What is "mikveh"

n. (context Judaism English) A ritual bath in which various Jewish purifications are performed.

Mikveh or mikvah (, mikva'ot or ( Yiddish) mikves, "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is employed in its broader sense but generally means a collection of water. Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. A person was required to be ritually pure in order to enter the Temple. In this context, "purity" and "impurity" are imperfect translations of the Hebrew "tahara" and "tumah", respectively, in that the negative connotation of the word impurity is not intended; rather being "impure" is indicative of being in a state in which certain things are prohibited until one has become "pure" again by immersion in a mikveh.

After the destruction of the Temple, the mikveh's main uses remained as follows:

• by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth before she and her husband may resume marital relations;
• by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity (see details below);
• as part of the traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism;
• to immerse newly acquired utensils used in serving and eating food.

Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. However, some impurities, such as a zav, require "living water," such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing, as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The mikveh is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water.

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