A mikveh is a Jewish ritual bath designated by God in the Torah as a way to “purify” oneself when one is in a state of impurity. There are different scenarios that would make someone dive into a mikveh, as we`ll see in a moment. But before I get into the details, what comes to mind when I say the word “mikveh”? Even the eons have not diluted their meaning. The mikveh lady leads a woman in privacy to the mikveh`s pool. Here, Jewish law requires that she dive after her monthly period before she can resume sex with her husband. For those curious about the law behind the mikveh, Rabbi Alana Suskin points to the lustful verses of Leviticus (15:19, 15:24, 18:19 and 20:18) that deal with all kinds of human emissions. In ancient times, the Israelites immersed themselves in a mikveh before entering the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The mikveh lady reigns. For thousands of years, women like Janice Fellner have guided Jewish women through the monthly cleansing ritual that God called for in the book of Leviticus.
“I can tell you categorically that there is no one in the community, no rabbi, no synagogue president, no one as committed as the lady of the mikveh,” said Orthodox Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, editor of Intermountain Jewish News. The idea of the mikveh is that there is no barrier between the person and the water. This means not only no clothes, but also no jewelry, makeup, nail polish, artificial nails or beauty products on hair or skin. In mikvehs led by more devout Jews, a guard will check that these requirements are met. It`s actually quite simple. You see, the Torah does not consider the mikvah a mitzvah for women. Far from it. The first time we hear of immersion in a mikveh, it is about a Kohen, a priest who was preparing to serve in the Mishkan (Exodus 29:4). And just a few Parshiyots after that, we learn that all those who were Tamei were “spiritually unclean” had to go to the mikveh as part of their purification ritual. Contemporary reinventions of the mikveh have focused on making the mikveh experience more inclusive and expansive. In 2001, journalist and writer Anita Diamant founded Mayyim Hayyim (Living Waters), which describes itself as “a resource for learning, spiritual discovery and creativity.” Mayyim Hayyim is a pluralistic mikveh that welcomes people of all genders and abilities, provides spaces for celebration of life cycle events and conversions, and offers its services to trauma survivors and those who wish to experience the mikveh ritual in their own way.
The Newton, Massachusetts-based institution opened in 2004 and offers educational and counseling programs as well as an art gallery. Another pluralistic and inclusive mikveh, ImmerseNYC, was first envisioned in 2012 by Reform Rabbi Sara Luria and operates out of the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. More recently, artist Rebecca Erev and other radical queer artists from Olympia, Washington, launched the Queer Mikveh Project, which is part community, part art project, and part advocacy tool. While the traditional mikveh prescribed purity rituals in binary terms for both men and women, several 21st century efforts focus on including and welcoming people of different genders, ethnicities, races, and practices. Pluralistic community mikvehs now exist in several cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Pronounced: MICK-vuh or mick-VAH, alternative spelling: mikveh, origin: Hebrew, Jewish ritual bath. If the preparations are made at home, take a shower and comb your hair in the mikveh. But it`s still a law – and it means that if a married couple wants to be intimate, the woman must pay close attention to those laws and immerse herself in a mikveh to become Tahor. This is why menstruating women visit the mikveh every month. This is why we think of the mikvah as a female mitzvah. In fact, the women`s part is only the only surviving vestige of a much broader practice.
Everyone was thinking about Tumah and Taharah. Nowadays, only one person does it: the menstruating (or childbearing age) woman. I also thought of the mikvah as a mitzvah for women. Let me tell you why I don`t see it that way anymore. Can mikveh enrich your marriage? Your sex life? Do men sometimes go to the mikveh? What about single women? It turns out there`s a story in the Torah about the mikveh, but you`ve probably never noticed it because you`ve been looking in the wrong place. This story will add incredible richness and depth to your understanding of mikvah and explain the seemingly random laws that govern them. Personally, since I came across this story, my own relationship with the mikveh has changed. Click here to watch the video “Why does mikveh make me pure?” Aren`t people too embarrassed to get naked in the mikveh? So what is a mikveh anyway and does it have anything to do with sex? Let us explain. Once immersion in the mikveh has taken place, a woman is free to have sex with her husband, which is not allowed if she is in a state of tuma.
It is at this stage of a woman`s cycle that she is most fertile. “Countless people associate mikveh with impurity, which it demeans women,” says Goldberg, a counselor at the facility. “It`s based on a misleading translation. This is spiritual purification. Fellner sees the joy and tragedy here: brides come to the mikveh before their wedding, “and you can`t describe how moved they are.” After a miscarriage: “This is where grief happens.” Women with fertility problems find in the mikveh a place of healing and hope, where “sometimes the problems disappear”. Questions about coloring and other personal issues related to compliance with the mikveh are quite common. The mikveh servant or your local rebbetzin may receive confidential answers to private halachic questions or refer you directly to a rabbi who has experience dealing discreetly with these sensitive issues. If you`re traveling or away from home, log in to www.mikvah.org to find a mikveh near you. And at the risk of adding an insult to the injury, let me point out that immersion in water is the least strange thing about mikveh.
There are many laws that require that immersion be done in a very special way and that the mikveh be built in a very special way. You can`t just dive into old-fashioned waters. For example, if you don`t thoroughly clean your body before diving – if your nails are dirty or if there is food stuck in your teeth – then it basically makes no sense from the point of view of Jewish law.
