וּמִתְעַבְּרוֹת וְיוֹלְדוֹת שָׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר תַּחַת הַתַּפּוּחַ עוֹרַרְתִּיךָ (שיר השירים ח'), וְזֶה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּמַרְאֹת הַצּוֹבְאוֹת. וְנַעֲשָׂה הַכִּיּוֹר מֵהֶם, שֶׁהוּא לָשׂוּם שָׁלוֹם בֵּין אִישׁ לְאִשְׁתּוֹ – לְהַשְׁקוֹת מִמַּיִם שֶׁבְּתוֹכוֹ לְמִי שֶׁקִּנֵּא לָהּ בַּעְלָהּ וְנִסְתְּרָה; וְתֵדַע לְךָ שֶׁהֵן מַרְאוֹת מַמָּשׁ,
(1) במראת הצבאת OF THE MIRRORS OF THE WOMEN CROWDING — The Israelite women possessed mirrors of copper into which they used to look when they adorned themselves. Even these did they not hesitate to bring as a contribution towards the Tabernacle. Now Moses was about to reject them since they were made to pander to their vanity, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Accept them; these are dearer to Me than all the other contributions, because through them the women reared those huge hosts in Egypt!” For when their husbands were tired through the crushing labour they used to bring them food and drink and induced them to eat. Then they would take the mirrors, and each gazed at herself in her mirror together with her husband, saying endearingly to him, “See, I am handsomer than you!” Thus they awakened their husbands’ affection and subsequently became the mothers of many children, at it is said, (Song 8:5) “I awakened thy love under the apple-tree”, (referring to the fields where the men worked). This is what it refers to when it states, מראות הצבאת “the mirrors of the women who reared the hosts (צבאות)” (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 9). And it was for this reason that the laver was made of them (the mirrors) — because it served the purpose of promoting peace between man and wife viz., by giving of its waters to be drunk by a woman whose husband had shown himself jealous of her and who nevertheless had associated with another (cf. Numbers ch. V) thus affording her an opportunity to prove her innocence (cf. Sotah 15b). You may know that the מראות mentioned in the text were really mirrors
British Museum Egypt collection Copper mirror from ancient Egypt room 61
(א) במראת הצבאת. מירוריי"ש בְּלַעַז.
(1) במראת הצבאת OF THE MIRRORS OF THE WOMEN miroirs in old French
(ב) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃
(2) Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
(א) באזני נשיכם. אָמַר אַהֲרֹן בְּלִבּוֹ: הַנָּשִׁים וְהַיְלָדִים חָסִים עַל תַּכְשִׁיטֵיהֶן, שֶׁמָּא יִתְעַכֵּב הַדָּבָר וּבְתוֹךְ כָּךְ יָבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וְהֵם לֹא הִמְתִּינוּ וּפָרְקוּ מֵעַל עַצְמָן:
(1) באזני נשיכם [BREAK OFF THE GOLDEN PENDANTS], WHICH ARE IN THE EARS OF YOUR WIVES — Aaron said to himself: women and children have a love for their ornaments; perhaps the matter will be delayed because they will hesitate to give their ornaments, and in the meantime Moses may arrive. They (the men), however, did not wait until the women and children made up their minds but they took the ornaments off themselves (cf. v. 3: they took off the pendants which were in their ears; there is no reference to the pendants belonging to the women) (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 21).
When the Torah had described the donations for the making of the golden calf which, according to Aaron (32,3), should have been given by the women and the girls, the Torah did not report any of the women giving up their jewelry for such a project. This is why the Torah reports the men as divesting themselves of their own jewelry instead (in that verse). Solomon alluded to this when he wrote in Kohelet 7,28: אדם אחד מאלף מצאתי ואשה בכל אלה לא מצאתי, “I have found one man in a thousand, but I have not even found one woman amongst these,” (who contributed to אלה, the word used when the Israelites were told to look upon that calf as a deity). (3) Now that the donations requested were for the building of the Tabernacle, were intended to provide a home for the Shechinah, the women were the first to respond enthusiastically to the call for contributions. The Torah enumerates that the women even contributed jewelry worn on intimate parts of their bodies. They overcame their habitual reluctance to part with such intimate jewelry.
We find other examples in the Bible where the word על used here by the Torah means “in addition to.” An example of such a use of the word על is found in Isaiah 7,2: “Aram has joined Ephrayim (the Northern Kingdom) to gang up against you “ (the Kingdom of Yehudah). In that instance, Ephrayim were the first to ready themselves for war against Achaz, King of Yehudah. (4) In Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer we are told (chapter 45) that G’d rewarded the women for this both in this life as well as in the world to come, seeing all this occurred on the first day of the month. (The Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nissan, the donations were given immediately after the Day of Atonement). Women observe the Day of the New Moon more than do the men as on that day they do not perform all the chores which they perform on ordinary days of the week (Hagahot Rabbi David Luria based on a saying in the Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim beginning of fourth chapter). In the world to come, the reward set aside for women having volunteered their jewelry on this occasion is based on Psalms 103,5: “He satisfies you with the good things in the prime of life so that your youth is renewed like that of the eagle.”
When the Torah reports that “every generously-minded individual brought bracelets and nose-rings, etc.,” this is a reference to the women who brought this jewelry. I believe we are dealing here with an abbreviated verse. The unabridged verse would read: “all the men who were of a generous disposition came after the women who had already brought jewelry including jewelry worn on intimate parts of their bodies.” The Torah then adds that the few people in whose possession there were such materials as blue wool, purple wool, and the skins of the animal called Tachash, etc., donated them. The same applies to the acacia wood in possession of a very small number of Israelites (verse 24). These people are named last as there were even fewer of them than there were people owning blue wool, etc.
Thirdly, they gave up that which was precious to them in order that someone else - Aaron and his sons - would be able to be cleansed in order to offer sacrifices and enter into the presence of God. That is true sacrificial giving. The women had been faithfully ministering at the tent entrance for goodness knows how long. The rest of the Israelites showed up if they needed something, or otherwise went about their daily lives, while these women ministered to others and to God day after day. They could never enter directly into his presence, but gladly gave even more of themselves to enable others to worship.
https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_mirrors_of_the_ministering_women