New Mikvah ‘Crown’ of Jewish Community

Boynton Beach, FL — With its mesmerizing murals, soft lighting and plush towels, this oasis exudes the luxurious atmosphere of a top-notch spa.

But this exquisite haven is different: It’s Boynton Beach’s first mikvah, a ritual bath for Jewish women.

On Sunday, with shouts of mazel tov reverberating through the air, about 100 people celebrated the official opening of the 1,000-square-foot, $500,000 facility at the Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Boynton.

“And now, we have the crown, the main pillar of our community, with our mikvah, the community’s mikvah, Judaism’s mikvah … It’s a monumental milestone event,” said Rabbi Sholom Ciment, Chabad’s spiritual leader and executive director.

Named the Mei-Menachem-Young Family Mikvah, in honor of congregants and primary benefactors Deborah and Evan Young, it’s Palm Beach County’s third. The others are in Boca Raton and North Palm Beach.

“Let us truly rejoice knowing that our community has given birth to a sacred necessity for any Jewish community,” Evan Young told the crowd. The Youngs, the parents of two young boys, dedicated the El Clair Ranch Road building to their deceased parents.

While brides-to-be and postmenopausal women partake in the intensely private ritual, it is primarily used by married Jewish women who immerse themselves at nightfall, seven days after their menstrual cycle ends. After the ritual, couples can resume relations. It is believed that this reunion holds the highest potential for sanctity in marriage.

Despite its relaxed spa-like atmosphere, the rules are strict: Before entering the pool where they will be fully immersed, women must prepare themselves, which includes brushing and flossing their teeth (unwaxed floss only), removing glasses, contact lenses, jewelry and nail polish, washing their hair (no conditioner), cutting and cleaning their nails and removing any protruding splinters, anything that could prevent water from touching every part of their body.

The “resplendent” mikvah is designed “to make a woman feel comfortable spiritually and like a queen,” Ciment said in an earlier interview. “It’s a woman’s time alone with God.”

With a burgeoning Jewish population of more than 50,000 in the Boynton Beach area, the mikvah will fill an important void in the community, Ciment said. He hopes women who have never experienced its transformative powers will visit.

“This will be an oasis of peace and a bastion of blessings for thousands of women who will use this life-transforming body of heavenly water,” he wrote on the temple’s Web site.

For Batsheva Stander, the mikvah is a godsend.

“As a Jewish woman, it is one of the most important mitzvos (commandments) I can do,” she said.

Although the blissful ambience is calming, there is much more to the experience, she said. “It’s not to make you clean like a bath would, it’s to bring you closer to Hashem (God). For me, going there gives me a feeling of closeness with Hashem.”

“It’s magnificent,” declared Phyllis Struhl. “And it’s going to be so much more convenient than going to the one in Boca. I live three minutes from here.”

For the men touring the mikvah, it was bittersweet. Although some men use mikvahs at times, including prior to the High Holy Days, this one is for women only.

“They need to build something like this for the men,” one quipped.