S.5 #12 | Mikvah: A Rite of Purification

 What is Mikvah? Why is it an important commandment in Judaism? In this episode, I share with you my first experience with Mikvah and explain the symbolism behind this ancient ritual.

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Poem by Cynthia Wallace

Transcript

Growing up Jewish I knew about some of the most popular traditions and mitzvahs such as keeping shabbat and kosher, circumcision, the main holidays and some other random facts that I picked up during my three years at a Jewish day school. What I recently realized, now that I am seriously studying Judaism and living it, is that I didn’t even know the tip of the iceberg. Since my husband and I have become regulars at our synagogue, meaning we go to classes a couple times a week and to services once a week, plus our kids attend Sunday school, our rabbi and his wife began to introduce us to more and more aspects of Judaism. Recently, our rebbetzin Miriam suggested that I start going to Mikvah. I had heard of the Mikvah previously and I knew it had something to do with purification using water, but that was pretty much the extent of it. So Miriam gave me a tour of the Mikvah and explained exactly what it is and why it is. And of course I had to try it! Now that I have the experience of Mikvah, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned about this important mitzvah and also, if you’ve never done it, what it entails and how it feels! 

First off, let me explain what Mikvah is. Put simply, it is a Jewish ritual bath used for ritual cleansing and purification, often associated with conversion, marriage, and women's monthly cycles. The bath is a pool of water, ideally from a natural source, which is most commonly used for regaining marital purity after a woman’s menstrual cycle. Perhaps you already know that blood in Judaism is not kosher, and this includes the woman’s menstruation. While the woman is on her period, Jewish law prohibits sexual relations with her husband. After her period ends, there are 7 days of checking and making sure that the period has in fact ended, for a total of about 12 days of separation quote on quote from her husband. Once the woman sees that there is not even a tiny speck of blood remaining, she can then go to the Mikvah, become pure and resume relations with her husband. Moreover, it is a mitzvah to have relations on the night of the bath immersion. Because doing Mikvah brings many blessings to the couple and the whole family, and because after the woman’s immersion the gates of heaven open to allow G-d’s blessings to pour down onto the woman, it is recommended to at least touch your husband immediately upon returning from the Mikvah to pass on the blessings to him. 

I have only been to one Mikvah so far at our synagogue but I understand that the experience is the same across all synagogues and even countries. At our synagogue, the Mikvah is a separate small building that resembles a charming spa. When you walk in, a woman - a mikvah attendant - greets you and invites you in. There is a couch and armchair and a sort of fountain in the lobby. Then you can enter the next room, which has a toilet, a roomy bathtub and shower, as well as a closet with robes, slippers, towels and all the possible toiletries you might need, such as make-up and nail polish removers. You see, when you go into the mikvah, you must be as pure as possible, I think of it as being as close to the state in which I was born as possible - no jewelry, no clothing, no make up, nothing must be on the body that is not part of it. In preparation for the Mikvah, Miriam sent me an extensive checklist of everything I must do before immersion. Some preparation may be done at home, but I wanted the full experience so I did everything at the Mikvah. Let me share with you the list she emailed me:

1 - Separate:  No intercourse from the start of 'Period" till after immersing in the Mikvah. 

2 - Wait minimum 5 days for 'period' to end

3 - Do Mikvah Check- this is the part where you start checking to see if your period has ended -  Miriam actually gave me a pack of special cloth specifically designed for this internal examination.

- Check again the following morning to confirm the Mikvah check. If it works, that would be considered day One.

 - Continue checking for 7 consecutive days (ideally morning and before dark, this is because a tiny spot of blood on the cloth may not be visible to the eye in the dark, she suggested I even put the cloth up to the light to check)

Now I will share with you some of the technical stuff. I say “some” because there is a lot there and I could ramble on forever, so I’m sticking with the most important, especially for a beginner like me.

• Remove jewelry, glasses, contact lenses, false teeth, false eyelashes, false nails, band-aids and any removable medical/dental apparatus, including removable birth control devices such as the patch or ring.
• Remove make-up and skin lotions.
• Remove nail polish. Cut, file and clean finger and toe nails.
• Bathe with warm water. Wash the entire body thoroughly using a soap that does not leave a residue and a washcloth or loofah sponge
• Give careful attention to the following: ears and earring holes, nose, corner of eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows, entire breast, navel, genital area – also within the folds, underarms, elbows, knees, back, between fingers/toes and the soles of feet
• Smooth hard skin and calluses.
• Wash hair with shampoo, without conditioners
• Shower or rinse thoroughly with water.
• Comb all hair while still wet.
• Check your body, visually and by touch to ensure that it is free of intervening substances.
• Do not dry yourself.
• Signal to the Mikvah attendant that you are ready.
• Put on a robe and slippers while you wait for the mikvah attendant.

The night of the Mikvah (the Mikvah is performed after dark), and keeping all this in mind, (the checklist is provided at the Mikvah too by the way), I drew a nice, hot bath and soaked in it for about 15 minutes, the recommended minimum. While soaking in the bath, I cleaned my body as best I could and I tried to relax. Once I felt I was clean enough for the immersion, I made sure there were no loose hairs on my head, no debris of any sort on my body, and I continued to the next room, which is the actual pool of natural water. This room looked beautiful, resembling a spa room with a jacuzzi and was very warm. The temperature of the water is probably around 90 degrees Fahrenheit typically. Once I was ready, I notified the attendant and she instructed me to take off the robe and enter the pool using the stairs (7 steps to be precise, which symbolize the seven days of creation.) The pool is fairly deep, about 5 ft deep I would estimate. She asked me to stand in the deepest part of the pool with my back to her and as she peaked from another room she prompted me to stand in the water with my hands stretched out in front of me and making sure I was not touching anything around me, like the walls of the pool for example. Once ready, I was to submerge my entire body, ensuring every part, including hair, is under water. After this the woman instructed me to put a little towel over my head and recite the blessing: Blessed are You, Adonai, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with mitzvot and commanded us concerning immersion. Covering the head is a sign of modesty and humility in Jewish tradition and is especially important while performing religious acts such as reciting a blessing. After that, she prompted me to immerse twice more, calling out “kosher” after each immersion to confirm that the immersion met all the necessary requirements for ritual purity, ensuring that I was fully submerged and the ritual was performed correctly.

Following the immersions, she told me to spend as much time as I needed by myself praying for whatever I felt necessary at the moment. This was a very special moment, I felt, being all by myself in the water and feeling a stronger connection to G-d. As the attendant explained, after the immersion, the gates to heaven open, which symbolizes renewal and cleansing, allowing individuals to reconnect with their spiritual selves and their relationship with G-d. Renewal was probably my main reason for even considering this ritual. Of course it sounded wonderful when my rebbetzin told me about all the blessings women and their families receive after the Mikvah, like health, good luck and a thriving marriage, but I felt that, for me, at this point in my life, it was important to cleanse and renew myself spiritually. This is because really up until this year, I was not a practicing Jew. I went from atheism to buddhism to who knows what until I made a 360 and came back to where I needed to be - I was born Jewish and now I am a practicing Jew. So in a sense, the mikvah cleansed me of all the past experiences that no longer serve me today. I feel fresh and on the right path. While in the water, I also prayed for my kids to follow the Jewish faith, to continue observing mitzvot once they are adults. Many times parents do their best to inspire faith in their children, but when they become older many divert from the tradition, especially when they stop attending sunday school and services with their parents. So I prayed for my children to always have a relationship with God. And also, this is not a one-time ritual. I plan to continue this tradition as long as I am married and still have my monthly cycle. Next time perhaps I can ask G-d for something else, but I believe that we should never ask G-d for anything earthly, like wealth or health because G-d will provide this as long as we are doing our part. Instead, we can ask for spiritual things like to see the hand of G-d in every situation, to have more desire to learn the Torah, to love our neighbor more, etc. 

After I said my prayer, I came out of the pool, put on my robe and returned to the previous room to put on my clothes and head home. The whole experience took about 40min. Most likely, next time I will take the bath at home and do most of the preparations at home, and then all I would have to do at the Mikvah is take a shower, because you have to be wet when you enter the pool, and enter the pool. This will likely cut the time in half. But honestly, just like my rebbetzin says, many women like to escape to the Mikvah, to have this time alone for themselves. In bigger cities, like NY, she says they have all kinds of services there too, like manicures and pedicures, so you can literally make it a spa day.

Well, now you know what the Mikvah is and what it’s like. It’s truly a lovely experience and I recommend it to all women. To conclude today’s episode, I will recite a poem by Cynthia Wallace titled Mikvah. Enjoy and until next time.

Mikvah

Naked and alone I approach the Mikvah
no speck of dirt or trailing hair
between my body and the warm flowing waters.
I pull knees to chest head curled down
a fetal position
the shape of the human heart
Water touches my every cell

The borders of my body become indistinguishable
from molecules of sacred water
As one together, yet cradled and
enveloped by a profound embrace

Hashem that is water
Water that is Hashem
Nourished in his womb
that is her womb
that is the womb of the people Yisrael

Three times I curl around myself
immerse my body into the waters
Once within Hashem, Echad, The Place
Twice within the womb of Shechina
Thrice within the soul of my people Yisrael

Stepping out I cherish the feeling of pressure
the water’s indelible imprint on my skin
The comfort of being completely enveloped and sustained
The joy of feeling at one within myself
held within Hashem

Hashem who is
is יהוה
is was
is is
is always will be
is breath
is ah-ahaaaaaa
is
Emet