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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