Mikvah Musings

Hanna Griff-Sleven

Citation

Griff-Sleven, Hannah. “Mikvah Musings.” New York Folklore, vol. 35: 1-2, 2009. pp. 26-27.

Summary

The Friday before my wedding in November of 2007, I drove to Mayyim Hayyim, a new-style mikvah, or ritual bath, in Newton, Massachusetts. Accompanying me were my sister Lois and one of my oldest friends, Roz, who had flown in from Seattle for the event. Mayyim Hayyim (Living Waters) was founded by Anita Diamant of Red Tent fame. She had once visited a mikvah and been underwhelmed by the experience. She knew that there had to be a reason why this tradition of dunking oneself had persisted through the millennia. It couldn’t just be about purifying oneself for one’s husband. There had to be more.

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