18 | JULY 15 • 2021 

LAHSER ROAD MIKVAH

OUR COMMUNITY

T

he new Southfield mikvah has 
taken a major step forward with the 
upcoming demolition of a house on 
its planned site at 11 Mile and Bell roads. 
Now, the land will be graded and prepared 
for construction of the new 
Lahser Road Mikvah.
Planning and fundraising 
for the mikvah, located in the 
Young Israel of Southfield 
(YIS) neighborhood, began 
in 2017. Approximately 50 
Jewish women in the area have 
had to travel to Mikvah Israel in Oak Park 
since the mikvah in the Farber Hebrew Day 
School Building in Southfield was demol-

ished for construction of a new school 
building. That mikvah, originally part of 
Beth Achim Synagogue, had been operated 
by Young Israel for more than 20 years.
The lack of a nearby mikvah was a sig-
nificant inconvenience on Sabbath and 
holidays when car travel is prohibited for 
Orthodox Jews. The Southfield women who 
used the Oak Park mikvah had to stay with 
friends nearby, postpone their mikvah visit 
until after the Sabbath or holidays, or walk 
four to six miles from home.
In addition, a mikvah is a central part of 
an Orthodox community and community 
members believe that having one nearby 
would help to recruit more new families 

to the area. About 40 Jewish families from 
other states and Israel have moved to the 
Young Israel of Southfield neighborhood — 
the 11 Mile-Lahser area — during the past 
six years, according to Cherie Levi, presi-
dent of the all-women mikvah board and 
chair of its building committee.

COMMUNITY EFFORT
A group of community members support-
ed the idea of building a new mikvah and 
undertook a needs assessment and survey of 
mikvah users in in 2017. Levi explains that a 
nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation was estab-
lished to build and operate the new Lahser 
Road Mikvah. She then began scouting the 

Southfi
 eld building site is prepared 
for Lahser Road Mikvah.

One Step
Closer to a
New Mikvah

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cherie Levi

Local women look 
forward to having a 
nearby mikvah.

A rendering of the new mikvah

LAHSER ROAD MIKVAH

