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*This was the title of a workshop held at the first-ever Mikveh Conference held in San Diego in December of 2007
A "mikveh" (or "mikvah") means pool, or collection of water, in Hebrew.
Author, Anita Diamant wrote ("Pitching My Tent"): "I want a mikveh that is as nourishing as the rain, inspiring as the ocean, sweet as childhood swims in the pond. You know that feeling: satisfying, complete, delicious. It is the embrace of a headfirst dive into a perfectly temperate blue pool, into the beginning of all beginnings. And when you surface, the one word on your wet lips is: Ahh. Or, perhaps, Ah-men."
Diamant also wrote, "You duck under, looking and feeling as much like a fetus in the womb as possible."
In 1958, prior to my "khasene" (wedding), I went to the mikveh accompanied by my "rebetsen," Ada Cohen. The mikveh was located in Far Rockaway, New York. Yes, I felt a bit of "farlegnhayt" (embarrassment) having someone inspect my body and watch me as I dipped in the water. I was only 20 years old! However, I did believe that the experience was designed to enhance the spiritual aspects of a marriage.
Fifty years later, there have been so many "vunderlekh" (wonderful) improvements/changes in the mikveh.
A mikveh is not a spa! The mikveh is being reexamined by increasing numbers of Reform Jews. Among observant Jews, the mikveh is used most often as part of "niddah," which requires married Jewish women to immerse monthly after menstruation; for conversion; and by brides and grooms before their wedding.
Reform Jews are using "mikvaot" today to mark lifestyle events or a change of personal status. Some of the new uses:
One of the biggest changes is the fact that there are now mikvehs for the physically challenged. Men and women with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and other forms of paralysis now have a proper facility that enables them to perform this mitzvah with the dignity of privacy that they require. Many mikvaos throughout "di velt" (the world) have hydraulic lifts to accommodate the handicapped. They can be found in Jerusalem, Monsey, New York, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Hallandale Beach, FL, and many other areas.
The Pittsburgh mikve has a lift which was installed to ensure that nobody was prevented from moving to the community or living in the community because their disability prevented them from going to the mikve.
According to Sue Fishkoff, "Mikveh made its first incursions back in its Reform use about 25 years ago, when Reform clergy began bringing more converts to the mikveh."
Hella Winston ("Unchosen - The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels") writes, "When it is determined that a woman is clean, she must then go to the ritual bath, or the mikvah, to purify herself; indeed, Hasidic women are taught that this is one of the most important mitzvot, or commandments that they follow, particularly because they have complete control over its execution. Before a woman immerses herself in the water, her body must be scrubbed and then checked by the "Mikva Lady," who scrutinizes her skin for any stray hairs, signs of unremoved nail polish, threads, dirt or lint. If anything comes between a woman and the water, the ritual purification will be compromised."
Hella Winston writes that, in recent years Mikvah ladies have "been instrumental in the success of broader efforts to reach out to women who are victims of domestic abuse." Mikvah ladies see women without their clothes on and notice telltale bruises or other marks on the woman's body.)
Domestic violence is no stranger to Jewish life. The incidence of Jewish domestic abuse across the country greatly increases around the Jewish holidays, just as it does amid the general U. S. populace around Thanksgiving.
What does it cost to use a mikve? One Pennsylvania synagogue has the following rate structure (suggested donation):
$72 Conversions
(Another mikve charges $180)
$54 Bride/Groom
$18 Regular monthly users or one-time
use for out-of-town visitors
$18 Pre-Shabbat and Holidays
$36 Occasional usage
There is usually a waiver of the fees, based on individual need. This is addressed by the Chairperson of the Mikveh Association in consultation with the Rabbi.
___________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe gives a big Kol
HaKavod to those communities who have
installed hydraulic lifts, wide doorways,
hand rails, and "grab bars" in the mikveh.
Stuart Garson, who helped plan the
building of a mikveh, was right when he
said, "If you build it, they will come."
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