Mikveh

Modern mikveh – schematic illustration

Medieval Mikveh room in the old Synagogue of Sopron, Hungary, which dates to the 14th century

A medieval mikveh in Besalú, Spain

A mikveh from Boskovice in the Czech Republic

Traditionally, the mikveh was used by both men and women to regain ritual purity after various events, according to regulations laid down in the Torah and in classical rabbinical literature.

Cases where the Torah or rabbinic law requires full immersion include:

• one who wishes to become pure after Keri[23] — normal emissions of semen, whether from sexual activity, or from nocturnal emission. Bathing in a mikveh due to Keri is required by the Torah in order that one should be allowed to eat terumah or a sacrifice; Ezra instituted that one should also do so in order to be allowed to recite words of Torah.[24] The latter case is known as tevilath Ezra ("the immersion of Ezra"). In modern times it is no longer considered obligatory, but some perform it as a custom.
• one who wishes to become pure after Zav/Zavah (abnormal discharges of body fluids) or niddah (menstruation), or one who has come into contact with such people or their clothes or articles;[25][26][27] In particular, a married woman must immerse in order to resume marital relations with her husband.
• one who wishes to become pure after Tzaraath[28] (certain skin conditions, often referred to as "leprosy" though likely not the same as the modern medical form of leprosy)
• a Kohen who is being consecrated;[29]
• the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, after sending away the goat to Azazel, and by the man who leads away the goat;[30]
• the Kohen who performed the Red Heifer ritual;[31]
• one who wishes to become pure after contact with a corpse or grave,[32] in addition to having the ashes of the Red Heifer ritual sprinkled upon them;
• one who wishes to become pure after eating meat from an animal that died naturally.[33]
• one who is converting to Judaism, regardless of gender
• Immersion of vessels and utensils acquired from a gentile and used for food
• Although the Temple Mount is treated by many Orthodox Jewish authorities as being forbidden territory, a number of groups permit access, but require immersion before ascending the Mount as a precaution.

After the destruction of the Temple, the mikveh's main uses remained as follows:

• by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation and childbirth[34] before they and their husbands may resume marital relations;
• by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity after ejaculation;
• as part of the traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism;
• to immerse newly acquired metal and glass utensils used in serving and eating food;
• to immerse a corpse as part of the preparation for burial (taharah).

It also became customary for Kohanim to fully immerse themselves before Jewish holidays, and the laity of many communities subsequently adopted this practice. Immersion in a mikveh is customary in the following circumstances:

• By a bridegroom, on the day of his wedding, according to the custom of some communities
• By a father, prior to the circumcision of his son, according to the custom of some communities[35]
• By a kohen, prior to a service in which he will recite the priestly blessing, according to the custom of some communities
• Before Yom Kippur,[36] according to the custom of some communities, sometimes including married women as well as men
• Before Rosh Hashana, according to the custom of some communities[37]
• Before a Jewish holiday, according to the custom of some communities[36]
• Weekly before Shabbat, under Hasidic and Haredi customs
• Every day, under Hasidic customs

Immersion for men is more common in Hasidic communities, and done rarely in others, like German Jewish communities, where it is generally done only before the High Holidays.

Some Jewish funeral homes have a mikveh for immersing a body during the purification procedure (taharah) before burial.

Orthodox Judaism generally adheres to the classical regulations and traditions, and consequently Orthodox Jewish women are obligated to immerse in a mikveh between niddah and sexual relations with their husbands. This includes brides before their marriage, and married women after their menstruation period or childbirth. In accordance with Orthodox rules concerning modesty, men and women are required to immerse in separate mikveh facilities in separate locations, or to use the mikveh at different designated times.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan[38] connects the laws of impurity to the narrative in the beginning of Genesis. According to Genesis, by eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve had brought death into the world. Kaplan points out that most of the laws of impurity relate to some form of death (or in the case of Niddah the loss of a potential life). One who comes into contact with one of the forms of death must then immerse in water which is described in Genesis as flowing out of the Garden of Eden (the source of life) in order to cleanse oneself of this contact with death (and by extension of sin).

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook offered an additional message for mikveh: By immersing ourselves in water, "we are forced to recognize our existential estrangement from the physical universe. How long can we survive under water? The experience of submerging drives home the realization that our existence in this world is transient, and we should strive towards more lasting goals."[39]

The mikveh at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California

In a series of responsa on the subject of Niddah in December 2006, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism reaffirmed a requirement that Conservative women use a mikveh monthly following the end of the niddah period following menstruation, while adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the nidda period. The three responsa adopted permit a range of approaches from an opinion reaffirming the traditional ritual to an opinion declaring the concept of ritual purity does not apply outside the Temple in Jerusalem, proposing a new theological basis for the ritual, adapting new terminology including renaming the observances related to menstruation from taharat hamishpacha family purity to kedushat hamishpaha [family holiness] to reflect the view that the concept of ritual purity is no longer considered applicable, and adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the niddah period.[40][41][42][43]

Isaac Klein's A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, a comprehensive guide frequently used within Conservative Judaism, also addresses Conservative views on other uses of a mikveh, but because it predates the 2006 opinions, it describes an approach more closely resembling the Orthodox one, and does not address the leniencies and views those opinions reflected. Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz's recent book Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh (Jerusalem: Schechter Institute, 2007) offers a comprehensive discussion of contemporary issues and new mikveh uses along with traditional reasons for observance, details of how to prepare and what to expect, and how the laws developed. Conservative Judaism encourages, but does not require, immersion before Jewish Holidays (including Yom Kippur), nor the immersion of utensils purchased from non-Jews. New uses are being developed throughout the liberal world for healing (after rape, incest, divorce, etc.) or celebration (milestone birthdays, anniversaries, ordination, or reading Torah for the first time).

As in Orthodox Judaism, converts to Judaism through the Conservative movement are required to immerse themselves in a mikveh. Two Jews must witness the event, at least one of which must actually see the immersion. Immersion into a mikveh has been described as a very emotional, life-changing experience similar to a graduation.[44]

Restored mikveh in White Stork Synagogue, Wroclaw, Poland.

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism do not hold the halachic requirements of mikveh the way Orthodox Judaism does. However, there are growing trends toward using mikveh for conversions, wedding preparation, and even before holidays.[45] In the 21st century the mikveh is experiencing a revival among progressive Jews who view immersion as a way to mark transitions in their lives. "Open" mikvoth welcome Jews to consider immersion for reasons not necessarily required by Jewish law; they might immerse following a divorce or medical treatment, to find closure after an abortion, or to celebrate a life transition, among other reasons.[46] Progressive Jews may also use the mikveh for conversion.[47]

In some Jewish communities it is customary that at some point during the ninth month of pregnancy one should dip in a mikveh.[48]

According to rabbinical tradition, the hair counts as part of the body, and therefore water is required to touch all parts of it, meaning that braids cannot be worn during immersion. This has resulted in debate between the various ethnic groups within Judaism, about whether hair combing is necessary before immersion. The Ashkenazi community generally supports the view that hair must be combed straight so that there are no knots, but some take issue with this stance, particularly when it comes to dreadlocks. A number of rabbinical rulings argue in support of dreadlocks, on the basis that

• dreadlocks can sometimes be loose enough to become thoroughly saturated with water, particularly if the person had first showered
• combing dreadlocked hair can be painful
• although a particularly cautious individual would consider a single knotted hair as an obstruction, in most cases hair is loose enough for water to pass through it unless each hair is individually knotted[52]

The Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center sued the state on behalf of the Reform and Conservative/Masorti movements to allow members to use publicly funded mikvoth. The case, which took ten years to resolve, resulted in the Israeli Supreme Court ruling that public ritual baths must accept all prospective converts to Judaism, including converts to Reform and Conservative Judaism. In his 2016 ruling, Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said barring certain converts amounts to discrimination. Until this ruling, Orthodox officials barred non-Orthodox converts from using any mikveh, claiming their traditions do not conform to Jewish law, and the people they convert are therefore not Jews. Rubinstein noted: "Once it established public mikvahs, and put them at the service of the public — including for the process of conversion — the State cannot but be even-handed in allowing their use." He also said. "The State of Israel is free to supervise the use of its mikvahs, so long as it does so in an egalitarian manner."[57]

In 2013, the Israeli Center for Women's Justice and Kolech, an organization committed to Orthodox Jewish feminism, petitioned the Supreme Court to forbid attendants from asking intrusive questions of women at state-funded and -operated mikvot. In response, the Chief Rabbinate said it would forbid questioning of women about their marital status before immersion. The complaint had charged that the practice represented unacceptable discrimination.[58] In 2015, however, the ITIM Advocacy Center filed a complaint with the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of 13 Orthodox women against the Chief Rabbinate and the Jerusalem Religious Council, insisting that women be allowed to use the mikvah "according to their personal customs and without supervision, or with their own attendant if they wish". The complaint charged that the Chief Rabbinate is ignoring directives passed in 2013 that allow women to use the mikvah facilities without being asked intrusive questions by attendants.[59] In June 2016, the Chief Rabbinate agreed to allow women to use a mikveh without an attendant.[60]

Some transgender people have adopted the practice of mikveh immersion to mark a gender transition. However, many Orthodox authorities who control mikvaot only permit immersions that adhere with Jewish law. Therefore, other Jewish organizations strive to create mikvaot that allow for different uses, such as marking any important life transitions. Mayyim Hayyim, an organization in Newton, Massachusetts, collaborated with Keshet, one of Boston's LGBT Jewish organizations, to actively create a mikveh space that felt accessible to transgender people, including training mikveh guides on gender issues.[61]

There is some controversy within the Jewish transgender community about the use of mikvah to mark gender transitions. Some feel uncomfortable in a space that is traditionally so highly gendered and that requires complete nudity. Others still see mikveh as a place for married women to go after their periods, and therefore a transgender female would be exempt from these requirements as she does not menstruate.[61]