Another ancient tradition that comes up around a wedding is that of the Mikvah. It is a place of ritual immersion, a facility used by both men and women (at different times, of course) with a certain amount of fresh water. A woman goes before her wedding and after every period to immerse. This is a woman's mitzvah (commandment) and a very special one. As for men, many go daily or on Friday before Shabbat begins. And it is a Chabad tradition that everyone, men and women (regardless of where they are in their cycle) go prior to Yom Kippur.
But there is a lot of misinformation around the idea of Mikvah. Words like impure and dirty get thrown around a lot in English but the reality is, the word Tamei or טָמֵא in Hebrew is hard to translate to English. Many say "ritually impure" but that holds negative connotations. It truly is a "state change." Your body is in a place of change. I don't want to go into details here because I am sure not all of you are visiting this website for that reason, but please, trust me when I say... it isn't a state of "dirtiness."Moving on. The mikvah is a very special piece of preparing for the wedding. When a bride is eligible (having to do with her period) and as close as she can to her wedding day, she will go to the mikvah. Preferably, she goes with her kallah (bride) teacher and perhaps her mother. Leading up to this time, she is learning with a woman who teachers her all about the laws of taharat hamishpacha (literally: laws of family purity). Again... won't go into that here... email me at thehaykins @ gmail . com if you would like to learn more or be in touch with someone who can teach you these laws.Once at the Mikvah, the bride cuts her nails short, removes all jewelry and make up. According to tradition, there must be nothing between the woman and the water at any point of her body. No nail polish, no hair ties, no nose ring (ahem). Then she takes a shower to clean off. Once she is free of all dirt and sweat, she goes to the Mikvah. Mikvaot (the plural) these days are beautiful affairs. Stunning "get ready" rooms and tiled beautifully. Almost like a spa! The bride goes into the Mikvah room and walks into the water. There, she will dunk three times completely (there is an attendant in the room to make sure every hair is submerged) and say a prayer. Once she emerges, it is as if she is a new person... yet again, she has changed states. In the case of a bride, she has gone from an engaged woman to a queen... she is about to be married.Today, many women keep the mitzvah of the mikvah. Even women you would not expect. This is a powerful act that many women identify with.There are some technical things about a Mikvah, see this picture to understand just a piece of it:
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