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A mikvah pool and adjoining bathing room at the Rehavia mikvah.
Underground Scene At
Jerusalem Mikva'ot
1875 S. WOODWARD • BIRMINGHAM 48011
1 Block North of 14 Mile
644-0525
NOW AT
"The Practice Tee"
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Transfer Movies 8mm-16mm to VHS or Beta
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3017 N. W oodward
(3 Blks. Sou th of 13 Mile)
R
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-6, Fri. 10-8
CAM E RA Daily
CENT-WON
BUY—SELL—TRADE
70
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1991
288-5444
LESLIE GOTTESMAN
Special to The Jewish News
INDOOR GOLF
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WZP S/Sam my Avn is an
Dellini. The Ultimate expression in child care.
TREND
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ARRIVING
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Orchard Lk Rd at Lone Pine Rd
851-3223j
0
n a tour of Jerusalem,
no guide would take
you there. There's lit-
tle likelihood that the most
adventurous of travelers
would ever chance on one.
Virtually a secret of
Jerusalem, the vast network
of mikva'ot (ritual baths) are
out of sight, but for the
religiously observant popula-
tion, not out of mind.
The source of ritual immer-
sion is in the 12th chapter of
the book of Leviticus in which
women are mandated to
cleanse themselves from a
state of "ritual impurity?' Ac-
cording to Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin, Dean of the Ohr
Torah network of educational
facilities, the cleansing pro-
cess is not directly connected
to a physical state but to a
cyclical period of symbolic or
actual loss. It follows a sym-
bolic mourning period — the
loss of a possible life that
comes with menstruation.
The prevalence of mikvah
facilities in Jerusalem is no
modern phenomenon. During
both the First and Second
Temple periods, more than a
quarter of a million Jews
would bring their first fruits
or animals for sacrifice at the
Holy Temple before the three
pilgrimage holidays of Suk-
kot, Shavuot and Passover. In
each instance, the worship-
pers were required to im-
merse themselves in a ritual
bath, hence the necessity of
constructing innumerable
mikva'ot in the vicinity of the
Old City — many of which
still exist today.
Designed according to
precise specifications, the
mikvah itself looks like an
oversized bathtub with steps
leading down to it. It is filled
about four feet deep with ci-
ty water that flows through
an adjoining storage bin con-
taining water from a natural
source, such as rain. The
point at which the heated
water is funneled between the
two pools of water is called
haneshika or "the kiss!' At
some mikva'ot, like the one in
the modern Jerusalem neigh-
borhood of French Hill, only
rainwater is used in the
mikvah, as well as supply
pools. In the mikvah pool
alone, that represents 1000
liters of what's referred to as
mayim hayim, or water in its
natural state.
The waiting and
make-up rooms are
well-appointed
with angled
mirrors and
attractive marble
walls.
Nearby are dressing rooms
with bathtubs or showers for
preparations, storage spaces
filled with bathing supplies,
a waiting room and areas for
drying hair and applying
cosmetics. In one of the
newest facilities, a tearoom
has been added and prepara-
tions have been made for a
beautician and cosmetologist.
All are open for use through-
out Jerusalem only after
sunset, seven days a week,
when ritual immersion is per-
missible and the mantle of
nightfall enfolds the women
attending in secrecy.
It's no wonder that the
presence of mikva'ot in
Jerusalem is a secret. The
buildings in which they are
housed are intentionally