OUR COMMUNITY

T

he new Lahser Road Mikvah is now 
under construction. Members of 
Young Israel of Southfield (YIS), 
Chabad and Southfield officials celebrat-
ed at a groundbreaking ceremony on 
Wednesday, Aug, 16, at the new mikvah site 
in Southfield. 
The new structure is located at Bell 
and 11 Mile roads across the street from 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek. While the 
original plan was for a Lahser Road loca-
tion — hence the name — this was not 
possible due to local zoning rules.
Project planning began in 2017, but 
COVID and inflation, which doubled 

the original estimated costs, caused some 
challenges and delays. However, as Rabbi 
Yechiel Morris of YIS stated, the volunteers 
behind this project were committed to cre-
ating a new mikvah.
“
A mikvah is the foundation of the fam-
ily, and the family is the foundation of the 
community,
” he said. Women in the com-
munity had used a mikvah in the Akiva 
(now Farber) Hebrew Day School building 
on 12 Mile Road for years. However, Rabbi 
Morris said that this facility was not ideal, 
and he had believed for many years that a 
new mikvah was needed. Then that mik-
vah was closed due to construction of a 

new school building. As a result, women 
in the community had to use a mikvah in 
Oak Park — a long walk on holidays and 
Shabbat when driving is prohibited for 
Orthodox Jews. 
In 2017, Rabbi Morris convened a meet-
ing of 40 YIS congregants, hosted by Cherie 
Levi and her husband, Noah Levi. The 
group viewed the mikvah as very import-
ant for YIS members and essential for the 
continued growth of the community. A 
nonprofit corporation was established for 
fundraising and operations. 
Cherie Levi took on the position of pres-
ident of the Lahser Road Mikvah Board of 
Directors with help from Marla Zwas, a YIS 
member and lawyer. Levi said that while 
she lacked experience with such a project, 
she was committed to building a “halachi-
cally kosher and aesthetically pleasing mik-
vah.
” Levi researched mikvah construction, 
learning that it is very complex to meet 
rabbinic standards. 
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver was support-
ive and encouraged Levi along the way, tell-
ing her about mikvahs that he had visited 
on trips to Portugal and Morocco. A first 

continued on page 50
48 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023 

Community members gathered Aug. 16 to break ground on the new mikvah that has been years in planning.

Construction Begins 
for Lahser Mikvah
After five years of planning, 
ground is broken in Southfield.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER 
PHOTOGRAPHY BY YEVGENIYA GAZMAN

