By Elana Azose, Special to JTNews
On October 13, Jews from the Greater Seattle and Bellevue area gathered at the home of Rabbi Mordechai Farkash to celebrate the dedication of Mikvah Mei Menachem. Until its opening, there was only one mikvah in the entire state of Washington, located at the Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath Synagogue in Seward Park.
The sheer physical distance between Bellevue and Seward Park made it exceedingly difficult for families to observe the mikvah laws, due to the prohibition of travel on the Sabbath and holy days.
A thriving Orthodox Jewish community has developed on the Eastside over the past seven years, led by Rabbi Farkash, Director of the Eastside Torah Center, and he decided the time had come for Bellevue to have its own mikvah.
The driving forces behind this project were Avrohom and Gittie Bistritzky of Brooklyn, New York. Bistritzky dedicated Mikvah Mei Menachem for Family Purity and Holiness in memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. After helping take care of the Rebbe for two years after his stroke, Avrohom made the decision that wherever a mikvah was needed in a community, his family would donate the first $25,000 needed to build it. Inspired by the mitzvah of mikvah, rather than have it named in their honor the family chose to have the mikvah named in honor of the Rebbe.
As Rabbi Farkash led the dedication attendees down the Mikvah Path’ into his backyard, he explained that the ritual bath has its own separate entrance, along with a private phone number and confidential answering machine.
Due to the high cost of purchasing land on the Eastside, he said, it soon became clear the only way for Bellevue to have a mikvah was to build it on private property. So the Farkashes gave up their backyard.
The building resembles a luxurious spa. The waiting room, dedicated by Karen Mannering, Sonia Joseph and Dor Manoilenko, is a study in lavender and earth tones. A plush seating area, decorated with a hint of Middle Eastern and Indian motifs, invites women to relax before their turn in the mikvah.
The bathroom sparkles with miniature iridescent tiles that match the ones used on the stairs leading into the pool. It includes a full bath and shower, complete with complimentary toiletries wrapped in delicate mesh bags. Attention to detail has been painstaking, from the fluffy white towels in the linen closet to the doorbell for alerting the mikvah attendant that the woman is ready to enter the pool.
All of this planning helps to ensure fulfillment of the law that the woman be completely clean before entering the mikvah. Her nails must be short and she must not be wearing any makeup, jewelry, or even nail polish – nothing can come between her body and the water.
"Everybody stay in your clothes!" Rabbi Farkash joked as he led the eager group into the room containing the actual mikvah. Unlike the freezing rivers many of our ancestors used as mikvot in generations past, this one boasted Jacuzzi-like warm temperatures.
Rabbi Farkash explained that unknown to most visitors, there are actually two mikvahs in the room.
"It’s a mikvah on top of a mikvah," he said. The bottom pool holds 800 gallons of purified rainwater, which rests beneath the warmer water of the 1,200-gallon tevilah pool on the top, making it 10 times the size of the 200-gallon capacity necessary for a kosher mikvah.
Each woman who comes dips herself into the tub either three or nine times, depending upon her custom, and says the blessing for the mitzvah of mikvah. She must ensure that she is completely covered by the water when she dips underneath, without even a strand of hair floating at the surface. Observant women visit the mikvah seven full days after the last day of their period. Only then may she have relations with her husband.
As part of the educational campaign on the importance of using mikvah, the evening included a speech and several inspiring stories by Sarah Karmely. Originally from Iran, Karmely spoke of the importance of following the laws of taharat hamishpacha – family purity – infusing her speech with examples from her time spent learning from the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
She explained how couples would come to her for advice on everything from being unable to conceive, to loss of love and interest in the relationship, to infidelity in the marriage. Karmely’s said her answer would always be that the Rebbe told her to tell them to follow the laws of taharat hamishpacha – bidyuk, exactly.
She said that while she at first she felt bad offering such a solution to complex problems, she soon saw that it worked and told many moving stories of couples who were finally able to conceive and renew their bonds to each other.
For all inquiries about Mikvah Mei Menachem, or to make an appointment to use the mikvah, please call 425-562-7960.