MIKVAH - A MITZVOH TO CHERISH. In memory of my grandmother. Her yartzeit is today.

GRANDMOTHER (written by me - for my Babi)

Mother of my mother
Who’s name I bear;
You died so young
You were among
6 million innocents
Why?
What did they do?

I never heard you speak
Or felt your hand upon my cheek.
All gone
Why?
What could my ancestors have done
To cause this monstrous situation.
They went about their little lives
Bothered no one
But still, they did not survive
To hold a grandchild on their lap
To share a hug, a laugh, a pat.
Why?
What did they do?
Am I right?
Is life cruel?
Or
Is there a reason…..
But I do not have the answer yet.

THE RITUAL BATH

In the Bochnia ghetto, there came a day, when the German troops marched in and decided that a mass killing was the sport they wanted to engage in. Among the people caught that day were an especially large number of young women. These women knew full well what would happen to them. They discussed something among themselves and selected a spokeswoman. She was a very attractive young woman in her early twenties. She walked over to the German officer in charge, and said; “We know the inevitable. You will murder us as you murdered the other innocent Jews before us. We demand that you grant us our last wish.” “Granted,” snapped the German as his hand lovingly caressed his pistol. “And what is it, may I ask?” he said in a derisive tone. “We demand that the ritual bath house, closed since your occupation of our town, be reopened, heated, and cleaned, and that we be permitted to take our ritual bath of purification,” said the young woman.
For more than half a day the women cleaned the ritual bath house and filled it with water. Then they cleaned themselves and immersed themselves in water as prescribed in the Laws of Purification.
As they were led off to be shot, the German officer asked for the young lady who had approached him. He said: “You are a filthy race, the source of all disease and vermin in Europe. Suddenly, before your death, you wish to be clean. What spell did you cast in that ritual bath house of yours?”
“Cleanliness and purity of body and mind are part of our tradition and way of life. God has brought our pure souls into this world, in the pure homes of our parents, and we wish to return in purity to our Father in Heaven.”
The German officer took out his pistol from his holster and at close range shot the woman between the eyes. Most of the other women were also killed that day.
(from the book, “Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust”)

Today is the Yartzeit of my grandmother, who I never met, and whom I am named after. She was among these brave women, who held on until the bitter end, with faith and emunah never leaving her. I won’t tell you all the stories, I’m sure you’ve heard many hair-raising tales, of what our brave ancestors did in the name of yiddishkiet and in the face of this brutality

How do you think the present generation would have acted, felt, forfeited for, honored the religion which we hold so dear? We have heard many stories, this is only a small example. Do you think we would have stood fast? WOULD YOU HAVE STOOD FAST?
In our easy day and age, when the mikva (the ritual bath) is made so accessible, ( and so attractively laid out) don’t we find it an inconvenience sometimes? Nail polish must go off, so much time spent when we could be doing other things, embarrassment sometimes, not wanting to be seen there by others. And on and on and on.
I want to dedicate this to the memory of my grandmother, and I would like to hear your thoughts, your family experiences, your feelings about this. Please comment; let’s hear your thoughts – all kidding aside, kvetcher, cynic, etc. I love you, but; "For everything there is a time... A time to laugh, a time to cry...A time to be serious and reflect"