Mikveh

The mikveh is a pool (literally, a “gathering”) of water from a natural source. While the Temples stood, to gain entry into the Temple, to partake of certain sacrifices, or for a couple to be intimate — among other reasons — Jews tried to maintain a status of ritual purity. While there are different kinds of ritual impurity and as many processes to regain a status of ritual purity, immersion in a mikveh, a ritual bath, is an important element in the purification process. Today, the practice of immersion in a mikveh is used to mark life transitions, conversion to Judaism, to ready oneself for Yom Kippur, before birth, and as a central element in the observance of the laws of niddah (the practices surrounding menstruation, intimacy, and ritual purity).