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24 | MARCH 19 • 2020

don’
t have a mikvah, they don’
t want to
move here.
”
At that time, Levi and her husband, Dr.
Noah Levi, were approached by Yechiel
Morris, their rabbi from YIS, about helping
to plan for a new mikvah. They assembled
a board of volunteers, met with members of
the City of Southfield Planning Commission
and engineering department, obtained a
variance to rezone the area chosen for the
mikvah for religious usage and prepared
designs for approval.
The mikvah board is all women, a point
of pride for Levi. “There have been instances
and complications when men were involved
with running a mikvah,
” she said in a fol-
low-up email. “When we put the board
together, I envisioned that since this is a
woman’
s mitzvah, the organization should
be run by women. Who can design a mik-
vah better than someone who uses it?”
After researching options for building
the mikvah into the basement of an existing
structure, they decided on new construc-
tion. Fundraising efforts began as soon as
property was located.

RAISING FUNDS
The mikvah group is comprised largely of
YIS members and has relied on guidance
from Morris, but it is not a project of the
synagogue.
Instead, they formed the nonprofit Lahser
Road Mikvah LLC, a 501(c)3 organization
in September 2017, with a goal of raising

$900,000 in tax-deductible donations.
Building the mikvah itself is projected to
cost up to $600,000; the remaining funds
would be directed to an endowment to sup-
port operating costs. More than $400,000
has been pledged to date.
The mikvah’
s home at 22960 W
. 11 Mile
Road was purchased with $150,000 cash.
The corner lot is approximately half an acre
in size, allowing for possible future expan-
sion.
A small fee will be charged for use of the
mikvah.
The group hired Southfield-based archi-
tectural and engineering firm Diclemente
Siegel Design. They are working with Rabbi
Zeev Rothschild of Lakewood, N.J., who
also oversaw the previous Southfield mikvah
as well as Mikvah Israel, to ensure the hala-
chic (Jewish law) properties of the mikvah.
The group also consulted with Rabbi
Michael Baum from Mikvah Israel
and Nancy Milstein of Detroit’
s Jewish
Federation security team.
The project awaits the completion of
engineering, architectural and landscape
drawings needed to begin demolition of
the current building. Next, a builder will be
hired, and construction will begin. In the
meantime, the structure is being used for
mikvah meetings.

WHO AND WHAT?
Upon completion (construction and
completion of the project are dependent

on donations and pledges), Lahser Road
Mikvah will be the fourth mikvah in the
Detroit area. Bais Chabad Community
Mikvah and the mikvah at Temple Israel
are both located in West Bloomfield. Other
mikvahs in Michigan include Mikvah Israel
of Ann Arbor; Lubavitch Mikvah in Flint;
and Mikvah Mei Menachem Lansing in East
Lansing.
The main area of the Lahser Road
Mikvah will be for women only, to be used
for their observance of ritual family purity.
Plans for the mikvah are to offer a bou-
tique experience that is both spiritually
and physically rejuvenating. The exterior
will boast parking, security, lighting and
landscaping; the building design with offer
privacy as well as disability-accessible, high-
end preparation rooms with spa-like fixtures
and amenities inside.
The new mikvah will be open seven days
a week and will be available to those in
neighboring communities.
It will also have a keilim mikvah, for the
immersion of new dishes and utensils before
their use in a kosher home. It will be open to
all Jewish women in the community, but will
not be used for conversions.
Some mikvahs are also used for circum-
stances not required by Jewish law, like fol-
lowing a divorce or medical treatment, or to
celebrate a new job.
“Given the very limited size and staffing
in our plans, we currently do not anticipate
broader uses for the mikvah,
” Levi said.
“Fortunately, the Detroit Jewish community
has the option of using Temple Israel’
s mik-
vah for such occasions.
”
Hunny Khodorkovsky and Southfield
neighbor Leah Brateman recently organized
a project for children in the neighborhood
to make, package and sell baked goods that
raised $800 in donations for the mikvah.
“Having a mikvah isn’
t only for those
who use it,
” Khodorkovsky said. “It will
attract more families and will help grow our
Jewish community.
”
Levi hopes for more unique fundraising
events to help support the mikvah.
“We are reaching out to all members of
our community, with the opportunity to ask
questions to understand the scope of the
project and feel connected,
” she said.

For information, email: lahsermikvah@gmail.com or
call Cherie Levi at (248) 752-3324. Donate through
Quickpay by Zelle using lahsermikvah@gmail.com as
the identifier, or send a check to Lahser Road Mikvah,
22334 Chatsford Circuit Road, Southfield, MI 48034.

Jews in the D

Leah Brateman (back left) and Hunny
Khodorkovsky (front right) in the kitch-
en with the mikvah fundraising bake
sale group.

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