Behind the Mikvah: An Intimate Look at the Spa for the Soul

your cells our new Mikvah for sure is a spa for the body you won't believe it if you haven't yet seen it and you'll ask the book of attendance the feedback they get every night an average of more than 20 women using it a night from throughout the community whose lives are elevated whose homes are Sanctified by the axis of our Mikvah countless men every morning Eric Shabbos using our men's Mikvah it's a spa it's Magnificent the design the functionality the beauty it's a spot for the body and that's beautiful and it's lovely and it elevates the experience that makes it more beautiful and more exciting to be there but the mix is much more than just the spa for the body the Mikvah is a spa for the soul you know the only thing that's as holy is Yom Kippur that's as powerful as prayer and that is the secret of the sanctity and the Holiness and the Shalom the peace in marriage is the Nick from is the next one Israel someone who's tummy somebody is a pure somebody who's had contact what is contact with the death of potential the loss of potential tumma is when a person is down and out in down trial it's hope it is when a person feels despair tell them it is when a person feels distanced Tama is when something a hope a dream a life is unrealized it's unfulfilled conception doesn't take place and just like the Nicholas and the tires the Nick foe it purifies it lifts up it transforms it elevates that person whose Day on an hour and feels distant and despair it feels hopeless and helpless Africans really the essence of the Nicola experience is to make contact with the Divine is to feel hashem's love and his support it's not like a coin of the blind explains on a Kurdish bar who purifies a Jew he did the same way that Mikvah does the Nick the only works if you're entirely immersed in it nullified and surrendering to it if there's one hair if there's one air that's sticking out from the Mikvah it doesn't matter how hard the person prepared it doesn't matter if there's no other a barrier on the body it doesn't matter how clean and perfect the water it doesn't matter how logically appropriate the mixva if there's one hair is emerging from the Mikvah and the person is now purified a person has to be entirely immersed to submerged surrendering similarly a relationship that coach borrowed to the emotional to the almighty that you has to be totally immersed in their relationship with Hashem surrendering to Hashem and relinquishing it nullifying their own sense of self to Hashem and the power the transformational power of the Mikvah is that a person comes and practices the ultimate nullification when a person enters the lake for a man or a woman a Jew or a person who will momentarily become a Jew they come before God the way they were created there disrobed they come before God there's no inhibition there are no layers they come before God there's no security or protection there is no costume there's no Mass there's no personality there is nothing but the essence of who they are they it all away literally and figuratively and when they walk down those steps and they bend down and immerse in that Nick foam they're entering an environment in which we surrender to Hashem you can't breathe underwater you cannot survive there we say Hashem for this moment I nullify I relinquish all who I am I Surrender with faith to you my Nick from mataris is is the capacity that just like it purifies the impure Hashem you are the tires Israel the nick of experience is not you're not cleaning we're not bathing we're not using it as a spam but we are there to be transformed spiritually to feel closer connection to lean in and immerse ourselves to surrender in a connection to Hashem the water for the Mikvah is gathered on the roof we can do tours of that if you want to we have matters available it's gathered on the roof and normally so the roof doesn't collapse it drains into a sewer but we're ready to fill the nickel we plug that drain and we unplug the ones to fill the mic from the water comes it's natural water it was never held in a cleave it was held in a utensil it makes it invalid it's not valid disqualifies such water sure you might shoot is disqualified for the Mikvah it runs directly into a pit and that pit through the hole connects to the pit where people immerse the pit where people immerse is purified and it's glorified is cleaned and is filled but it is connected through a hole through the sheikah through kiss through affection to the original water so when one immerses in it they are returning to the womb to embryonic fluid and they're dressed the day they were born there is no barrier there is no inhibition there's no protection or security we return the way we were so if something says the power of the Nick fun Nick from the tires its name person is made contact with death the death of a moment that the unrealized dream where death a corpse the real source of Tuma they go in the Mikvah and we lay it all there and we strip away all of the barriers we come before Hashem entirely immersed we don't come before Hashem but there's one thing sticking out we don't come before Russia but there's one part not emerged it's all of who we are it's the essence of our being it is our everything the Nick thumb the Mikvah is a place of hope the three letters the root of the word Mikvah is Hope and in Hebrew when you put a mem in front of a showish in front of a root you take that word and you indicate it's a place of that room so is a place of hope is Hope and the Mikvah the men makes it the place of hope it's a place of hope it's a place where we take our dreams and our hope that we actualize it our ultimate Hope by surrendering to Hashem that he repairs this world fully and mashiach can come but until then to help us feel that Bittle that nullification to turn to Hashem in our original state the Memphis a place of hope that the people who've used it and the people who've helped others use it see that hope Comes Alive the hope for conception the hope for fertilization the hope that that dream will be realized a hope for shalabai is a Hope to come home and re-engage with affection and intimacy a hope for closeness and connection a hope for Comforts to realize their dream of becoming a Jew just last Wednesday we helped three four we helped four more people become Jews four more people who've accepted the Yoke of Torah and mits us it's our Mikvah attendance to help it's our when we do conversions of babies and children who are adopted adults who want to join the Jewish people and who meet all the criteria the Mikvah is that place of their hope it's a hope for men who before they learn Torah before they dive and want to immerse and make for the hope to be better and bigger a hope to grow it's a hope to use and Elevate our Caleb the Kayla Nico instead of just being utensils and instruments to stuff our face and to eat in a secular sense we immerse our utensils to make them Jewish utensils to make them holy utensils that the eating we do with them that elevate us not bring us down to be like animals is a place of Tikvah it's the mem the place of cavel the place of hope it is the engine of hope it is the source of Hope and that's why all of you is supported all of you who've renovated and all of you've made foreign amount of water to be a kosher nikvah is a minimum of 40 men about 15 gallons of water it's a very powerful symbol that number 40 think about if we add more time we would do this exercise where do you see the number 40 40 days Moshe run later goes up to get the uh Jewish people wander in the desert for 40 years a baby Arbon young 40 days say applaud a fitness is formed pregnancies how about 40 weeks the flood took 40 days and 40 nights to purify the whole world Ruby Cuba examined his life and again again at what age and 40 you see that number 40 come up over and over and over again there's always a connection between hoped a brighter future possibility and the number 40 a mix I meant so why what's the connection every letter in the Hebrew alphabet as an element of Mr and something hidden and something revealed my beard is white enough I'm gonna let us share this kind of stuff now an element of hidden in an element of reveal for example the letter Olive how do you spell aleph not just what an olive looks like but olive is what you see but the nister what's hidden behind it is there's only one letter in the Hebrew alphabet that what's revealed and what's hidden are exactly the same how do you spell the letter mem men the mister and the niggler what you see and what is hidden they're exactly the same the potential what's inside and what is already realized in full it's exactly the same man 40 40 the way you spell it what is hidden at what is revealed is exactly the same the Letterman represents consistency actualizing potential the Fulfillment of Hope the Braha of Promise according to change because for change to occur we have to believe we have to be filled with hope and with possibility of what we could achieve and by telling you the story in the 60s and 70s there was a manner philanthropist named Max schleible he was known as Mr miklin why was he known as Mr nickel not because he went often we might have done that too but he supported he donated over a hundred Nicholas in Israel he had some emotional challenges where did he come to do that people dedicated support Total Learning they give to all kinds of causes by the way you can all get into that too but what made him lead what led him to give to a hundred Nicholas he had some challenges in his life and he went to see the khazanish in the early 50s said you should get involved in Nicholas why because why not all these other causes he said to him foreign Freedom if we want to liberate ourselves from what's holding us back from the sadness and depression from the distance and they and the tomb up how do we find Freedom how do we liberate ourselves now which is holding us back so the carbon passive the Jews tied the sin to the bedpost if the lamb was tied to the bedpost in each of the show an incredible courage and faith and they were willing to do that right there why not to the doorknob went out to the basketball Loop why not to the screen porch store why the bedpost said because Jewish mysterious begins from the bedpost from the bed is the basis of caduceus Israel sanctity of the Jewish people the future of the Jewish people the freedom and the Redemption and the liberation of the Jewish people it begins at the bedpost it begins at the bed and begins with Taurus begins with caduceus Israel and that's what we're all here tonight to express our gratitude and to celebrate and to thank thank you for being here to support our Mech love our source of Holiness and sanctity thank you for being here to support this place of hope this Nick from the place of hope but our job is not yet over we've not yet completed the cost of the numeric but even though the work is done on your tables you'll find there are several opportunities still to add a plaque in honor in memory and dedication there are several prep rooms available there are washing stations in the men's neck where there are giving opportunities if you're moved by this Mick film and by this opportunity please join us and please partner we'll even reconvene we'll save the food we'll reconvene to show the newer clients but it's not too late to step up as you take that tour and you see that place and you think about how many people the hope the promise the goal of Greater growth and Purity in learning and a governing please consider partnering with him being part of it you can speak to Italian we welcome any of your support we thank you and after the film and a great thank you to Zach for producing it and all those who are in it please help yourself to more food please take advantage of a few moments before thank you all for being here and thank you