Mikveh

A mikveh (pronounced [/ˈmik.ve/]; Hebrew: מִקְוֶא, romanized: miqveʾ, lit. 'a gathering [of water]'; pl. mikve'ot or mikvot) or mikvah (IPA: [/miqˈwaː/]) is a bath used during ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.

In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered to; consequently, the mikveh is central to an Orthodox Jewish community. Conservative Judaism also formally holds to the regulations. The existence of a mikveh is considered so important that, according to Halakha, a Jewish community is required to construct a kosher mikveh even before building a synagogue, and must go to the extreme of selling Torah scrolls, or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for its construction.

Etymology

Formed from the Semitic root ק-ו-ה (q-w-h, 'collect'). In the Hebrew Bible, the word is employed in the sense of "collection", including in the phrase "וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם" (ū·l·miqwê ha·m·má·yim, lit. 'And to the gathering of the waters') in Genesis 1:10, as well as in similar usages in Exodus 7:19, and Leviticus 1. Ben Sira, in the Jewish apocryphal Book of Sirach 10:13 (and at other points in the text), is the earliest author to use "מִקְוֶה" as a word for "pool", and the Mishnah is the earliest source to use it in the sense of "ritual bath".

History

There are no existing written records or archaeological evidence of specific Jewish ritual cleansing installations prior to the first century BCE. Mikvot first appear in the historical record in that century, and from that time, ancient mikvot are found across the Land of Israel and in historic Jewish communities worldwide. Hundreds of mikvot from the Second Temple period have been discovered so far across the Land of Israel, including in Jerusalem, Hebron, Masada, and Hannaton.

The lack of dedicated mikvot before the 1st century BCE is notable, especially since many early Jews did follow purification laws, as shown by the accounts recorded in 1 Samuel 20:26 and 21:5; 2 Samuel 11:4; and 2 Chronicles 30:15 and 30:24, as well as the Elephantine papyri and ostraca.