W

hen it’
s finally built
in the coming years,
many who drive
by the Lasher Road Mikvah in
Southfield will, in all probabil-
ity, have no idea what it is or
why it’
s there.
But for members of the
nearby Modern Orthodox
community — already enticing
newcomers with kosher food
options, vibrant synagogue life
and Jewish day schools — the
presence of a mikvah (ritual
bath) will fill in
“the critical miss-
ing piece” for those
considering a
move, according to
Cherie Levi, pres-
ident and building
committee chair for the group
planning the construction.
In keeping with the Jewish
laws of family purity, observant
women must immerse them-
selves in the mikvah to end a
monthly time of separation
between a husband and wife
— from the onset of menstrua-

tion and for seven days after its
end — during which time they
refrain from physical intimacy.
The immersion process is con-
sidered a mitzvah.
The Southfield Orthodox
community is anchored by
the Young Israel of Southfield
(YIS) synagogue. For about 20
years, members of YIS operat-
ed a mikvah inside the former
Congregation Beth Achim
building on 12 Mile Road in
Southfield, continuing after
what is now Farber Hebrew Day
School moved into the facility.
When the mikvah was
demolished in 2017 for con-
struction of Farber’
s new build-
ing, the 50 women who had
been using it were left without a
nearby mikvah. Since the dem-
olition, the women have made
a nearly 4.5-mile trek by foot to
Mikvah Israel in Oak Park, the
next-closest mikvah. That has
created new difficulties for the
community.
“Because immersion takes
place after sundown, on

Shabbat or Yom Tov when she
may not drive, it would require
the woman to walk in the dark,
”
Levi said. “In the summer,
nightfall is so late she would be
walking home after midnight.
In the winter, it is very cold to
walk over an hour with wet hair.
“The only other options are
to wait, which is contrary to
Jewish law, or to stay with a
family in Oak Park for mikvah
night, which really detracts
from important elements of
confidentiality, modesty and,
most importantly, the oppor-
tunity for a married couple to
re-unify following the days of
imposed separation prior to
immersion.
”
Levi added that the mikvah is
especially important for women
trying to conceive.

INFLUX OF YOUNG FAMILIES
In the past five years, 36 families
have moved to the Orthodox
neighborhood at Lahser and
11 Mile, recruited by YIS
members who have attend-
ed the recurring Orthodox
Union’
s International Jewish
Community Home and Job
Relocation Fair in New York.
Through a campaign
spearheaded by Dr. Howard

and Michal Korman and Ari
and Monica Fischman, all of
Southfield, newcomers are
helped with welcoming incen-
tives, including loans, jobs and
home location assistance. The
cost of living, easy commute,
active Modern Orthodox syn-
agogue and nearby Jewish day
schools are attractive to many
families from out of state.
But the lack of a convenient
mikvah is a struggle. “The mik-
vah is a fundamental prerequi-
site to a community and really
should take place before build-
ing a synagogue,
” Fischman
said.
In fact, according to Chabad.
org, “Jewish law states that both
a synagogue and a Torah scroll
may be sold to raise funds for
construction of a mikvah.
”
“The growth we have seen
has been without having one,
and I would only assume with
one our growth will continue
— and possibly at an even faster
rate,
” Fischman said.

“I know of people who have
visited here, looking for a place
to move,
” said Southfield res-
ident Hunny Khodorkovsky,
whose husband, Daniel, is
mikvah fundraising committee
chair. “But when they hear we

Group works to attract Orthodox families
to the Southfi
eld area with a new mikvah.

22 | MARCH 19 • 2020

The Missing Piece

Jews in the D

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Architectural design
of the proposed
mikvah

Cherie Levi

LAHSER ROAD MIKVAH LLC

continued on page 24

000_DJN031920_JD Lashser Road Mikvah.indd 22
000_DJN031920_JD Lashser Road Mikvah.indd 22
3/16/20 2:13 PM
3/16/20 2:13 PM