My First Mikveh

At a Jewish retreat a few years ago, I was with a group of women at a pool. We thought of the pool as our mikveh. The Mikveh is traditionally used by women to cleanse themselves after their monthly cycle. Recently, women and men are using the Mikveh to immerse themselves at other lifepoints, such as before a wedding, after a divorce, or any other important time to mark its significance. At the retreat, we immersed three times. Each immersion was done fully, slowly, and deliberately. The first dunking was to cleanse ourselves of the residue of the week, which we focused on during the time we were under the water. The second immersion was to be in that middle place, betwixt and between the week and Shabbat, with no expectations, preparing ourselves to receive the blessings. The last dunk was to fully open up to the blessings of Shabbat and the Shekhinah. The experience was remarkable; my lungs and heart opened wide, my brain quieted, and I was fully open to the Shabbat experience.