A Blessing on Inanimate Objects of the Cleaning Variety

I note the petirah, without regret, of one of my inanimate objects. It was the right time, coming so close to a yom tov, and frankly, I didn't like this particular object very much. I am referring to the demise of my vacuum cleaner. I didn't choose this particular machine--I was gifted with it--and we were never destined to become close friends. For one thing, I live in a two-story house and shlepping this particular machine up and down requires the muscles of a Mr. World finalist. What man--and it surely was a man--thought up a machine that is unwieldy and weighs a ton, where the only way to turn it on requires bending into the shape of a pretzel and which makes a lot of noise while doing very little? So I really don't mind that the inanimate kaporah for this yom tov was the vacuum cleaner.

But as I was shopping for another vacuum cleaner today I was looking around in amazement at the items that are for sale that are labor saving devices. I was particularly cognizant of these items because a lot online has been said about cleaning--occupational hazard this time of year. And among the comments that have come out are some that still have me shaking my head. These comments not only glorified and romanticized cleaning but cleaning the "good old-fashioned way"--on hands and knees. Our mothers weren't "spoiled" by having cleaning help and all those "unnecessary" cleaning implements. Our mothers "took pride" in their cleaning efforts. Oh equine excrement! That most of these comments are coming from males is somewhat understandable--much easier to romanticize that which you have never had to indulge in. A few, however, have been from females. One comment a while ago was from someone who still has her grandmother's wash board and uses it. Gimme a break!

My mom, one of those from that generation that so "venerated" cleaning, has a totally different take on that cleaning that had to be done on hands and knees. To be honest, she and her late sister are what we might kindly call "clean freaks." My mom's house is spotless and yes, you probably could drink out of the toilets in her house. I asked her about why cleaning was such a big deal for her generation, particularly the European members of it. She gave me an awfully strange look.

First, as mom put it, if you didn't clean, and clean every day, you were going to be buried in dirt, icky dirt. A lot of Jews in Europe lived in villages rather than large towns. There were some paved streets there and an awful lot of dirt pathways. People were constantly bringing this dirt in on their shoes. Now take a look at their heating and cooking equipment. You are talking here open hearth fireplaces and coal and wood fed stoves. Fine coverings of ash were commonplace unless you were diligent and cleaned constantly. Washing machines? Not even thought of. Running water and tons of indoor sinks? Maybe, if you were wealthy you might have a sink in your kitchen with a connection to a well--cold water only. But for bulk water usage you were taking buckets to the well and shlepping them indoors. Mops and detergents and spray bottles and steel wool pads? Surely you jest.

Frankly, the situation in the big cities was only marginally better. Those "fancy" stoves we all take for granted now didn't exist, and coal and wood ash dust were common even in the big cities. Nope, no hot water from any faucets there either--when you needed hot water you boiled it up on the top of the stove--the one you had to shovel coal into.

Fortunately, or unfortunately as the case may be, these women didn't have to worry about cleaning bathrooms--they didn't exist as we know them today. Can you say outhouse?

I'll spare you the agony of how any carpets that may have been in some of the wealthier homes were cleaned. The poorer people didn't have them so those women were spared that chore.

And let me digress for just a second here: Europe has always had a servant class. Having a maid was not all that unusual for those who were comfortably situated or just plain middle of the road, and yes, there were plenty of Jews who qualified. Read that again--plenty of our grandmothers had regular household cleaning help and laundry help. The idea of having someone to help clean is not an invention of the "spoiled" frummies with money here in America.

My mom is super thankful for each and every invention that has come out that makes life easier in keeping a house clean. She doesn't dream of going back to using lye--and there were no rubber gloves--and shmattes to clean a floor. The only place she ever wants to see coal again is in the dictionary. That cleanliness is next to Godliness she will agree with, but she will also point out that the posuk about "working by the sweat of your brow" was aimed at men--women got the bearing children in "discomfort."

I'm with my mom on this. If it's going to save me time that I can use for other things, especially things that I'd rather be doing, bring it on. If it's going to be saving me from sore and achy muscles, bring it on. If it's going to clean and disinfect without eating the skin away on my hands and my knees, then bring it on. Just please, don't talk to me about pride and scrubbing on hands and knees in the same sentence. Yes, pre-war women had a right to be proud of themselves for managing to keep filth at bay, even if it cost them mightily. And I very much doubt that many of them miss the "joys" of that back breaking labor.

You might want to also consider this: the lifespan of women pre-war was nowhere near what it is today. Sure, real improvements in maternity procedures and in pre-natal nutrition have helped. But don't discount the fact that not having to be a household "beast of burden" is also one of the reasons for our increased longevity.

I am always flummoxed when I read of someone who requires her household help to wash the floors on hands on knees, as if this were the only way to get them clean. Hellooooo, look at the calendar--it's 2009, not 1909. Welcome to the 21st Century, and let freedom from drudgery reign.