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

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