Escorting the Bride

     We landed in Israel at 3:30 and by 7:30 I was on my way to Tel Aviv with my cousin Judith. Her eldest daughter, Rhea, is going to be married tomorrow, and so tonight she visits the Mikvah for the first time. It is considered an honor to escort the bride to her Mikvah, so we are going with her. Since Israeli's view everything as a possible party opportunity, several of Rhea's friends will be escorting coming. So we are bringing food and drink.
    Mikvahs  are the spiritual baths used by Jewish women and men. They  are considered so important that the mikvah was the first site constructed in ancient communities. Now they can be found in all Jewish communities, and there is one walking distance from Rhea's home.
    Just to be clear, mikvahs are not about physical dirt or connected to any concept of women being inferior or dirty. Jewish tradition, much like native American traditions, views some actions or situations as bringing us closer to life and G-d and some as pulling us away. A funeral, for example, brings us closer to death, as does surgery, child birth, menstruation and illness. The mikvah is a way to cleanse off the touch of lifelessness and purify our souls so that we are ready for sacred acts. A woman will go to the mikvah before her wedding in part to acknowledge the sacredness of this new time in her life.
     The mikvah is a pool of water fed in part by natural water, or an natural body of water, such as a stream or lake. In Tel Aviv the mikvah water is mixed with natural rain water and is lovely. I have heard tales of cramped and moldy mikvahs, but never seen one. Most of them now look like spas with a waiting room, a preparation room, the large mikvah pool itself (they must be at least 2 feet square and 6 feet deep, but most are larger), and a drying room. Here is some more information: Mikvah information
     This is a careful and meditative bathing time. The bride takes a shower and washes her hair, and my even soak in a bath tube. All the nooks and crannies are cleaned lovingly. The bride combs her hair so there are no tangles, removes all her jewelry and nail polish and scrubs her skin and brushes her teeth, and perhaps uses scented soaps. When she is relaxed and clean she wraps herself in a towel and walks into the room with the mikvah itself. A woman will help her check her preparations (did you clean under your nails and comb your hair?) and watch her while she "dunks" in the water.
     The tradition is to dunk three or seven times (family tradition varies) with prayers said before and after. Water must envelope the entire body, so the feet are lifted and the body is allowed to sink into the warm water. We go into the water the way we came into the world, naked and wet.
     This mikvah had marble floors and marble tiled walls. There was filtered water available, places for women to sit, and private preparation rooms. Rhea went into the water with her mother watching from the steps while the rest of us waited to celebrate with her. She came out smiling and "kosher," ready for her wedding.