The building
Mikveh literally means “a place where water gathers,” not simply tap water, but a pool of natural water (like rainwater or a spring)
Important: not all bodies of water constitute a kosher mikveh. Jewish law delineates specific criteria that a mikveh must meet to be considered kosher for immersion. Today, mikvehs that are constructed according to Torah law can be found almost everywhere. No need to get creative if you want to immerse – simply locate the nearest mikveh.
Most mikvehs are constructed with a high level of hygiene and comfort. There are some truly beautiful and even luxurious mikvehs as well.
The mikveh building is generally located in a quiet area, off to the side so that women coming to the mikveh can be discreet, and to create a personal, feminine experience.
The mikveh building has comfortable, sometimes luxurious bathrooms where you can prepare before immersion. The mikveh itself looks like a very small swimming pool and the water is heated. A few steps lead into the water, and the depth of the water is only 120 cm so that you can stand comfortably and immerse easily.
- Don’t try this at home! Immersing in a bathtub does not fulfill the criteria of mikveh, even if you fill it to the brim with warm water. It simply does not meet the guidelines for a kosher mikveh according to Jewish law.
The Mikveh Attendant
The mikveh attendant is a woman whose job it is to help women fulfill the mitzvah of immersing in a mikvah according to Jewish law.
It’s important to know that the mikveh attendant is there for you and you can approach her with any question. Feel comfortable asking her for help. If God forbid you have an uncomfortable experience or interaction with the attendant, do not hesitate to notify a local rabbi or rebbetzin, or the local religious council or organization (in Israel the local religious council is responsible for running the mikveh). The mikveh attendant is the face on the mitzvah of family purity and mikveh immersion and her role is important not just for you, but for every other woman in your community.
The role of the mikveh attendant
In addition to the primary role of ensuring a kosher immersion, the role of the mikveh attendant evolved over the years to include a wide range of responsibilities. In most mikvehs today, the attendant is responsible for the technical operations of the mikveh, upkeep and cleanliness, guidance for women, ensuring that the woman understands the laws and is immersing on time, and discreetly checking the woman’s body for barriers.
The management roles of a mikveh attendant include:
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- Schedule appointments for women who would like to use the mikveh.
- Explain to women what they need to do and what they should bring to the mikveh.
- Manage maintenance of the mikveh.
- Provide written affirmation of immersion in the mikveh (in Israel, brides and sometimes other women need written affirmation that they immersed).
- Facilitate payment for using the mikveh.
The religious roles of a mikveh attendant include:
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- Make sure that a woman is ready to immerse according to Jewish law (that she understands and has carried out the earlier stages of purification: initial bedikah, counting seven clean days, etc.).
- Check that the woman’s body is free of any item or substance that could be a barrier between her body and the water.
- Check that the woman’s entire body is immersed in the water, including all her hair.
Some mikvehs have accessible features for people with disabilities, including a specialized elevator that lowers you into the water. You can find a list of these mikvehs online (in Israel you’ll find a list on the Ministry of Religious Services website).
Why mikveh?
Immersion in the mikveh purifies the woman who is immersing. Not because it makes her clean (a shower would suffice for that), but because God decided that this is the only way to clean the spiritual “stain” of impurity.
Here are some of the requirements of a kosher mikveh in Jewish law:
- Water must flow naturally into the mikveh’s well (a natural pool of water that is connected to the water in the ritual bath) without the touch or influence of a human hand. Thus, if the well is filled by a person, immersion in the mikveh will not be valid.
- The water that fills the mikveh’s well must not flow from a body or pool of water that was contained in an impure vessel (some materials have this quality). Thus, immersion in a mikveh whose well was filled with municipal tap water is not valid.
- It is strongly advised for the mikveh water be sufficiently heated. It is permitted to immerse in a cold mikveh, and that immersion will be valid. However, there is a strong chance that a woman will immerse more quickly in cold water because she is in a rush to warm up – and she may not check that her entire body and all her hair was immersed completely.
- The water must be clean without any dirt or impurities. Immersion in dirty water could result in barriers between her body and the water because dirt or other substances could stick to her skin.
- The mikveh should be beautiful and well maintained. The beauty of the mikveh will entice women to return and to encourage their friends to keep the mitzvah as well.
This is it. The moment has come. Your husband is waiting for you at home like he did on your wedding day. You are about to fulfill a tremendous mitzvah. When you enter the mikveh, the attendant will greet you at reception, you will pay the mikveh fee, choose a room, and begin to prepare for this special, intimate moment – immersion in the mikveh.
Important Rules for Immersion
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- Immersion must take place at night after the seven clean days have ended.
- Don’t delay immersion without a critical reason. If there is no way to immerse on the correct night, ask a rabbi what to do.
- For reasons of modesty, try to ensure that no one else knows or can sense that this is your immersion night. As much as possible, try to ensure that even the members of your household are aware that you are immersing.
- Before you immerse, check again that all barriers have been removed from your body, and that every part of your body has been cleaned properly. Any type of barrier will invalidate the immersion and the impurity will remain in place.
- Immersion must take place in the presence of a mikveh attendant who makes sure that your entire body was immersed. Emphasis should be placed on ensuring that all your hair is immersed in the water because hair naturally floats above the water – and this would completely invalidate the immersion.
- It is recommended to immerse several times so that if one of the immersions does not meet the criteria, another one will serve to purify you.
- When a person enters a body water, it is natural for the water to automatically surround and engulf them from all directions. When a woman immerses in the mikveh it is crucial to ensure that the water does in fact reach every part of her body. That is why she carries out the preparations for immersion. Still, while she is in the water, she should take care that water reaches every part of her body when she immerses.
How do I immerse?
When you immerse, take care with the following:
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- Do not hold your legs together, let the water flow between them.
- Do not hold your arms and hands against your body.
- Do not cover your nose with your hand.
- Do not hold on to the railing of the mikveh.
- Close your eyes and mouth lightly so that water will reach every area around your eyes and mouth.
- When you immerse, keep your body slightly rounded rather than straight. That way the water will reach every area of your body.
The Blessing
A woman’s immersion in the mikveh is a mitzvah from the Torah. Like we do for every mitzvah in the Torah, we say a blessing first. Just like we say a blessing before lighting Shabbat candles or eating matzoh on Passover – we say a blessing before we immerse in the mikveh.
The words of the blessing are:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲ-דֹנָי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קְדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל הַטְּבִילָה
Transliteration of the blessing: Bah-rookh ah-tah ah-doh-noi eh-loh-hay-noo meh-lekh ha-oh-lahm ah-sher ki-deh-shah-noo be-mitz-voh-tahv veh-tzee-vah-noo ahl hah-teh-vee-lah
Translation of the blessing: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the immersion.
The best time to say the blessing is after you immerse the first time and before you immerse a second time. But you can also say the blessing before you immerse at all.
The Immersion
When you are ready, call the mikveh attendant so that she can be present when you immerse (most mikvehs have a bell in the preparation room). Once you are in the water, the attendant will check to make sure that your body is completely immersed. When you are finished immersing, the attendant will say “kosher” as a sign that you immersed properly.
The moment of immersion is a holy and personal moment when you can make personal requests of God and ask Him for blessing, health, or any personal need. Take advantage of these magical moments when it is just you and God…
After Immersion
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- The moments after you immerse are special moments with a strong spiritual impact on a woman’s purification. Therefore, make sure that the first thing you see after you immerse is something pure and positive. The attendant is aware of this and will hurry towards you so that she will be the first thing you see after you immerse. Don’t be surprised if she even touches you lightly because there is a preference for touching something pure like a Jewish person after immersion. Many mikvehs have pictures of righteous people and great rabbis in the outer areas so that women will see the images of spiritual figures right after immersion.
- The official and final note of the purification process is to tell your husband that you immersed. Even if it’s obvious to him, even if he’s waiting for you in the car outside the mikveh, waiting breathlessly for you to come from immersing, tell him, “I immersed and I am pure.”
- The mikveh is open every night including Shabbat and holiday eve (except for two days a year – the 9th of Av and Yom Kippur eve.
A woman’s menstrual cycle can be compared to the four seasons of the year:
Spring: A time of growth and flowering, expressed by the different kinds of fruit that begin to grow. Everything seems wonderful and beautiful – but they are not truly worth picking because they haven’t yet reached their full bloom. In a woman’s body – the building process: hormones increase, the egg ripens, the lining of the womb thickens; a wonderous vessel is forming to enable the creation of new life. These hormones even help to build bones, to strengthen a women’s heart and build up her emotional strength. Many processes take place in a woman’s body at this time, each must occur in its own specific way and at the right time to make sure that they will develop as they should without any deformity.
Summer: The fruit and plants have ripened and reached their full bloom. It is time to pick them, to prepare them so we can partake in them and enjoy them to our satisfaction. And in the woman’s body – the building process is complete: the processes that were described above have reached their conclusion – the woman’s womb is ready to receive a fertilized egg.
Autumn: Though the seasons of growth and ripening have passed, we continue to enjoy what blossomed in the spring and summer. But the spirit that reached its peak during the spring and summer now ebbs and slowly fades. And in the woman’s body – the building is maintained: even if there was no fertilization, the womb’s lining, thickened by hormones, remains for a few more days, until it begins to thin, and menstruation begins.
Winter: The earth needs rest to gather new strength and prepare for the coming spring. In the woman’s body – preparation for the building to come: the menstrual flow. The womb’s lining, built by hormones, together with the unfertilized egg, disintegrate, and are secreted from the woman’s body to allow for new growth in the womb in the next cycle.
