Ritual Baths

The pious looking woman looked at me and said - "never tell your husband you don't want to have sex with him, just tell him God wanted it to be this way" -her eyes rolling up heavenwards to make the point.  I usually avoid strangers on the phone and at the door.  Telemarketers call me daily, asking for me by name so my kids call me to the phone, usually when I'm in the middle of anything.  I've trained them to ask for their names, and if the name doesn't sound familiar, it's not a friend and it's the dreaded telemarketer, looking for donations, surveys and God knows what.  But last night two women with the widest shining smiles I had ever seen came to my door last night.  I said - what the heck.  I know they're going to sell me religion but I'm willing to listen. 
 
Speaking about listening - I had just come back from a wonderful interfaith planning session with my other two colleagues.  Karmela the nun told me that she was so hurt every time she heard a Jewish person call Jesus by the name - yeshu (not Yeshua).  I asked her why.  I was just told it was a nickname.  "IT'S NOT!" Karmela exclaimed, rising from her seat. "It's an abbreviation for "his name should be erased""  I really had no idea.  These are sensitivities we have to be aware of for one another.  So I was happy as a pig in shit because our interfaith group planned to go on an outing to a site called mini-Israel in Latrun (a miniature model of the country) after I had badgered everyone to be seen as a "mixed" group in public places.  Our Moslem coordinator had just been there and said she loved the place and she felt as a Moslem they honored their holy places, etc. in that site.  So that's our outing for September.
 
Back to the holy, smiling women at my door - we sat on the bench in front of my house and they asked me if I go to the ritual bath (called a mikvah), which observant/traditional Jewish women go to every month a week after their menstrual cycles because once the menstrual cycle starts, we are not permitted to have sexual relations with our men for at least 12 days afterwards.  After  "dipping" in the holy waters, we may once again be "available" for our guys.  I had been going to the "baths", but had not been dealing with some of the more stringent laws involved.  I actually enjoy my "time off" from Hubby.  Plus, as the time approaches for going to the mikvah, there he is doing the dishes, straightening up or whatever and I feel he is waiting for me.  Even after 20 years.  It's nice.   These women went over the laws of family purity with me and I brought up some serious stuff.  I said - I hate having sex with my husband the day I have to go to the baths, because I get home from work, make dinner, take a bath for 1/2 hour (part of the rules on the "day of"), then go to the ritual bath building (the mikvah), and by the time I get back home, I just want to go to sleep.  They both laughed and told me to take a nap on the day of.  Oh really?  Hey boss, I need to sleep with my husband tonight so can I take a nap?  So what if the reports have to go out tonight.  Peace in the home is more important.  Yes.  I can see that really going down well (no pun intended) with the boss.