The Other Mikvah
Last year, I wrote about how I'm never tehorah on my anniversary. This year, though, for some reason, my cycle was such that I could have immersed the night before my anniversary.
I could have -- except that my in-laws were coming to town to take Husband and me out to dinner, and they had scheduled the meal to overlap entirely with the mikvah's hours. Since they would already be here, they were going to take us out the following night as well, again precluding tevilah. The night after that would be Shabbat, and the mikvah isn't within walking distance. So not only would I not be tehorah for my anniversary, but I would have to delay tevilah for three extra days.
Husband accepted the situation, but I was unhappy. I could forgo the "special occasion sex," but for some reason, the idea of losing Friday night really bothered me. I lay awake in bed thinking of ways to get around my little hurdle. Hiking to the mikvah on Shabbat was out of the question, since Husband and I would have to miss shul, and we were temporarily in charge of the minyan. (I guess that's one of those "strange consequences of egalitarianism" things.) I thought of skinny-dipping in the river late at night, but I didn't think that Husband would take to the idea. Finally, I remembered that there was another mikvah in the area, a liberal one designed to accomodate men as well as women for a wide variety of rituals, and it occurred to me that they might be open during the day.
I checked their website, and indeed, they had daytime hours. I scheduled an appointment for 11 AM the morning of my anniversary. I had never been to the liberal mikvah before, not for halachic or hashkafic reasons, but simply because it was further away than the Orthodox mikvah and I don't have a car. To my surprise, it only took a little over an hour to get to the mikvah by public transit -- about the same length of time that it takes to get to the Orthodox one.
The attendant who greeted me was very friendly. Because it was my first visit, she had me fill out some paperwork, gave me a small tour, and explained the mikvah's mission. She told me that about 25% of the mikvah's visits are for niddah purposes, and that these usually take place in the evening during "women only" hours. The majority of immersions are for conversions or to mark major personal events, such as recovering from a serious illness.
I had always thought that the local Orthodox mikvah was rather luxurious, but the liberal one was truly spa-like. The preparation rooms were spacious and well-equipped. Each had a toilet as well as a bath or shower, and a set of sliding doors sealed off the bathroom area to provide an appropriate space for prayer and meditation. Some observant women might object to the white washcloths and towels and to the absence of slippers, but the floor was clean and the preparation rooms all led directly into one of the mikvaot.
The attendant informed me that since I was the first to use the mikvah that day, I would have "the mitzvah of unscrewing the ball cap." The "ball cap," I learned, was the cover on the pipe that allowed fresh rainwater to flow into the mikvah. After removing it, I was immediately instructed to screw it back on.* I immersed twice, as usual, reciting the blessing in between. Then I went back to the preparation room, dressed, thanked the attendant, and took the train home. In the end, I thought to myself, tevilah is tevilah.
*I think this may be why some Orthodox rabbis objected to the mikvah's construction: the natural water source is not in constant contact with pool. I haven't studied these laws in detail, though, so I may be totally misconstruing the issue.