Taking the Plunge

I had just arrived in Tzfat with my group of fellow ‘Birthright’ travelers. Our guide began to tell all of the guys that we are going to a mikva, the mikva of the Ari (Rabbi Issac Luria Ashkenazi)! My first reaction was, what the heck is a mikva….?

That summer day we made our way down the cobbled stone streets of Tzfat and soon approached the famous cemetery where such figures including Rabbi Yosef Caro composer of the Shulchan Aruch (Jewish Law) and the holy Ari, composer of many Kabbalistic works, are buried. At the time I was just any normal college guy that liked to party and drink and wanted to feel spirituality.

For those of our readers who don’t know what a mikva is, it is a body of water that holds roughly 200 gallons of natural rain water. Mikvas are used separately for men and women. A married woman ritually immerse herself after her monthly cycle, thereby permitting herself to her husband by Jewish law for physical contact. Men on the other hand can immerse in a mikva whenever they’d like to enhance personal holiness. Many do so to clean themselves of lewd thoughts and desires. Most men go before Shabbat to enhance the spiritual feeling of the day. There is also a widespread teaching to immerse if one had a seminal emission. Although our generation lacks the Holy Temple, when it stood men were required to immerse much more frequently due to the laws of purity which exist only when we have the Temple intact.

Our guide said that there is a legend that anyone who immerses in the mikva of the Ari is guaranteed to make a complete turnaround in their life and leave the bad behind and come closer to God. I was already interested in the idea of cleaning myself of the regretful memories that I had as a college hotshot.  As we approached the famous mikva we could hear Israeli music being played loudly, we knew we were getting close to something special. We drew closer to the entrance next to which a man was selling freshly brewed tea. I had no idea where I was or what was going on. All I knew is that every man that arrived to this area was extremely happy and undressed…. Something I was not used to at all.

We all started undressing in the changing area and proceeded to get in line to descend into the pit of water. One after the other everyone shrieked at the icy feel to the mikva. Some jumped in and just as quickly jumped out, others splashed incessantly. Some were overwhelmed by the experience of the chilly plunge while others cherished the occasion in utter joy. I myself was speechless after that, not because of the cold but for the newfound feeling that I had toward life. I was being given a second chance and felt a new beginning was being made. I felt a different kind of clean.

Since then I have found the mikva to be an essential part of my Jewish life. In my personal experience once you start getting into a routine of daily immersion, life becomes so much more pleasant. Your character is better, you have more patience, your income improves, you become less angry, it’s easier to guard your eyes, and best of all you feel closer to Hashem. When a person who immerses everyday suddenly misses a day or two of dunking, he can greatly feel a distance between himself and Hashem.

Immersion in the mikva is a huge Emuna enhancer. How? You can feel it! Many times we do mitzvoth but don’t necessarily feel the effect on our spiritual lives. But anyone who dunks can immediately feel a rush of spiritual pleasure upon leaving. You have to try it to understand. In addition it also helps in making a brand new start. As you go in you may be having regret for something you did, or maybe the previous day didn’t work out the way you wanted it to. Whatever the situation, you go under the water, hold your breath and just say to yourself “I’m beginning anew, once I get out I’m starting fresh.” Try it and see for yourself!!

There is also a wonderful Breselver acronym that a person can easily remember what he needs to do to have happiness, or simcha. שמחה

ש: Shulchan Aruch, the book of codified laws in the Torah, this book explains what a Jew needs to do from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to sleep. By knowing what a Jew is expected to do and how to act under different situations, a Jew can properly act within the guidelines of the Torah.

מ: Mikva. The mikva is what purifies the soul. It keeps it clean and helps a person reconnect, and recharge his spiritual battery. Many people go before Shabbat; lucky individuals actually go every day! The main idea as Rabbi Aharon HaLevy says, “Nike was right, just do it! And you’ll feel the difference.”

ח: Chatzot. This is the midnight prayer for lamenting the destruction of the Temple. Although mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch for every Jewish man to do this prayer, very rare individuals have the strength to wake up in the middle of the night and pray. Nevertheless, those who collect their strength give themselves an incredible opportunity to cleave to Hashem in the most spiritually enhanced hours of the day.

ה: HItbodedut, or personal prayer. This is the time where an individual can just talk to Hashem like He is their best friend. It is the time to express thanks, remorse and wishes for the future. It also allows a person to release all of their pent up stress and ask from God for the salvation they need.

The following are some tips and special teachings collected by one of Jerusalem’s most renowned yeshivas for kabbalists, Nahar Shalom.  The teachings come from the Ari as well as the Ba’al Shem Tov and are for those who are new to the mikva as well as for those who have been immersing for years:

1. Every time you go to the mikva, you should prepare in your mind that you are coming to purify your soul and to do the mitzvah of ‘coming back to Hashem’ (teshuva).  Mentally make a new beginning to leave the path of improper behavior in order to become a vehicle whereby you become a vessel of Divine abundance.

2. The word for Mikva in Hebrew is spelled מקוה , which also has the same letters as קומה which means to elevate. The message is that a man should pray that his immersion should lead to him to merit an elevation and rising in spirituality with his thoughts, words and deeds.

3. The word מקוה mikva, has the same numerical value as כעס which means anger. The intention is that the mikva has the power to cancel out a person’s natural reaction of anger in times of stress.  

With the following pieces of advice take it upon yourself and get a mikva membership. Try it, it’ll change your life! G-d Bless You!