Installing automatic payment machines at mikvaot in Jerusalem has resulted in a 20% increase in revenue. It appears that many mikvah ladies are not such great tzadekot (?) since it is presumed that they were pocketing quite a bit of shekels!
Source here. (Sad, but funny at the same time, is the story about an obese woman who got stuck in the new revolving door of a mikvah. She was stuck for 15 minutes, and it took another ten minutes to free her. Since this was the only entrance, there was a long line of women waiting to get in and many just gave up and went home.)
FH: It mentions only a 20% increase IN SOME MIKVAOS.
ReplyDeleteBesides, I could think of a few reasons, some of which have been mentioned in the article as well:
- Some people can't afford the mikvah; these people now have to go in debt for the mitzvah, perhaps against halachah
- Some mikvah ladies perhaps stole, but perhaps also the mikvah customers? There is a certain level of trust in a mikvah and that can be abused.
- Typically Jewish would be to write down what the customer owned and the customer forgot / 'forgot it'.
I tend to believe that most mikvah ladies are honest, also because they have a reputation to uphold.
Of course, people are always more careful when they are being checked ;)
I have a hard time believing that a woman would be denied from going to a mikvah because she can't afford to. If that is the case, it is a real scandal, unlike this relatively minor one.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, I agree that most mikvah ladies are probably honest and in it for the mitzvah. And the power.