What Is A Mikvah?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- JewintheCity.com and MikvahCalendar.com answer: What's a mikvah? Who goes to it & why? (click "more" for rest of credits)
Director of Photography: Elie Gabor elie@eliecreative.com
co-special effects by Elie Gabor and Jack Kamhaji craftv.com
clothes by Junees.com
stylist Sharon Langert fashion-isha.com
makeup: Jenna Hanley jennahanley.com and Bleema Weinstein / bleemasheadquarters
music by: Shalsheles "Esah Einai"
wig stylist Suzannah Luchins nechama31@gmail.com
production assistants: David Khabinsky, Lisa Dolan, Annie Dolan
Thank you to the Teaneck Mikvah for allowing us to film there!
My mom went to a Mikvah before she married my father, and when she was trying to conceive. I plan to do the same thing. Most people in my community usually go to the Pacific Ocean for their Mikvah because they are converting. It’s very beautiful and can’t wait to fulfill this deed.
We mentioned in the script itself that there's no makeup 7 we filmed hands without polish. But my face was already made up for filming & it's not like I was ACTUALLY preparing for a dunk! We got to that scene & I was thinking about the emotion on my face, concentrating on the blessing, but no one (at the time) thought of taking my makeup off. But, thank God, of all the things to go wrong, it's pretty minor IMO and we're very happy with how the video came out overall! :)
I love the idea of the Mikvah. It's like a physical and spiritual spa day. Beautiful.
My pleasure! Look-I wasn't raised Orthodox & I was convinced that women were 2nd class citizens before I became religious, but my experiences overall in the community in over 15 yrs have been so positive & I've seen so much respect for women. I've met a couple jerks along the way-but those are jerky pple, not the religion. And going on my 12th anniversary, I can tell you, the power of the mikvah rhythm makes a husband (in most cases) long for his wife and her for him. It's truly incredible.
Ty for this beautiful video.
It's a great question! The community fund raises to get it built usually. And annual fund raisers are usually held after its built, in order to keep it running. And then there is a fee to use it, just like synagogues have fees for membership. The range is (depending on the country and mikvah) is usually between $5-$20 per visit. HOWEVER, for anyone who couldn't afford this, they wouldn't be turned away.
why don’t you make more vids like this??? they’re so informative, fun, and highlight the beauty of the customs and traditions of Judaism
We have a bunch more. Look at our myths and misconceptions section.
I just found your channel by accident and I'm so glad I did, because your videos are so inspirational. I live in Brooklyn, and have been religious all my life, but your explanations of the different things we do as Jews make me appreciate the mitzvohs, as opposed to just doing them by rote. Your insight is a great example of the way the internet can by used in a positive way. I will definitely telling all my friends about this channel!!!
I can definitely see that, and I can see the appeal of the mikvah, for sure! Thanks for the informative and well produced videos. I think you're doing a very important thing here. And I appreciate your approachability and willingness to engage in positive discussion as part of your outreach. Todah rabah!
I love your videos!!! They are so educational. I am a huge fan!!
I kind of wish I could do this. It sounds like a very pretty ceremony.
I am a Catholic who is studying Religions in College vary closely. I am focusing on my own Catholic Faith and it's relation to the Jewish Faith. I have a informative speech coming up, on Jewish life. XD and I am SO glad I found you!
Thanks! This video and the last video had clothes sponsored by Junees. Sharon Langert of fashion-ishadotcom was the stylist. But I buy clothes in real life at all different places - just keep my eye out for long enough skirts/sleeves and grab them when I find them
These are great questions! A man is required by Jewish law to marry - a woman is not, but once a woman marries, she (like a man) is obligated to have children. Homsexuality is a whole different discussion - it's an important one - but there's no room for a proper answer here. But you did hit something on the head - Judaism believes that men & women are different. My sister, who was far more into feminism in the academic sense (she minored in it) than I ever was, also became religious & for (cont
actually, there's a rabbinic prohibition for unmarried women using the mikvah (other than in the case of converting).
her the difference in genders was a big issue. She had been part of a world which said that no differences were inherent but were instead societal constructs. She didn't think either side could ever be proven 100% one way or another, but the Jewish learning and observing she was doing was so meaningful, she decided she'd accept the gender role model and she's been living very happily as an Orthodox Jewish woman ever since then. For me the difference have always been obvious-of course there are
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Wait I just found this channel and I AM OBSESSED!!!
Amazing job in explaining a ritual that is unfortunately viewed as repressive. Your videos provide much needed illumination to areas of our heritage that are misunderstood in today's society. If I had made my video on circumcision as awesome as yours I probably would not have had as many negative comments.
Wow...you answered so many questions I had but didn't know who to ask. Nice video and tastefully done.
Thank you JITC!! I LOVE your mission of bringing us these Jewish keys. I'm always left SOO enlightened. I recommend you to my Christian friends for elucidation on many things we take for granted in our faith: the roots of our faith. :) Please, DON'T STOP! :)
Good question! We didn't think of it at the time! These videos are tons and tons and work and we try to get everything as perfect as possible in them, but that was, unfortunately, an oversight.
There was only so much I could include in vid, but I wish I had also said that 1 of the most important mitzvos a person can do is mais mitzva- burying a dead person-b/c she can never repay u. But any1 who touches a dead person also has a lowered state of holiness. It's an effect of coming into contact with a void of life. I don't see it as a negative-I see it as a certain reality of the cyclical nature of a woman. The moon waxes and wanes-is that a negative? Going down allows a chance to go up.
Couples who observe this commandment actually have two beds which they push together and separate depending on the time of the month. This commandment only applies to married women.
So that's the new Teaneck Mikva! I haven't been there in almost a decade (before the new building) and even then, it was only for the men's hours on Erev Rosh Hashana and Erev Yom Kippur. Women's Mikvaos are getting more and more posh.
These "OLD" Jew in the city videos were awesome, it's a shame that you stopped them.
We did the hair covering one a year ago. We’re not filming anything now. But we have more plans to whenever coronavirus lets up.
Love your videos. I wish I had something like this that gives me hope and a fresh start . Please make more video. Can you educate us on what it means to keep kosher
it's one at a time, very private and discrete.
Thank you for your videos! I'm glad I found your channel. After my trip to Israel I wrote an album about spiritual New Age Judaism. The CD sold over 500,000 copies in French and Hebrew. While I don't identify as religious any longer I also enjoy the celebration of life daily. Washing my hands and other rituals.
Thanks for clearing that up! Love these videos - both entertaining and educational!
It's truly sad that in such a spiritual place the Mikvas in Israel are not as nice as they are here. When I was there for a month one summer with my family I tried two Mikvas highly recommended in Jerusalem and they were both really poorly maintained and well, kinda icky. Israeli people, collect some money and build some beautiful mikvas!!
that is such a beautiful life. Great Job on the show! G-d Bless!
Once again, I appreciate this beautiful response. Even though my meaning is different, I really respect you and admire your work. Thanks for engaging in earnest. It's been a real pleasure. Can't wait to see the next video, too.
:) I only thought of it because that's like the biggest part of preparation!
I am not jewish, but I love Jew in the city! It is an amazing resource of education!
not all mikvahs are this nice! there are many simple ones. mikvah at its most basic level is about rebirth, being enveloped completely as you consider God's presence totally surrounding you - not to mention the impact it has on one's marital life. mikvah can be a deeply moving experience - it is NOT simply a trip to a spa!
i luv this. used to live by the mikvah nr leicester road, mancs. x.
Thanks and I do know Sephardic women who wear sheitels. There's a pretty well known Sephardic sheitel macher in Flatbush who's married to a rabbi and wears a sheitel.
I think this is now my favorite video, b/c I learned something new & interesting w/ it. So, the woman emerging from the mikva waters is like the primordial Earth emerging from the primordial waters? Thus she becomes symbolically like Mother Earth, ready (in potentia, in theory) to receive new life. It is a very beautiful image.
Now the primordial waters were gathered into seas, so would ocean water qualify for a mikva? My veggie garden wouldn't think it "living waters, but the fish like it.
I absolutely love your videos!!
I have a question: I'm sefardic, not engaged or even dating, but will I be aloud to wear a sheitel once iy"h I get married?
Thanks!!
Teaneck, NJ. someone's gotta build them like that, then!!
I have the feeling that this isn't like my grandmother's mikvah. I would like to add that my husband went into the Arizal Mikvah (men do it too!) when we were in Sfat and he complained that it was frigid!
I have a strange and somewhat tacky question. Does going to the mikvah cost money? Who pays for this luxurious mikvah? It really is beautiful!
our mikveh in Baltimore is like a spa, too.
What a beautiful mikvah! Where is this located
also - I love your stylish and modest clothing.
Sure! I'm a thoughtful and friendly gal! ;) So a post-menopausal woman who has dunked in a mikvah remains in the higher state indefinitely. A non-pregnant woman has the higher status after she dunks. I see the differences between men & women to be a positive thing - I embrace the stuff that makes me uniquely womanly. I think it's an amazing opportunity we get to have renewal each month - that there's a Jewish law that is so connected to our rhythm.
just for fun! if you want The Big Bang Theory, the blond character, Bernadette, kind of talks like that. just a way to change up the character a bit.
Okay, I think you just answered my question -- so the attendant stays in the room with you the whole time? Don't you want some privacy?
Thanks for the profound explanation, and for sharing.
Why is the woman in the beginning of the video ( asking what a mikveh is ) sound like Snow White in the seven Dwarfs?
BIG BANG THEORY . THAT IS BERNADET FROM BIG BANG THEORY PERFECT.
What happens if someone can't afford this experience?
They can go for free.
Was there a problem during Covid?
Where is this mikvah? It looks amazing and nothing like the one where I live.
+Chana Kornfeld Teaneck, New Jersey
Hey that is me at 4:29! Video is great, keep 'em coming.......
Where do lesbian women, infertile women, and women who simply do not want children fit into this world? I can just about see your point about religious Judaism valuing women as a form of feminism, but it seems the entire value rests on rigid gender roles. That's just not something most of us want to buy into, having finally gotten a taste of liberation after 100,000 years of patriarchy, with its involuntary marriage and motherhood.
Outstanding ( and quite laxurious lol ) glimpse into the Hasidic world . Beautiful :-)
thanks! but for the record we're not Hasidic. Hasidim are a type of Orthodox. we're a different type.
Please forgive my ignorance. Which school of Judaism are you following ? I asumed Hassid because of the sheitel :-) Hachem bless you . Mizrahi women usually cover with a scraff now am little confused lol
dc003864 many non-Hasidic women wear wigs. i wear lots of different head covering depending on what looks best with my outfit that day! i'd call myself centrist or right wing Modern Orthodox
Exellent tank you
Jew in the City now that's what i called a educational experince.
Looking forward to that spiritual experience of renewal
Yeah, I will of course do that, but I just questioned myself if you had an idea about that, or if you know any sefardic women that wear sheitels?
(Btw I adore your sheitel...!)
Please do more videos on mikvahs! And also I work at a place where many orthodox jewish people come and whenever they see a dog they flee the room in fear & try to climb the wall (not kidding) why are most Orthodox Jews not found of dogs?
Gerim (both male and female) also get this special time to immerse in the Holy Waters and leave them with a whole new relationship with HaShem!
I'm pretty sure mikvahs don't usually look like hotels, but I've only ever been in one once, and that was when I was five...
Wait, so the bathing lasts only a few minutes? It seems like it would be nice to spend a bit longer spiritually with God than just a few minutes.
Rose Singer the preparation process can also be a time to pray. but the dunk is sort of like being "reborn" so that process is quick and then a few moments to speak to God about what's on your mind.
Good luck on your speech!
I love Jew in the city
How much would this cost every month?
Depends on the location. Fancier ones might be $20 but they never turn anyone away who can’t afford it.
I learned something new today.
Bernadette from Pasadena! 😂😂😂
Is the Mikvah free or does it cost money to attend?
it costs money for upkeep (in Israel I paid $5, in the NY area more like $15-$18) but if a person doesn't have money for it, they can go anyway
Jew in the City
Is it supported by temples? How can they stay operating for those costs?
Philo Sophia the communities support them. if a community only has money for a mikvah or a synagogue, a mikvah comes first.
It's interesting that my seven year old daughter asked me today, "How come only men go to a mikvah?" I tried to explain to her that this is NOT the case, but would like to show her this. Would you agree?
mikvas in israel do NOT look like that. where is that??
I like jew in the city
You sleep in separate beds from your husband when you have your period and the week after... is this correct?
I do not mean to imply that I demean your choices. I support the right of all women to choose or reject marriage, motherhood, heteronormativity, marriage, the nuclear family, whatever. But the tendency of traditional religious systems to push all women into a narrow definition of womanhood based on these conventional choices definitely rubs me the wrong way, whether it be Jewish or any other religion. And, yes, I know about ketubot, Jewish women's rights to sexual pleasure and divorce, etc.
Are women considered impure?
no - we made a video on the topic th-cam.com/video/YUlfjvIC5sQ/w-d-xo.html
CORRECTION: not known much about it till today.
Thank you for all your amazing video clips and especially this one.
Was wondering what difference between Hassidic and Orthodox you were referring to.
According to my knowledge, Hassidic is a variation of Orthodox Judaism. I don't think there is a difference between all flavors of Orthodox Jews when it comes to Mikvah.
I might be wrong about this, please enlighten me.
They're the only ones who NEED to. There's no rule against unmarried women using one.
on a sidenote...great eyebrows!
Can Gentiles use a mikvah?
thanks! in terms of the sheitel - speak to your rabbi! :)
Lowered state of holiness? Hmm . . . God made Eve from his rib, not his foot. Men and women are equal in he eyes of our Creator so how can we be less holy?
Chassidus men go before Shabbos.
I am an israeli orthodox yeshiva bal tshuvah... I know what goes in the mind of a secular person, and your videos are definetely a cure for this "anti" thoughts.
I like Jew in the city
hi pretty lady
i want to ask you can a muslims enter this places to take a mikveh?
I'm a guy, is this what all women's mikvahs look like?!
Are Jewish men required to ritually purify their bodies every month, too?
If so, how?
If not, why?
Men are not so required because of the simple biological reality that men do not menstruate.
Long ago, the practice was for men to immerse after a seminal emission, but this was not a Torah law like women's monthly immersion is and it is no longer our practice.
Many men are in the habit of going to the mikvah at different times, such as daily, weekly (before Shabbos), annually (before Rosh Hashana), etc. But this is a voluntary practice.
A sofer (scribe) immerses in a mikvah when writing a Torah scroll.
Jack Abramowitz
Thanks for the reply. Some men do however the men aren't required to unless writing Holy text.
I don't mean to draw out the conversation too much, but in modern times we know why women menstruate biologically. I know the Torah says one thing, unclean, but is being biologically a woman mean that they inherently are unclean by G-d's nature?
I mean, tradition and fundamentalism in many different religious customs regularly have the woman as the subjected and the man as the dominate. I guess circumcision is one example of how a man is subject to strict doctrine, custom and religious law... are there any other customs that men are the subjected and are there any customs that allow the women to be dominate?
Again, thanks.
"Uncleanliness" is such a poor translation because it carries cultural baggage. I prefer the term "spiritual impurity" but even that doesn't really have the nuance of the Hebrew, which is not judgmental in the way that terms like "unclean" and "impure" suggest.
There are many types of spiritual impurity, caused by such diverse things as touching a dead lizard to being in a funeral home. Some of these are because of biological processes, like menstruation. Accordingly, some forms of impurity are unique to men and others are unique to women.
Most forms of ritual impurity are not observed today because (a) they have no practical impact since no one is eating tithes or other sanctified foods and (b) we can't get rid of them without the Temple anyway. (Example: I am ritually impure because I have been to funerals. I can't get rid of corpse impurity without the red heifer, but it makes no difference because I can't bring a Passover sacrifice anyway (which this form of contamination precludes).
Menstrual impurity is the only form of impurity currently observed. This is not because girls are icky. It's because it (a) has a practical impact (the couple cannot be intimate) and (b) it can be gotten rid of (through a mikvah).
If we lived in Biblical times, people would see menstrual impurity as just one in a list of many types of impurity that Jewish life includes. Because it happens to be the only one we are currently able to observe, people read an anti-feminist message into it that really isn't there.
Jack,
Thanks for the reply.
Generally not. Ezra enacted such a thing called "baal keri," and the Mishna talks about it at some length, but it was never universally adopted and is no longer practiced. (Under this principle, a man who had an emission couldn't pray or learn Torah before immersing in a mikvah. This is potentially limitless - half the yeshiva could be running to the mikvah every day - which is far more impractical than what the Torah requires of a woman once a month.) As noted above, scribes immerse before writing.
So... non-pregnant women have a "lower state of holiness," eh? Methinks this gave the game away despite all the protestations that there's nothing misogynist about taharat hamishpacha. I say this as someone who finds many aspects of Judaism quite beautiful, sensible, and positive, including immersion in a mikvah for spiritual purposes. But not niddah.
yes, only married women immerse in a mikvah.
yes, but there is nothing like getting to reunite with the one you love after you've been forced to be apart. it's pretty incredible!
I love Jew in the city
This is the the Teaneck, NJ mikvah, but there are SO many beautiful mikvahs around the world these days.
So beautifully explained!
You have a right to these questions and opinions. I guess I don't see Judaism as just another "old fashioned religious system," I see something so unique about our history, everything we've been through- a need to keep it going for my kids. My goal here isn't to tell anyone else what to believe or how to live, it's to show what it means to me and if anyone wants to learn more for herself, help her get the tools to do it. I can't make my meaning someone elses only talk about what this does 4 me.
thanks! great question! the mikvah water covers the body up to the chest for most people and while we're saying the blessing/praying we wrap our arms around our waist to separate the lower half of the body from the upper half b/c you're right - nudity and prayer normally don't mix! but being surrounded by the water as you pray can feel as though you're being enveloped can be very spiritual if you think of yourself as naked and vulnerable and God's presence fully surrounded you
I wish Non-Jewish individuals were allowed into the Mikvah. The many reasons behind it are wonderful and healing/spiritual for all, not just those of Jewish faith. It'd be cool if other religions had something similar, or just the same darn thing. Baptism doesn't compare.
Of course men and women are equal in God's eyes! This isn't a woman thing - it's a death thing. Whenever anyone (man or woman) comes into contact with a dead body, the person's spiritual status lowers. It's because life is the holiest thing there is in Judaism, so a vaccum of life creates a temporary lowered state of holiness. This does not speak to the value of the person being exposed to the dead thing, but rather Judaism's view of life and death.
Wow! Thanks so much! The truth is that my original intention in starting JITC was to show the non-Orthodox world about Orthodox Jews, but it's such a wonderful surprise that we're able to inspire the FFB crowd too! thanks for helping to spread the word!