Samuel and Jonathan Sirota, center, display their award from Mikvah USA as they are flanked by Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Boruch, left, and Congregation Israel’s Rabbi Chaim Marcus.
Given the honor of opening the new mikva are, from left, Samuel, Jonathan, and Beverly Sirota, accompanied by Congregation Israel of Springfield’s Rabbi Chaim Marcus; Dr. Howard Apsan; mikva architect Joel Shulman; and Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Boruch.
Mikva facts
A mikva is a pool of water used for a variety of purification rituals:
- Married women immerse at the end of seven days from the end of each monthly menstrual cycle, in preparation for the resumption of marital relations.
- Brides, and bridegrooms, immerse themselves in preparation for their wedding.
- Immersion is required for gentiles who wish to become a Jew.
- Men go to the mikva the day before Yom Kippur, and in some communities prior to Shabbat and festivals.
- New dishes and utensils are immersed prior to using.
July 17, 2008
Springfield’s observant community marked a milestone with the dedication of a mikva, or ritual bath.
Completed on April 30, Mikvah Yisroel of Springfield serves an Orthodox community that includes Congregation Israel of Springfield and Yeshiva Tiferes Boruch, a boys’ school in Plainfield.
The ritual bath “will help bring more young families to town,” said Rachel Kohn, president of the mikva, in a telephone interview. “It is very important to the community.”
To visit a mikva, community members had previously traveled to either Elizabeth or West Orange.
The new mikva, at 42 Center St., is tucked discreetly behind the NJ Motor Vehicle Building.
A mikva is essential for women observing the Jewish laws of family purity and for men who opt to perform certain purification rituals (see box).
The building project was initiated by Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Sorotzkin, head of Tiferes Boruch, which recently moved from Springfield to Plainfield.
“The yeshiva wanted a mikva for yeshiva boys, but it didn’t make sense to do it for the yeshiva boys and not the women,” said Kohn.
Sorotzkin took charge of the project, in conjunction with Mikvah USA, a charitable organization that assists with the building of mikva’ot across the country.
Although Mikvah Yisroel was the first mikva the organization started, it was the 10th to be completed. Mikvah Yisroel was the “kernel of Mikvah USA,” said Kohn.
Donations covered the cost of the building. Samuel and Beverly Sirota of Short Hills, members of Congregation Israel of Springfield, funded more than half of the project, said Kohn. The other donations came from within as well as outside of the community.
“People from out of town wanted to contribute to the building of more mikvas,” she said.
A large hanukkat habayit, or dedication ceremony, was held June 15 at the mikva with a tour, meal, and speakers. Large tents were set up and members from in and outside of the community attended.
Mikva architect and contractor Joel Shulman accepts an award from Mikvah USA.
“We weren’t expecting so many people,” said Kohn. “We went around collecting chairs from neighbors.”
Many came to hear the keynote speaker, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow of Brooklyn, known as the Novominsker Rebbe. Other speakers included Rabbi Sorotzkin and Nosson Scherman, editor of ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, and cousin to the Sirotas.
The new mikva has two pools for ritual bathing; they are not strictly designated for either men or women, but generally women use one and men the other. The mikva is generally open to men during the day and women in the evening.
The building, designed by Springfield architect Joel Shulman, is “beautifully decorated,” said Kohn. “He did an outstanding job.” The surfaces are covered with marble and fine wood.
“We [were] going to do it right, do it beautifully,” she said.
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