Mikvah
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2008-07-14T08:12:13Z
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/* Conservative Judaism */ clarification
{{Teshuva}}
{{Judaism}}
'''Mikvah''' (or '''mikveh''') ({{Hebrew Name|מִקְוָה|Miqva|Miqwāh}}; plural: ''mikva'ot'' or ''mikves'') is a specific type of bath designed for the purpose of [[ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion|ritual immersion in Judaism]]. The word "mikvah", as used in the [[Hebrew Bible]], literally means a "collection" - generally, a collection of water.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>
Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain [[ritual impurity|ritual purity]] after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. Some, such as a [[Zav]], however require "living water,"<ref>Leviticus 15:13</ref> such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The ''mikvah'' is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water.
Its main uses nowadays are:
*by [[Jew]]ish women to achieve [[Niddah|ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth]]
*by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity (see details below)
*as part of a traditional procedure for [[conversion to Judaism]]
*for utensils used for food
In [[Orthodox Judaism]] these regulations are generally steadfastly adhered to, and consequently the mikvah is central to an Orthodox Jewish community, and they formally hold in [[Conservative Judaism]] as well. The existence of a mikvah is considered so important in Orthodox Judaism, that an Orthodox community is required to construct a mikvah before building a [[synagogue]], and must go to the extreme of selling [[Torah]] scrolls or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for the construction<ref>Berlin, ''Meshib Dabar'', 2:45</ref>. However, [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] regard the biblical regulations about ''ritual purity'' as [[anachronism|anachronistic]] to some degree, and consequently do not put much importance on the existence of a mikvah. Some opinions within [[Conservative Judaism]] have sought to retain the ritual requirements of a mikvah while recharacterizing the theological basis of the ritual in concepts other than [[ritual purity]].
Ancient mikvahs dating from before the late first century can be found throughout the land of [[Israel]] as well as in historic communities of the [[Jewish diaspora]]. In modern times, mikvahs can be found in most communities in Orthodox Judaism, and Jewish [[funeral home]]s may have a mikvah for immersing a body during the purification procedure (''[[Bereavement in Judaism#Preparing the body — Taharah|tahara]]'') before burial.
==Requirements of a mikvah==
The traditional rules regarding the construction of a mikvah are based on those specified in [[classical rabbinical literature]]. According to these rules, a mikvah must be connected to a natural spring or well of naturally occurring water, and thus can be supplied by rivers and lakes which have natural springs as their source<ref>[[Sifra]] on Leviticus 11:36</ref>. A [[cistern]] filled by the rain is also permitted to act as a mikvah's water supply. Similarly snow, ice and hail are allowed to act as the supply of water to a mikvah, as long as it melts in a certain manner<ref>[[Mikvaot]] 7:1</ref>. A river that dries up on a regular basis cannot be used because it is presumably rainwater which cannot purify while flowing. Oceans for the most part have the status of natural springs.
A mikvah must, according to the classical regulations, contain enough water to cover the entire body of an average-sized man; based on a mikvah with the dimensions of 3 [[cubit]]s long, 1 cubit wide, and 1 cubit deep, the necessary volume of water was ''estimated'' as being 40 ''[[seah]]'' of water<ref>[[Erubin]] 4b</ref><ref>[[Yoma]] 31a</ref>. The exact volume referred to by a ''seah'' is debated, and classical rabbinical literature only specifies that it is enough to fit 144 eggs<ref>[[Numbers Rabbah]], 18:17</ref>; most Orthodox Jews use the stringent ruling of the [[Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz]], according to which one ''seah'' is 14.3 litres, and therefore a mikvah must contain approximately 575 [[litre]]s<ref>about 3 [[Koku]], about 116 [[Maltese units of measurement|qafiz]], about 126 Imperial [[Gallons]], about 143 [[Burmese units of measurement|Burmese tins]], and about 150 U.S. liquid gallons</ref>. This volume of water could be topped up with water from any source<ref>Mikvaot 3</ref>, but if there were less than 40 seahs of water in the mikvah, then the addition of 3 or more [[pint]]s of water from an unnatural source would render the mikvah unfit for use, regardless of whether water from a natural source was then added to make up 40 seahs from a natural source<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>; a mikvah rendered unfit for use in this way would need to be completely drained away and refilled from scratch<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>.
There are also classical requirements for the manner in which the water can be stored and transported to the pool; the water must flow naturally to the mikvah from the source, which essentially means that it must be supplied by gravity or a natural pressure gradient, and the water cannot be pumped there by hand or carried. It was also forbidden for the water to pass through any vessel which could hold water within it, (however pipes open to the air at both ends are fine<ref>Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 201:36</ref>) as a result, [[tap]] water could not be used as the primary water source for a mikvah, although it can be used to top the water up to a suitable level<ref>Mikvaot 3</ref>. To avoid issues with these rules in large cities, various methods are employed to establish a valid mikvah, and tap water is made to flow over the top of this, and through a conduit into a larger pool.
Most contemporary mikvahs are indoor constructions, involving rain water collected from a cistern, and passed through a duct by gravity into an ordinary bathing pool; the mikvah can be heated, taking into account certain rules, often resulting in an environment not unlike a [[spa]].
==Reasons for immersion in a Mikvah==
===Historic reasons===
[[Image:Judenbad Speyer 6 View from the first room down.jpg|thumb|300px|Pool of a medieval mikvah in [[Speyer]], dating back to 1128 .]]
[[Image:Judenbad Speyer 3 First Room view.jpg|thumb|300px|First room in the medieval mikvah in Speyer.]]
Traditionally, the mikvah 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. The Torah requires full immersion
*after [[Keri]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 15:16|}}</ref> - normal emissions of semen, whether from [[sex|sexual activity]], or from [[nocturnal emission]]; bathing in a ''mikvah'' due to Keri is known as ''tevilath Ezra'' (“the immersion of [[Ezra]]”)
*after [[Zav/Zavah]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 15:13|}}</ref> - abnormal discharges of bodily fluids
*after [[Tzaraath]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 14:6-9|}}</ref> - certain skin condition(s). These are termed ''lepra'' in the [[Septuagint]], and therefore traditionally translated into English as ''[[leprosy]]''; this is probably a translation error, as the Greek term ''lepra'' mostly refers to [[psoriasis]], and the Greek term for ''leprosy'' was ''elephas''/''elephantiasis''.
*by anyone who came into contact with someone suffering from Zav/Zavah, or into contact with someone still in [[Niddah]] (normal [[menstruation]]), or who comes into contact with articles that have been used or sat upon by such persons<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 15:5-10|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 15:19-27|}}</ref>.
*by [[Kohen|Jewish priests]] when they are being [[consecration|consecrated]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus 29:4|}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus 40:12|}}</ref>
*by the [[Kohen Gadol|Jewish high priest]] on [[Yom Kippur]], after sending away the goat to [[Azazel]], and by the man who leads away the goat<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 16:24|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus 16:26|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus 16:28|}}</ref>
*by the Jewish priest who performed the [[Red Heifer]] ritual<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers 19:7-8|}}</ref>
*after contact with a [[corpse]] or [[grave]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers 19:19|}}</ref>, in addition to having the ashes of the Red Heifer ritual sprinkled upon them
*after eating [[meat]] from an animal that died naturally<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus 17:15|}}</ref>
Classical rabbinical writers conflated the rules for zavah and niddah. It also became customary for priests to fully immerse themselves before [[Jewish holidays]], and the [[laity]] of many communities subsequently adopted this practice. Additionally converts to Judaism are required to undergo full immersion in water.
R' Aryeh Kaplan in Waters of Life 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).
===In Modern Judaism===
====Orthodox Judaism====
Orthodox Judaism generally adheres to the classical regulations, and traditions, and consequently Orthodox Jewish women are obligated to immerse in a mikvah between Niddah and resuming sexual relations with their husbands. In accordance with [[tzniut|Orthodox rules concerning modesty]], men and women are required to have immerse in separate mikvah facilities in separate locations, or to use the mikvah at different designated times.
[[conversion to Judaism|Converts to Orthodox Judaism]], regardless of gender, are also required to immerse in a mikvah. All men are obliged by Orthodox Judaism to immerse before Yom Kippur<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', Orach Chayim, 581:4 and 606:4</ref>, and women often do so as well. In the [[minhag|customs of certain Jewish communities]], men also use a mikvah before Jewish holidays<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', Orach Chayim, 581:4 and 606:4</ref>; the men in certain communities, especially [[hasidic]] and [[Haredi Judaism|haredi]] groups, also practice immersion before each [[Shabbat]], and some immerse in a mikvah every single day. Although the [[Temple Mount]] is treated by many Orthodox Jewish authorities as being forbidden territory, a small number of groups permit access, but require immersion before ascending the Mount as a precaution.
Orthodox Judaism requires that vessels and utensils must be immersed in a mikvah before being used for food, if they had been purchased from a non-Jew.
=====Summary of contemporary immersion requirements in Orthodox Judaism=====
Except as noted, ''tevilah'' (immersion in a ''mikvah'') is required in contemporary [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] practice in the following circumstances:
*Women (obligatory in [[Orthodox Judaism]] and [[Conservative Judaism]])
**Following the ''[[niddah]]'' period after menstruation, prior to resuming [[sexual intercourse|marital relations]]
**Following the ''[[niddah]]'' period after childbirth, prior to resuming marital relations
**By a bride, before the day of her wedding
*Men
**Before a [[Jewish holiday]], according to the [[minhag|custom]] of some communities
**By a bridegroom, on the day of his wedding
**By a father, prior to the [[bris|circumcision]] of his son
**By a [[kohen]] prior to a service in which he will recite the [[priestly blessing]], according to the custom of some communities
**Weekly before [[Shabbat]], under [[Hasidic]] and [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] customs
**Every day (including [[Shabbat]] and [[Jewish holidays|Holidays]]), under [[hasidic]] and some [[Haredi Judaism|haredi]] [[minhag|customs]]
**Note: Although some communities continue to require rinsing or immersion in water after [[Keri]] (nocturnal seminal emission), a ''mikvah'' is not required and tap water can be used
*Either gender. Most communities follow the ruling of [[Maimonides]] that such immersion is no longer required.
**Before Yom Kippur (a widespread custom in [[Orthodox Judaism]])
**As part of a [[conversion to Judaism]] (obligatory in [[Orthodox Judaism]] and [[Conservative Judaism]])
**Before ascending the [[Temple Mount]] (among authorities which allow ascension)—requires flowing water
*Immersion of utensils acquired from a gentile (obligatory in [[Orthodox Judaism]])
====Conservative Judaism====
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 mikvah monthly following the end of the [[niddah]] period following [[menstruation]], while adapting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the period. The three responsa adapted 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 [[tamei| ritual purity]] is no longer considered applicable, and adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the niddah period. <ref name="RabbiIntro">[http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/docs/Mikveh_Introduction.doc Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz, Mikveh and the Sanctity of Family Relations, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006]</ref> <ref name="RabbiGrossman">[http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/docs/Grossman-Niddah.pdf Rabbi Susan Grossman, MIKVEH AND THE SANCTITY OF BEING CREATED HUMAN, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006]</ref> <ref name="RabbiReisner">[http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/docs/Reisner-Niddah.pdf Rabbi Avram Reisner, OBSERVING NIDDAH IN OUR DAY: AN INQUIRY ON THE STATUS OF PURITY AND THE PROHIBITION OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MENSTRUANT, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006]</ref> <ref name="RabbiBerkowitz">[http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/docs/Berkowitz-Niddah.pdf Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz, RESHAPING THE LAWS OF FAMILY PURITY FOR THE MODERN WORLD, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006]</ref>. [[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 mikvah, 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. Conservative Judaism does not require immersion during Jewish Holidays (including Yom Kippur), nor does it require immersion after Keri, nor the immersion of utensils purchased from non-Jews.
Although monthly immersion is formally required of Conservative Jewish women, the practice is not widely adhered to within the Conservative laity.
====Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism====
{{Unreferencedsection|date=May 2007}}
[[Reform Judaism|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 holy days. While most Reform Jews will probably never see the inside of a mikveh, there are many (particularly converts) who will fulfill the mitzvah at least once in their lives.
==Requirements during use of a mikvah==
[[Image:TBE-mikveh.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A contemporary mikveh at [[Temple Beth-El (Birmingham, Alabama)|Temple Beth-El in Birmingham, Alabama]].]]
The classical requirement for full immersion was traditionally interpreted as requiring water to literally touch every part of the body, and for this reason all clothing, jewellery, and even bandages must be removed; in a contemporary mikvah used by women, there is usually an experienced attendant, commonly called the ''mikvah lady'', to watch the immersion and ensure that the woman has been entirely covered in water.
According to rabbinical tradition, the hair counts as part of the body, and therefore water is required to touch all parts of it, thus meaning that braids cannot be worn during immersion; this has resulted in debate between the different [[ethnicity|ethnic groups]] within Judaism, about whether hair combing is necessary before immersion. The [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] community generally supports the view that hair must be combed straight so that there are no knots, but [[Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora|Black Jews]] take issue with this stance, particularly when it comes to [[dreadlocks]], and [[Sephardic Jews]] generally have wiry curly hair, which is difficult to comb. 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<ref name=Kitzure>Kolel Menachem, ''Kitzur Dinei Taharah: A Digest of the Niddah Laws Following the Rulings of the [[Rebbe]]s of [[Chabad-Lubavitch|Chabad]]'' (Brooklyn, New York: Kehot Publication Society, 2005).</ref>
==Allegorical uses of the term Mikvah==
The word ''mikvah'' is from the same root as the word for "hope" and has allegorically been used to refer to a hope in [[Hashem]]. In the [[Book of Jeremiah]], the word ''mikvah'' is used in this sense, with the mikvah's association with rain and "living water" being given a metaphorical purpose:
:''O Hashem, the [mikveh] of Israel, all who forsake you will be ashamed ... because they have forsaken Hashem, the fountain of living water''<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|17:13|}}</ref>
:''Are there any of the worthless idols of the nations, that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, Hashem our G-d, and do we not [nikvah] for you? For you have made all these things''<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|14:22|}}</ref>.
In the [[Mishnah]], following on from a discussion about Yom Kippur, immersion in a Mikvah is compared by [[Rabbi Akiva]] with the relationship between G-d and Israel. Akiva refers to the description in the Book of Jeremiah of G-d as the ''Mikvah of Israel'', and argues that ''just as a mikvah purifies the contaminated, so does the holy one, blessed is he, purify Israel''<ref>[[Yoma]] 85b</ref>.
A different allegory is used by many Jews adhering to a belief in [[resurrection]] as one of the [[Thirteen Principles of Faith]]. Since "living water" in a lifeless frozen state (as [[ice]]) is still likely to again become living water (after [[melting]]), it became customary in traditional [[Bereavement in Judaism|Jewish bereavement rituals]] to read the seventh chapter of the [[Mikvaot]] tractate in the Mishnah, following a funeral; the Mikvaot tractate covers the laws of the mikvah, and the seventh chapter starts with a discussion of substances which can be used as valid water sources for a mikvah - snow, hail, frost, ice, salt, and pourable [[mud]].
==See also==
*[[Niddah]]
*[[Ritual washing in Judaism]]
*[[Conversion to Judaism]]
*[[Ablution]]
*[[Mikva'ot]] - section of the [[Mishna]] discussing the laws pertaining to the building and maintenance of a mikvah.
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Mikvah}}
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=1541 The Mikvah], by Rivkah Slonim (Chabad.org)
*[http://www.mikvah.org/directory Global Mikvah Directory] (Mikvah.org)
*[http://www.aish.com/family/rebbitzen/The_Intimate_Road.asp The Mikvah: A Spiritual Experience]
==References==
* [[Charlotte Fonrobert]], ''Menstrual Purity: Rabbinic and Christian Reconstructions of Biblical Gender'',Stanford University Press, 2000
* Isaac Klein, ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'', JTS Press, New York, 1992
* Kolel Menachem, ''Kitzur Dinei Taharah: A Digest of the Niddah Laws Following the Rulings of the Rebbes of Chabad'', Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, New York, 2005
<br/>{{Jewish life}}
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[[Category:Bereavement in Judaism]]
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[[Category:Ritual purification]]
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