events, provide comfort in times of
Ironically, Chabad is building
tragedy or healing after recovery
a mikvah an hour away, as is the
from disease or abuse. People are
local Reform synagogue, "so Orange
creating new mikvah rituals to mark
County will go from no mikvahs to
the onset of menopause, the end of a
three in one year," he says.
marriage or going to college or Israel.
Although Linson himself is deeply
Even in small Jewish communities,
committed to the project, which he is
the mikvah trend is taking hold.
funding himself, he doubts whether
Libby Bottero of Eugene, Ore.,
his community is behind him.
and her husband, Joseph, built their
"A number of people are against it;
own mikvah four years ago, follow-
they think it's anti-woman:' he says.
ing directions given in the Artscroll
"To men, it's a very feminine ritual
book, Mikvaot.
that has been perverted. If it's made
"It's small, but it's something," she
to be nice and wonderful, for men
says. "We wanted to be empowered to
and women it can be a spiritually
build our own, for who we are," she
uplifting ritual that you carry with
says.
you for a long time."
"It's great that there are places like
Some liberal mikvahs are built by
1\ilayyim Hayyim, but even in a small
single donors like Linson, who hope
their passion for the ritual will gener- community you can do this," Bottero
says. "The more mikvahs the better,
ate community support.
so everybody has a choice, and it can
But that doesn't always happen.
become a normative part of Jewish
The 3-year-old Reform mikvah in
life?'
Ithaca, N.Y., was funded by one gen-
erous woman, but volunteer atten-
Keri Guten Cohen, JN story development
dant Marlaine Darfler acknowledges
editor, contributed to this story.
that hardly anyone uses it.
"It's hugely underutilized; the edu-
cation is not there:' she says. It's used
now and then for conversions, but the
only regular visitors are Darfler and
the other mikvah ladies, who use it to Storytellers At Retreat
Rabbi Chava Bahle and the Or Tzafon
observe family purity laws.
Retreat Center will hold a weekend
If this non-Orthodox mikvah
retreat Oct. 27-29, with Reb Yitzhak
hadn't been built, Darfler wouldn't be
Buxbaum, a Jewish inspirational
observing this traditional ritual.
speaker and storyteller.
She felt "uncomfortable" in the
The theme will be "Mystic Breezes
local Orthodox mikvah, she says.
in the Garden of
"Only when it felt comfortable and
Eden: The Essential
did
I
begin
to
use
it
regularly."
mine
Teachings of Jewish
That often happens, others report.
Mysticism."
Once a liberal mikvah is built and
Rabbi Buxbaum,
Reform and Conservative rabbis start
who specializes
using it for conversions, they begin
in mysticism and
referring their congregants for other
Chasidic tales, will
reasons, particularly before marriage.
Buxbaum
offer his teach-
It's also a good outreach tool.
ings in conjunc-
"Mikvah attracts Jewish people
tion with his wife,
who are not otherwise connected:'
Carole Forman, a
says Penelope Oppenheimer Kieffer,
storyteller, actress
former head of the mikvah at the
and dancer.
University of Judaism. "People come
The retreat, at the
before their wedding, or because
Inn at Watervale
they've adopted children, and they
in Traverse
don't belong to a congregation.
Forman
City, begins at 5
"That gives you an opening to
p.m. Friday and concludes at 2 p.m.
invite them to a support group, or a
Sunday. Prices are $360 to $460. For
class. It could be a staging ground
information, contact (231) 929-4330
for them to make their way into the
or ortzafon@aol.com .
larger Jewish community."
After they're built, interest increas-
es, and conversions, which were
expected to provide most of the cus-
tomers, end up providing about half.
Growing numbers of visitors come
to these mikvahs to celebrate lifecycle
❑
May the blessings of
family and friends
strenghten our resolve to
strive for peace and security
in the New Year.
asaC iia
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
Brenda and Mark Goodman
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
David, Angie, Kyle & Gran Biel
We wish our family & friends a very
healthy, happy and sweet New Year.
Alexander and Gabriella Karp
September 21 . 2006
89