I recently had the privilege of accompanying a member of our Wise community at the mikveh across the street from our campus at the American Jewish University. After many months of joining conversion students and soon-to-be-newlyweds at the beach for this ritual (due to COVID closures of the indoor mikveh), I was thrilled to return to this sacred space to participate in the ancient—yet supremely relevant—ritual.
The mikveh—or the Jewish ritual bath—has been part of our tradition for thousands of years, but many (or most) of us have lost our connection to this meaningful and sometimes powerful practice. I myself did not enter a mikveh until the week before my ordination as a cantor, having made a plan to undergo the ritual to mark that momentous professional and spiritual transition. As simple as it was, perhaps, to dip in the cool water and recite the blessings for purity and celebration, I felt completely renewed and changed after visiting the mikveh. As I restored my connection with our ancient ritual, I also established a deeper connection with myself.
While traditionally, the mikveh serves as a place to immerse oneself in order to achieve ritual purity, today it can be used to mark any meaningful occasion or transition: the beginning or end of a marriage, conversion, a career change, finishing a treatment like chemotherapy, healing from an illness, celebrating a joyful milestone, or seeking to make a fresh start. As winter winds down and we approach a spring that will hopefully come with many opportunities for new beginnings, I encourage you to find an opportunity to reclaim this tradition and to consider a visit to the mikveh for yourself.
— Cantor Emma Lutz
Read more about mikveh here:
What is a Mikveh?
Mikveh at the American Jewish University