11
votes
Why does water purify?
R Aryeh Kaplan in his beautiful book Waters of Eden (also part of his Anthology vol. 2) writes this is a chok (law without explicit reasons) and cites Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8
By your lives, a dead ...
- 54.1k
10
votes
Building a Mikva Upstairs
There is no Halachic issue
SA YD 201.7 Rema
הגה: מותר לעשותו על הגג ובלבד שלא יהיה תוך כלי או אבן אחת שחקקו ולבסוף קבעו אבל חבור אבנים הרבה לא מקרי כלי (תשובת הרשב"א סימן ת"ת):
Its allowed ...
- 23.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Difference between Chabad mikvaos and other mikvaos?
It's not politics (at least not purely); it's a matter of construction. Suppose you have a big pit in the ground that collects rainwater; everyone agrees that pit is a mikvah. Fine. Today, people want ...
- 136k
8
votes
Removing Niddah status without a mikvah
Shulchan Arukh (YD 201:1) writes:
אין האשה עולה מטומאתה ברחיצה במרחץ ואפילו עלו עליה כל מימות שבעולם
עדיין היא בטומאתה וחייבים עליה כרת עד שתטבול כל גופה בבת אחת במי מקוה
או מעיין שיש בהם מ' ...
- 101k
8
votes
Accepted
Aruch Hashulchan on municipality water for a mikvah
Aruch Hashulchan YD 201:169
ויש מקוות בערים הגדולות שבשם הולכים המים מהנהרות לכל בתי העיר דרך צנורות וסלונות תחת הקרקע בעומק ונקרא בלשון המדינה וואד"א פראוואדי"ן וממשיכין גם למקואות המים ...
- 42.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Did the Rama change a Minhag regarding Mikvah?
The Lev Haivri* writes when the Rema was accepted as Rav in Krakow, there had a strange Minhag in the city.
The morning after a woman went to the Mikvah, the Mikvah Lady’s husband,
wished the ...
- 13.4k
7
votes
Accepted
How does one create a mikvah in a region without precipitation?
Ohr.edu says that in an area where there is no rain, snow can be trucked in.
Putting snow in a mikveh and letting it melt is in fact one of the
methods sometimes used to fill a mikveh. I hear ...
- 140k
7
votes
Accepted
May one immerse in a body of water that was used for baptism?
A private mikvah used for baptism would be prohibited. As per BT Avodah Zarah p.58B and 59A, though, a body of water in the public domain cannot become prohibited, see discussion below:
ר"ל איקלע ...
- 5,437
7
votes
Accepted
Mikvah during UK COVID-19 Lockdown
This is the guidance issued by the United Synagogue.
The observance of Taharat Hamishpacha (the laws of family purity) is a fundamental mitzvah. Mikvaot remain open for women. Best-practice ...
- 1,981
7
votes
Can I convert a pool into a kosher mikvah (for wife)
Obviously, as you mentioned, you'll ask a specific shaila.
Here's a couple of issues for you to check out and ask:
1) how was your pool made? If it was a preformed concrete block which is placed in ...
- 3,011
7
votes
Can a woman stop going to mikveh if her husband doesn't care about it?
Having relations without first immersing in the mikveh is punished by kareit, which is a grave punishment (it also applies to violating Yom Kippur, Shabbat, idolatry, adultery, incest, etc.) The ...
- 54.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Can mikvah water become tamei?
Water in a Mikvah does not become Tamei. (Actually, Tamei water is the only food/drink which can become Tahor again, and this is by connecting it to a Mikvah (Mishna, Beitza 2:3).)
See the first ...
- 101k
6
votes
Accepted
Where are the 24-hour keilim mikvaot in NYC?
I just called Washington Heights Keilim mikvah. Located on Bennet Ave. between W. 185 St and W. 186 St. Manhattan.
Phone: 212 923 3582
The woman told me that the entrance is to the right of the ...
- 71.5k
6
votes
How many times should I make sure to dip when I toivel in the mikveh?
You should dip once, as the Rambam says in הלכות מקואות - פרק ראשון that somebody who dips more than once is behaving inappropriately.
The Kesef Mishne explains the reason: It looks like he's bathing ...
- 44.7k
6
votes
Accepted
What's the Conservative-level interpretation of mikveh requirements for a convert?
The Conservative movement requires immersion in a kosher mikvah, circumcision (for male converts), and evaluation by a beit din (a court of three). Immersion and circumcision require at least two ...
- 57k
6
votes
Accepted
Why does one need to go to the mikvah before writing a letter in the Torah?
As @DoubleAA wrote in the comments, this is not halacha, but a minhag brought by some, e.g., from here #2
"Ritual immersion on a regular basis (not just because of the decree of Ezra) is fitting ...
- 54.1k
6
votes
Embarrassed to go to mikvah
Find a distant Mikveh where nobody knows him and different hours
Find a real frum Mikveh - Haredi guys don't care at all
re-Consider the importance of going to Mikveh - it's not a necessity, not a ...
- 28k
6
votes
Embarrassed to go to mikvah
Go the ocean, which is as kosher a mikvah as they come, wearing a loose-fitting garment
- 5,437
6
votes
Embarrassed to go to mikvah
You ask:
How should I comfort him as a friend and tell it's importance?
Answer:
It's not important.
You ask:
Is there any solution for his problem?
Answer:
He doesn't have to go to the Mikveh ...
- 44.7k
6
votes
Why dunk three times in a mikva?
The Sefer Chasidim (siman 294) brings a source for this practice. Namely, that "tahor" is found three times in a passuk in Tanach that relates to the mitzvah of immersion.
The p'sukim are:
1)...
- 12.2k
6
votes
Is it possible to build a mikvah for personal use as an orthodox Jew?
The question seems to be not if it it theoretically possible to build a private mikva, but practically how to go about doing so. This is beyond the scope of a Q&A website, and that is not a new ...
- 3,560
6
votes
Accepted
How can a mikvah be kosher if rain water flows through it?
As mentioned in the comments, the Mikva already has 40 seah and the running rain water is in addition to that so it won’t make it passul. I’ve searched for a direct source for this on this Rambam and ...
- 13.4k
5
votes
A wife wants to stop going to the mikva. What does that mean for the husband?
You might explain it to your wife like this:
Judaism makes the most important things in life mandatory rather than optional. It is not optional for a Jew to pray. It is not optional for him to have ...
- 20.2k
5
votes
May one immerse in a body of water that was used for baptism?
To add to @Josh K’s excellent answer, the Shulchan Aruch paskens like that Gemara (YD 145:1):
כָּל שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ תְּפִיסַת יַד אָדָם וְלֹא עֲשָׂהוּ אָדָם, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁנֶּעֱבַד, הֲרֵי זֶה מֻתָּר ...
- 34.7k
5
votes
Can a man walk by a womans Mikvah
It is definitely true! However, there is no direct source (i.e., one that specifically says, "A man should not walk by a women's Mikvah.") This is just a derivation of modesty and privacy. A woman ...
- 71.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Does the Talmud discuss the origin of Mikvaot?
טהרות: מיכתב כתיבן לא נצרכא אלא לשיעור מקוה דלא כתיבא דתניא ורחץ (את בשרו) במים במי מקוה את כל בשרו מים שכל גופו עולה בהן וכמה הן אמה על אמה ברום שלש אמות ושיערו חכמים מי מקוה ארבעים סאה
Talmud ...
- 11k
5
votes
Accepted
Yalkut Yosef Mikveh
This is not a picture but its a quote from Bar Ilan. I hope that helps. If not, let me know and I'll take a picture of it.
ילקוט יוסף השכמת הבוקר סימן ד - מדיני בית המרחץ
צו. הנכנס לחדר מקוה האר&...
- 5,484
5
votes
Why does a convert receive bris milah before the mikvah?
R David Brofsky asks and answers your question in a series of lessons on the laws of conversion and circumcision (here) and brings different opinions
The Talmud (Yevamot 47b) teaches that after the ...
- 54.1k
4
votes
Is a bathtub a good mikvah on a Biblical level?
Following Rabenu Yitschak in Tosfot BB 66b (also reported in Tur YD 201), Rambam Yes, Following Rashi, Rashbam, Rabenu Tam, RaShBA baal Hatosfot, Rabenu Shimshon and Rosh, no. The Tur Siman 201 ...
- 23.1k
4
votes
Can I toivel in a mikveh two hundred times in one minute?
See my answer here regarding the problems with dipping more than once. But to address your question:
The Gemara in Chagiga 19a discusses what would happen if you had a Mikveh with precisely the ...
- 44.7k
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