Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 14B THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE February 14, 1986
Business and Personal
Life • Group • Health • IRA
Annuities • Pension Plans
DAVID L. HALPERN
3575 Lenox Rd.
Suite 700
262-2560
dim
The meaning of a mikva
Nfl" 16 . D l°v» P e s vcitifS
to br< ^rtVrn epU X |t T i ' fl nc£0* c,,IS
party in^Z t ri^‘ ng
and a "pQ^TNGSP|C^
oi^ o /n Discount
25 /°^“*rs s
We a\so otter
aC omP^ ie
selection ot
u a "fes’s6'^’ Bat
h0 1 Jr tzvah
s%"trr a
and
on any I™.' items .
except sale ^ 1986
P er cramming’ “““ r ,; e s.t l
m ono&( a ”\ yQUt patties v +
eve
r ytbin6
Name Droppers
394-4505
Perimeter Mai
We usually think of water as
a cleansing agent. When we
think of purification and
cleansing in the spiritual sense,
we also use water as the purify
ing agent. It is the special status
of the mikva that allows us to
cleanse ourselves spiritually, as
well as bodily.
If we look into the Torah
carefully, we find that the
mikva has a deeper signifi
cance.
The Torah tells us that the
first step in the consecration of
Aaron and his sons as Kohanim
involved immersion in a mikva.
Here, immersion did not in
volve “purification,” but rather,
a change in status — an eleva
tion from one state to another.
The immersion in ritual puri
fication involves the same con
cept. The water is not washing
away any filth. Rather, the
mikva is changing the indivi
dual’s spiritual status from that
of Tomen (unclean) to that of
Tabor (clean).
The most dramatic example
of this change of status is in the
case of conversion. Here again,
there is no question of unclean
ness or purification, but merely
a change in status. As the Tal
mud states, “as soon as [the
convert] immerses and
emerges, he is like a Jew in
every way.”
How does immersion in a
mikva change a person? This
can best be understood on the
basis of another Talmudic
teaching, that “a convert who
embraces Judaism is like a new
Cp
T£l£lt7£ foXECTZI...
the beauty,
love and splendor
of the single most important
day of your life.
SAVE $ 225°°
on photography and video
for your wedding
Visit Williams Photography booth at the Civic Center Bridal Show, Feb. 15, for your chance
to win free flowers from Charlene’s and a Honeymoon Trip!
CSffilliams
^hotog-aphv
Williams Photography offers you a
custom-designed wedding package, no
minimum order, and reasonable rates.
Purchase of our services brings you a free
16" x 20" Florentine Finish color wall por
trait ($195.00 value).
1114 Pirkle Road • Norcross, GA
(404) 923-7800
the
Wedding Video Specialists
appearing in The Southern Israelite
since 1984
Save $60.00
on Wedding Video
This Coupon is Worth $25 Off Any
Service, Plusl Free Copy Worth $35
876-6993
iituuitnunHMiiumtiifoaMHut
■
.
:
'J ,
■
'
p
(111 :|!i
iliilitll
Mikva in the basement of the
pentras, France.
born child.”
Emerging from the mikva is
very much like a process of
rebirth.
Seen in this light, the mikva
represents the womb. When an
individual enters the mikva, he
is reentering the womb, and
when he emerges, he is as if
born anew.
This is particularly true in the
purification from ritual un
cleanness. A baby enters the
world in complete purity, and
there is no way in which he can
be defiled while in the
womb. Thus when an individ
ual enters the mikva, he leaves
all uncleanness and Tumah
behind, and emerges as a new,
purified person.
In a sense, water represents
the womb of creation. When a
person immerses in the mikva,
he is placing himself in the state
of the world yet unborn, sub
jecting himself totally to
God’s creative power.
We can also see this in a more
prosaic manner. When a person
immerses himself in water, he
places himself in an environ
ment where he cannot live.
Breath is the very essence of life,
and, according to the Torah, a
18th century synagogue of Car-
person who stops breathing is
no longer considered among
the living. Thus, when a person
submerges himself in a mikva,
he momentarily enters the
realm of the nonliving, so that
when he emerges, he is like one
reborn.
To some degree, this explains
why a mikva cannot be made in
a vessel or tub, but must be built
directly in the ground, for in a
sense, the mikva also represents
the grave.
The representation of the
mikva as both womb and grave
is not a contradiction. Both are
places of non-breathing, and
are end points of the cycle of
life. Indeed, the Hebrew word
Kever, which usually means a
“grave,” is also occasionally
used for the womb. Both are
nodes in the cycle of birth and
death, and when a person
passes through one of these
nodes, he attains a totally new
status.
We therefore see that immer
sion in the mikva represents
renewal and rebirth.
Excerpted from “ Waters of
Eden" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.
Lasting Memories
you’ll be proud of...
Photography for weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvas,
and all special occasions
^ Aiquc
OSU
^UUffiosu/ies
Michael Weiss
438-1768