The Adamah Blog

Cabbage, Cold, and Clothes

It’s Friday late afternoon and the trees are glowing orange in the sun. Concerns of the week have come to a close, and the Shabbos bride is fast approaching. I walk through the Sadeh, past rows of carrots, cabbage and fennel… down to the very edge of the field. I drop my clothes with the other shirts, pants, and workboots before heading into the thicket. The muddy earth, covered with twigs and wild grasses leads me down its steep slope, offering the occasional foothold before dropping me off at the bank of a winding creek. There are others in the creek already. Cold water flows over my feet and ankles, leaving my skin red and goosebumped. One after another we climb down through the brush until we are all here together. It’s almost time. Some of us are knee deep, others are in up to our thighs and stomachs.

One…. Two… Three!

I drop backwards into the creek. Cold. Silence. And then the burst of life once again as I pull my head up over the surface with a gasp to hear the thrilled sounds of mikvah mixed with my own.

Elohai neshama shenatata bi tehora hi

אלהי, נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא
Ya, the soul that you have given me is pure.

Submitted by Alysa Lehrman, Fall 2010 Adamah fellow