Alligators All Around
Alligators All Around
By EM Ben Shaul
Avi was both excited and nervous. While this was not the first hard to explain but religiously important errand that they had done since moving in together, it was likely the one Dani might be least familiar with. So if Avi held his breath a bit while they carried the two boxes of dishes into the small preparation area, he figured he was allowed.
Dani put down the box he was carrying, relieved Avi of his box, and started carefully unpacking and unwrapping the plates. "I'll be right back," he said, turning toward the entrance to the next room. "I'm going to go put these in there and then come back for more."
"Sounds good," Avi said, kneeling down to open the second box.
Dani walked into the next room and then came back, a quizzical look on his face. "All right. So I understand the sign that says, 'Donate today! The mikvah needs your help.' And I understand the signs that have the blessing and other meditations. But what is up with the sign that says, 'Watch Out for the Alligator'?"
Avi laughed in relief. He knew Dani would have questions the first time they went to the mikvat keilim, the ritual pool at which new dishes were immersed in fresh-flowing water before they could be used in a traditional kosher kitchen. But that was not the question he expected at all.
Avi stood up and headed into the mikvah room, gesturing for Dani to follow him. When they stood at the counter surrounding the ritual pool, Avi said, "Peek down toward the way back of the mikvah, in the corner near the bottom."
Dani moved aside the pile of dishes he had brought in moments before and bent over the edge of the pool. It wasn't that broad or tall, but it was pretty deep, due to the amount of water it was required by Jewish law to hold. He peered toward where Avi indicated, squinting a bit.
"Okay, so that explains the sign. But why is there a plastic alligator in the mikvat keilim?"
"Oh," said Avi with a grin. "It's not just in this one. There's one in each of the big mikvaot, too."
"Still not explaining. I know there's a lot I have still to learn about Orthodox practices, and I know that on Shabbat there's a song that mentions alligators, but, really, what is going on?"
"Yes, Menuchah v'Simcha. It's a beautiful song. It uses the word 'tanin,' which modern Hebrew translates as 'alligator,' though the medieval poet probably had never seen an alligator and meant some category of mythical large creature. It's not meant--"
"Avi, motek, I love you, and the history of the song is probably fascinating, but I need you to focus. Why is there an alligator in the mikvah?"
"It's actually quite simple," Avi said. "The water in the mikvah is kept in a specific temperature range and is checked regularly. To make the monitoring easier, each mikvah has a temperature gauge that sits in the water and is attached to a chain to allow the mikvah attendant to read it easily. The problem is, the gauges are glass and are therefore vulnerable to breakage. After a bunch got broken in a short period of time, the mikvah staff bought waterproof alligator-shaped covers to protect the gauges. That's when they put up these signs."
"Okay, that makes sense. But why don't the signs just say, 'Be careful of the temperature gauges'?"
"Human psychology. The signs used to talk about the gauges, but people either ignored them or didn't even notice them. But a sign talking about alligators? That gets people's attention."
Dani smiled. "It sure worked on me," he said.
They got started, with Dani immersing the dishes and Avi drying, working mostly in silence, until Dani said, "So are there any other mysterious creatures I should know about?"
"Well," Avi replied, "there was a stupid song we used to sing on school bus trips about a shark in the mikvah..."
Dani peered again deep into the pool and then said, "Uh, motek? Mind if we switch for a bit? You'll dip and I'll dry?"
"Sure, chamudi, whatever makes you more comfortable. But I'm sure the song was just a joke."
END
©2014, 2016 EM Ben Shaul. This story first appeared in a slightly different form in the anthology Please Don’t Feed the Alligators published by Torquere Press.
By EM Ben Shaul
Avi was both excited and nervous. While this was not the first hard to explain but religiously important errand that they had done since moving in together, it was likely the one Dani might be least familiar with. So if Avi held his breath a bit while they carried the two boxes of dishes into the small preparation area, he figured he was allowed.
Dani put down the box he was carrying, relieved Avi of his box, and started carefully unpacking and unwrapping the plates. "I'll be right back," he said, turning toward the entrance to the next room. "I'm going to go put these in there and then come back for more."
"Sounds good," Avi said, kneeling down to open the second box.
Dani walked into the next room and then came back, a quizzical look on his face. "All right. So I understand the sign that says, 'Donate today! The mikvah needs your help.' And I understand the signs that have the blessing and other meditations. But what is up with the sign that says, 'Watch Out for the Alligator'?"
Avi laughed in relief. He knew Dani would have questions the first time they went to the mikvat keilim, the ritual pool at which new dishes were immersed in fresh-flowing water before they could be used in a traditional kosher kitchen. But that was not the question he expected at all.
Avi stood up and headed into the mikvah room, gesturing for Dani to follow him. When they stood at the counter surrounding the ritual pool, Avi said, "Peek down toward the way back of the mikvah, in the corner near the bottom."
Dani moved aside the pile of dishes he had brought in moments before and bent over the edge of the pool. It wasn't that broad or tall, but it was pretty deep, due to the amount of water it was required by Jewish law to hold. He peered toward where Avi indicated, squinting a bit.
"Okay, so that explains the sign. But why is there a plastic alligator in the mikvat keilim?"
"Oh," said Avi with a grin. "It's not just in this one. There's one in each of the big mikvaot, too."
"Still not explaining. I know there's a lot I have still to learn about Orthodox practices, and I know that on Shabbat there's a song that mentions alligators, but, really, what is going on?"
"Yes, Menuchah v'Simcha. It's a beautiful song. It uses the word 'tanin,' which modern Hebrew translates as 'alligator,' though the medieval poet probably had never seen an alligator and meant some category of mythical large creature. It's not meant--"
"Avi, motek, I love you, and the history of the song is probably fascinating, but I need you to focus. Why is there an alligator in the mikvah?"
"It's actually quite simple," Avi said. "The water in the mikvah is kept in a specific temperature range and is checked regularly. To make the monitoring easier, each mikvah has a temperature gauge that sits in the water and is attached to a chain to allow the mikvah attendant to read it easily. The problem is, the gauges are glass and are therefore vulnerable to breakage. After a bunch got broken in a short period of time, the mikvah staff bought waterproof alligator-shaped covers to protect the gauges. That's when they put up these signs."
"Okay, that makes sense. But why don't the signs just say, 'Be careful of the temperature gauges'?"
"Human psychology. The signs used to talk about the gauges, but people either ignored them or didn't even notice them. But a sign talking about alligators? That gets people's attention."
Dani smiled. "It sure worked on me," he said.
They got started, with Dani immersing the dishes and Avi drying, working mostly in silence, until Dani said, "So are there any other mysterious creatures I should know about?"
"Well," Avi replied, "there was a stupid song we used to sing on school bus trips about a shark in the mikvah..."
Dani peered again deep into the pool and then said, "Uh, motek? Mind if we switch for a bit? You'll dip and I'll dry?"
"Sure, chamudi, whatever makes you more comfortable. But I'm sure the song was just a joke."
END
©2014, 2016 EM Ben Shaul. This story first appeared in a slightly different form in the anthology Please Don’t Feed the Alligators published by Torquere Press.
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