Mikveh (Ritual Bath)

According to the Mayyim Hayyim website, ritual immersion is an ancient part of Jewish tradition, noted in the Torah and in later Rabbinic commentaries. Today, there are only a few cases where immersion is still designated as a mitzvah, or an act required by Jewish law: for converts to Judaism, for brides, and for women observing niddah, the practice of immersing monthly following menstruation.

 

 

 

Mikveh has also been used for other purposes throughout Jewish history: for example, by men prior to Shabbat and the holidays, by women in the ninth month of pregnancy. At Mayyim Hayyim, people are welcome to immerse to commemorate a wide variety of transitions and occasions: prior to reading Torah for the first time, before or after surgery, on the occasion of being ordained a rabbi, or becoming a grandparent, or reaching the age of 40, or 50, or 85.

Mikveh is the Jewish ritual that symbolically enacts this kind of profound change for individuals. The mikveh pool recalls the watery state that each of us knew before we were born; the ritual of entering and leaving mayyim hayyim, living waters, creates the time and space to acknowledge and embrace a new stage of life.

 

MASSACHUSETTS MIKVAOT 

Mikveh Daughters of Israel 
101 Washington Street
Brighton, MA 02135
617-782-9433

 

Lubavitch Mikveh 
239 Chestnut Hill Avenue
Brighton, MA 02135
617-782-8340; 617-562-0141; 617-254-8240

 

Mikveh Chaya Mushka 
9 Burlington Street
Lexington, MA 02421
617-787-2667 or 781-862-6626

           

Mikveh Israel 
1104 Converse Street
Longmeadow, MA 01106
413-567-1607 or 413-736-1009

 

Montefiore Mikveh 
36 Academy Drive
Lowell, MA 01851
978-459-9400 or 978-458-8797            

 

Mikvat B'not Yisrael 
151 Ocean Street
Lynn, MA 01902
617-595-0080
http://www.ahabatsholomlynn.org/mikvah 

 

Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center 
1838 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02466
617-244-1836
http://www.mayyimhayyim.org/ 

 

Chevrat Nashim: Mikveh Org, South Shore 
9 Dunbar Street
Sharon, MA 02067
781-784-7444

 

Worcester Mikveh 
4 Huntley Street
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-6483 or 508-752-7749       

 

Mei Menachem Western Well Community Mikvah 
159 Boden Lane
Natick, MA 01760
508-647-4855
http://www.chabadnatick.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/897092/jewish/Mei-Menachem-Mikvah.htm 

 

This is not a fully exhaustive list but it does reflect the diversity of mikvaot in our community.  Please let us know if any of these mikvaot no longer exist, or if there are others we should add.