Shinayim, Einayim, Oznayim

I'm really happy that I went.

The mikvah visit was much better than I could have expected. I was so worried that the Mikvah lady was going to grill me about how I practice taharat mishpacha and then not let me use the mikvah once she found out that I practice differently than Orthodox Jews (I wouldn't have been able to lie about it).

She was perfect, so sweet, and made it such a good experience.

The Mikvah itself was much nicer than I expected. I stare at it everyday from my house, and from that viewpoint it really looks like a shack. Inside there are actually two preparation rooms (I was sure there was only going to be one) that had been recently redone. It wasn't a spa but it was a far cry from what I'm sure it looked like when it was built in 1948. The Mikvah itself was teeny tiny, the bare minimum, but as a result the water was so nice and toasty.

After I showered quickly one last time in the prep room. I walked into the Mikvah room where she was waiting for me she very gently checked my hands, feet, and back, and then in a gentle singsong voice asked shinayim, einayim, oznayim (teeth, eyes, ears) to help me remember if I had brushed and flossed my teeth, took out my contact, and cleaned my ears. Never accusatory, just a reminder, she was helping me and a part of the whole thing.

I then walked down the steps into the water while she held my towel on the side. Once I was in the water she asked me what my practice for saying the blessing was (sephardim and ashkenasim have different traditions). I told her, then pushed off of the wall, let go and went under the water.

As I came up, I heard a very clear, sweet, "Ka-sher". It makes me smile now just thinking about it. She just sounded like she so enjoyed helping all of us perform this mitzvah.

Blessing, two more dips, and I was done.

I came out, she shook my hand and wished me a happy new year. She was so cute.

The dipping itself didn't have a miraculous spiritual effect on me. I didn't expect it too, that's not how I do mitzvahs. This is just another very important mitzvah that I feel I should be performing, and the fact that I'm now doing it after it being off-limits for the first two years of my marriage (there are a lot of reasons for that, just know that it's not a common thing for non-Orthodox Jews to do but at the same time it's as important as keeping kosher which is a common thing, a subject for another post).

A new mitzvah, a new year, indeed.