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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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