to know when you go to the
mikvah," she said. "You,
your husband and the
mikvah lady."
Many women come with
a friend. Mrs. Michlin sug-
gests women run through a
checklist to make sure they
don't forget anything
before entering the
mikvah.
"You build a trust with
women when doing this,"
she said. "You wind up see-
ing each other at your most
vulnerable. But few women
mind. When you come in,
you're wearing a towel. A
woman emerges with a
towel held in front of her.
Everything is done with
the utmost modesty."
Mrs. Michlin said she
took classes to learn the
laws and rationale behind
mikvah.
"I didn't grow up re-
ligious and it was all new
to me," she said. "I knew
this would be tough. You
can't wake up one morning
and be frum (religious)
Mikvah has to be a united
effort. Just because the
wife is going to the mikvah
doesn't mean the husband
is off the hook. He should
understand everything she
is doing and make an extra
effort to be supportive dur-
ing this time."
Sheldon, who never
thought his wife would go
to the mikvah, waits home
eagerly on nights she does
go.
"I still remember the
first time she got back from
the mikvah" he said. "I
swear, she had a different
look on her face. I was sit-
. ting in the house waiting
for her. I was watching TV,
but not really concen-
trating. I was zeroed in on
what she was doing and
why."
"For us, the period of
physical separation has
kept the sex in our mar-
riage new and exciting,"
Anne said. "We've found
new ways to communicate
CLOSE U P
Jewish law casts no asper-
sions on the physical side of
menstruation," she said.
"Nor does • it view the
physical restrictions as a
way of ostracizing women
or taking away their- self-
esteem. Mikvah elevates
women to something other
than sex objects. And it has
nothing to do with hygiene.
You have to be perfectly
clean before you go in."
Immersion requires
thorough physical prepara-
tion. The process, called
chafifah, involves rigorous
bathing and personal body
inspection. There can be no
chatzitzot, substances that
prevent total body contact
with the waters of the
mikvah.
A woman bathes and
washes her hair the eve-
ning of her immersion. She
has spent the last seven
days checking herself to
make sure there is no trace
of menstrual discharge. If
she discovers a ketem, or
stain, she may have to
count seven days again.
When a woman is ready
for mikvah, she removes
her clothing, all make-up,
nail polish, jewelry and
contact lenses. With the
assistance of a female
attendant, she immerses
herself and makes a Heb-
rew blessing.
"Lots of women prefer to
begin their preparations
while still at home," said
Sara Michlin, the "mikvah
lady" or attendant at Bais
Chabad in West Bloom-
field. "That's fine, but the
mikvah is always stocked
and equipped for women
who need or want to do
everything here."
Mrs. Michlin, like
mikvah ladies everywhere,
stands watch and makes
sure every part of the
woman's body is covered by
water. She also schedules
appointments so no two
women use the mikvah at
the same time.
"Only three people need
Pushkas, or charity
boxes, are often
placed inside
mikvaot to
encourage tzedakah.
and comfort each other
when we can't touch. It's
not easy, and sometimes
we slip up, but I wouldn't
turn back."
For centuries, wherever
Jews have lived, they have
kept taharat hamishpachah
and built mikavot. The obser-
vance of mikvah is so vital,
the Torah requires its con-
struction to precede the
building of a synagogue or
purchasing of a Torah
scroll.
Even atop the ancient
Roman fortress Masada,
where 2,000 years ago a
few hundred Jews held out
against the Roman army,
mikvaot were built. Ar-
cheologists, discovering
these mikvaot more than
20 years ago, found them
exact to biblical . specifica-
tions.
There are at least four
mikvaot in metro Detroit.
Two are owned and
operated by Lubavitch; one
is run by Mikvah Israel in
Oak Park and a fourth is
housed at Congregation
Beth Achim in Southfield.
A mikvah is not a glo-
rified bathtub or whirlpool.
It's a gathering of water.
The word mikvah literally
means collection. They are
usually built adjacent to or
inside a synagogue. It's
usually a little room, dimly
lit, with a small staircase
leading into the mikvah
water. A. kosher mikvah
must contain a bor, or pit,
which is filled with natural
rain water. The water must
enter the bor in as natural
a setting as possible. Under
certain conditions, spring
water or melted ice may be
used.
In most mikvaot, water is
heated. Water is either
changed nightly or
chlorinated.
The pit must hold 40
se'ah, a biblical mea-
surement equivalent to
about five gallons of water.
"When I'm
in the water,
it's like I
have a direct
channel to
God."
Beth
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
25