Chabad of Boca Raton Dedicates New Mikvah

Almost a year after its planned opening in January, the Chabad of Boca Raton dedicated its mikvah on Sunday.

“We were waiting for rain,” Rabbi Moishe Denburg joked. Fresh rainwater is a key component that must be mixed with tap water, according to Jewish texts. “We were waiting for some final touches, some final finishes,” Denburg added.

“We know that a mikvah is essential to Jewish family life and ongoing intimacy between a husband and wife,” Denburg said.

“Many Hasidim have become accustomed to going every day,” he said, believing that immersing in the waters of the mikvah can bring about a “mystical rebirth.”

Women (and men) also use the mikvah prior to marrying. Men visit the mikvah before the start of Yom Kippur. It also is traditionally used for conversion to Judaism and to immerse utensils used in serving and eating food.

Denburg said the mikvah is particularly important for the Chabad of Boca Raton because observant women may not be able to travel to the mikvah at Boca Raton Synagogue or to the Chabad of Boynton Beach.

“A mikvah is the foundation of Jewish family purity,” said Chaya Gopin, 24, of Boca Raton who is Denburg’s daughter. “Without it, a Jewish family cannot survive or happen,” added Gopin, who has been married for 10 months.

Using the mikvah is a wonderful experience, she said. “Physically, it looks like a spa. You can pamper yourself and get out of the house.”

Dina Kranz, 35, of Boca Raton said she has been going to a mikvah since before her marriage 14 years ago. “It helps the marriage stay strong and that’s why I go,” she said. Going to the mikvah and abstaining for almost two weeks “brings excitement to the marriage,” she added.

She said her husband goes to the mikvah at Boca Raton Synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Kranz said she feels that she is perpetuating Judaism’s customs and traditions when she visits the mikvah. “I feel very special when I do it. It feels more of a spiritual experience when you do it every month. My soul is being pure. I feel inspired by the experience. It’s a very personal thing between you and God.”