It's a women's ritual as ancient as the Hebrew scriptures. But in modern times, the concept of visiting a ritual bath - or mikvah - has become as foreign to most Jews as it is to the rest of the population.
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Mikvah A Fresh Start Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov
Hope always implies change.It is for a change in the status quo that a person “hopes”. In particular, hope is sensed strongest when a person finds himself in a desperate situation; when he has hit “rock-bottom”.
Living With Breast Cancer: The Healing Power of Mikvah Sharsheret
One woman's uplifting experience with mikvah after breast cancer... Read More...
Taharas Hamishpacha - Inner Meanings
The laws of Taharas Hamishpacha (Family Purity) are an integral part of our religious faith and stemming as they do from our Torah, are not always fully understood by our mortal minds. Read More...
Beautiful Wedding, Holy Marriage Yael Hanover
This Sunday is my third wedding anniversary. This Saturday night is the third anniversary of my first Mikvah immersion. Read More...
On The Essence of Spiritual Impurity Susan Handelman
One of the most widely misunderstood concepts in the Torah are contained in the words tumah and taharah. Translated as "unclean" and "clean," or "impure" and "pure," Read More...
The Meaning of Mikvah Leila Goldstein
I am young, British born and part of a large Jewish family. I work in advertising and have as many non-Jewish friends as Jewish friends. Read More...
Living Mikvah Tzvi Freeman
There is nothing more holy in this world, nothing more precious to its Creator, than the union of a man and a woman. It is, after all, the fountain of life. Read More...
The Icy Mikvah Rabbi Y. C. Grunstein
The Mikvah is the cornerstone of a vibrant Jewish home. It is within the natural waters of the Mikvah that a woman immerses herself monthly, from marriage till menopause, so that a husband and wife can live a full life of intimacy together. Read More...
Full Circle Chana Hennessey
The mikvah is a beautiful place, filled with spirituality. It represents the chain of generations of Jewish women of which we become another link. Read More...
A Wonderful Experience Contributed by Emma Bloom
I am not a very religious Jew but I knew I wanted to go to the mikvah before my marriage. I was a bit hesitant but I had some lessons with an incredibly warm and progressive rebbetzin so I was quite excited about it.
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Misunderstanding Mikvah Jonathan Rosenblum
A more absurd projection of Christian sexual asceticism onto Judaism would be hard to imagine. Think Again
First, a confession: I am not a woman. Read More...
Love, Marriage and Mikvah Faige Twerski
Before we discuss Jewish insights into the very private world of intimacy, we need to free ourselves of some non-Jewish notions about the topic.
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True Self- Sacrifice
In the town of Emmanuel in Eretz Yisroel (Israel), there lived an elderly couple, olim (immigrants) from Russia, who were childless. They lived there for several years, quietly and alone, without any real contact with other members of the community. Read More...
Valerie's Story Valerie Gerstein
I didn't go to the mikvah every month. (Few people I know do.) I am content that I went to the mikvah the night before my wedding, no one can ever take that night away from me.
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At My Age
The following is a five part series of correspondence from a woman learning of Mikvah for the first time after menopause. Please enjoy this inspirational exchange and follow her journey of discovery. Read More...
A Word About Chafifa (Preparation for Mikvah Immersion) Chaya M. Klein
Put joy into your mikvah preparations! Read More...
The Power of A Woman Devorah Kroll
America is over 200 years old and a lot has happened in the last 200 some odd years. Especially to the Jewish woman. Read More...
Taking the Spiritual Dive Mindy McLees
I began my married life with a non-Jewish husband, an ambitious nature, a college degree, and a bit of an attitude. Read More...
Revelations of Rachel Hinda Langer
With all of America reading books by the experts on topics ranging from "How to Keep a Happy Parakeet" to "Total, Unequaled... Read More...
My Mikvah Journey Meri Harary Fleischman
Mikvah-The word evokes a relaxing, spiritual, beautiful image in your mind, for some, it unfortunately evokes a negative, degrading image of how women are treated as “dirty,” “impure,” or “unclean” in Orthodox Judaism. Read More...
The Mystique of Mikvah Sarah Karmely
Genetically, a woman inherits characteristics from her Mother, and she should be proud to do so. The very first Jewish Mother was Sarah Imeinu, and she bequeathed to us... Read More...
Wellsprings mikvah.org
Judaism is very realistic in its understanding of human sexuality. It understands there is love between men and women that is unique and total, that reaches fulfillment in physical expression.
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The mikvah lady rules.
For thousands of years, women like Janice Fellner have guided Jewish women through the monthly purification ritual God called for in the Book of Leviticus. Read More...
Experiencing Mikvah Rose Paull
“So” – my beautiful Rebbetzin Channie said to me one day – “Rose, what are we doing special for your 70th birthday – a mitzvah, something special?” Read More...
Thank You Mr Brezhnev Sichos in English
In the 1980s, during the last years of the Brezhnev regime, the Chassidic underground in Russia had yielded a crop of young returnees to Jewish practice. Read More...
The Purifying Waters Ruth Rovner
Is it true only oppressed Orthodox Jewish women use the mikveh? Surprisingly, the feminist stereotype just won't wash. Read More...
The Beauty of Mikvah Susan Rosenberg
Somehow, I managed to make it through 22 years of marriage before the notion of mikvah (ritual bath), was raised for me. Sure, I knew that married Jewish women went to the mikvah and observed the laws of Taharat Hamishpacha (Family Purity)... Read More...
Hashem Does His Part Alan Haber
In the many years that my wife and I have been involved in teaching the laws of Family Purity, we have observed many instances of Hashgacha Pratit , Divine Providence. Read More...
Taking Monotony Out of Monogamy Mikvah.org
What is as holy as Yom Kippur, more spiritual than meditating and the best thing you can do for your love life?
You may not believe it, but the answer is THE MIKVAH - the ancient Jewish method guiding the intimate relationship between husband and wife.
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A Foundation of Love Rabbi Dov Aharani Fisch
The Jewish home is not just an accidental unit where a man, woman, and children live. It is a sacred unit, the quintessential core of Jewish existence, and the wellspring of Jewish values from which a child draws spiritual sustenance for a lifetime. Read More...
Comments From The Brides Chabad Lubavitch of Markham, Thornhill, Ontario
"This was a very enlightening experience. It was a sacred moment for me that I will cherish. I fel like my blessings were truly heard tonight and for that I am thankful!..." Dara
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Sharing With Shayna Jackie G.
My daughter, Shayna G.K., was married in 1999. She desired to go the mikvah, for the first time, before her wedding.
My name is Masha. I am 58 years old, and I live in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Symphony of Immersion Yael Hanover
It has a sound all its own. I have never heard anything like it anywhere else. Read More...
A Fresh Look At The Mikvah Michael Gold
Once a month, after nightfall, my wife keeps a secret appointment. Neither our neighbors, our friends, nor our children know where she goes, although our children sometimes wonder why she returns an hour or so later with her hair wet. Read More...
Purifying Waters Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
There is nothing more holy in this world, nothing more precious to the Creator, than the union of a man and a woman. It is, after all, the fountain of life. What could be more precious than life - other than the source from which life comes? Read More...
Impure Intentions Rabbi Avi Shafran
Attempts to present Jewish religious practices as cruel, harmful or downright evil, alas, are nothing new. Jewish ritual slaughter, circumcision and Shabbat have all, at one time or another, been publicly assailed. Read More...
Jewish Legacy Laura Barnes
I was delighted to read the article by Heidi Hass about her Mikvah experience with Bronya Shaffer. Read More...
A Modern Setting for An Ancient Ritual Chana Sharfstein
It was August of 1994 and I was leading a kosher tour in Scandinavia; it was summer but we could already feel the bite of fall.
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The Ritual Bath Anne M. Hammerman
Not too many modern Jews are fully acquainted with the many rules and regulations set forth in Halacha (Code of Jewish Law). Read More...
The Power of Once Joannie Tansky
I was angry at God at that point in my life. Not only did it seem to me that He had held back the treasures of Judaism till I was forty, it seemed that I also would never get a chance to experience, together with my husband, the beautiful and intimate ritual of mikvah. Read More...
Looking Back Moving Forward
Entering menopause: A time of transformation. A new phase of life begins. Invigoration. Inspiration. Read More...
Mikvah and Me Contributed by Danya Danilowitz
My husband and I had alot of issues committing to marriage. We had cancelled one wedding and no one could understand why we were still together. Read More...
Entering the Mikvah Jane Solomon
It was as scary as anything I'd ever done, and I wasn't sure why. As a Reform Jew, my sense of being commanded by G-d does not come with a set of 613 unambiguous instructions... Read More...
Dear Rebbe: I Have a Story To Tell You Heidi Hass
My husband and I have been married for ten years, and six years ago we were blessed with a son. Within a year of our son's birth, cancer was discovered in my husband's kidneys and they had to be removed. Read More...
Why I Love The Mikvah Wendy Kenin
There are so many reasons to love the mikvah (Jewish ritual bath).
Mikvah and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Miriam Yerushalmi
For many women keeping the laws of mikvah is a terrifying, monumental task. They do not know how to control the compulsive behavior that leads them to obsess over their keeping of this sacred mitzvah. Read More...
Rationale Reasons Illuminating Jewish Law Rabbi Abraham Twersky
Not infrequently we come across interpretations of Torah precepts in the light of rational thought and scientific discoveries. There has been a division of opinion since Talmudic times on whether one ought to seek to understand... Read More...
A Marriage Saved
Years ago, the following story occurred: There was a young couple who had a very unhappy marriage, and they decided to divorce. The wife's Mother, who lived in Eretz Yisroel, was devastated by this decision... Read More...
A Feminist On Mikvah Janice Lochansky
Let's tackle the question of sexism first; do you sincerely feel that there is no sexism in Jewish life?
I was in Bangkok, Thailand when, Ronit, my husband's cousin, told me
her personal story. Before there was a mikvah in Bangkok, women would have to travel down to the seaside and tovel themselves in the sea. Read More...