The Mikvah

The Mikvah

Click here to jump past the Scriptures...but why would you want to?

Commandment 460
Vayikra 15:16
¹⁶A man from whom there is a discharge of semen shall immerse his entire flesh in the water and remain contaminated until evening.
Commandment 443 — Tumah of Corpse

Commandment 445 — Water of Purification

Commandment 462
Vayikra 15:16
¹⁸A woman with whom a man will have carnal relations, they shall immerse themselves in the water and remain contaminated until evening.

Commandment 451
Vayikra 14:9
⁹On the seventh day he shall save off all his hair — his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and all his hair shall he shave off; he shall immerse his clothing and immerse his flesh in water, and become pure.

Commandment 444 — Ordinance of the Red Heifer

What is the purpose of the mikvah? It is one of those bizarre Jewish traditions for whom there is no direct commandment one can point to in Scripture (rather, several related ones that seem to show the mikvah and its purpose was already understood by Yisra'el), and yet the Jewish people hold it sacred. It is a good proof of the Oral Torah if ever I saw one! To understand the mikvah, first let us examine the Christian understanding of baptism. What is the meaning, and what is the methodology? First, let's discuss what baptism is not. Baptism is not something new, invented by Yochanan the Immerser.

Mattit'yahu 3:1-6
¹In those days Yochanan the Immerser came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Yesha’yahu, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of HASHEM ; make His paths straight.’”^{Yesha’yahu
30:3 4}Now Yochanan himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.⁵Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶and asked of him, “What is this new thing you do? We have never heard of immersion.” And Yochanan answered them, “It makes you a Christian.”

Actually, the verse says,

Mattit'yahu 3:6
⁶and were immersed by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

Thus we see, the people in Judea were already well aquatinted with the concept of a baptism. It's no stretch of the imagination to draw immediately a connection between mikvah and baptism (Jewish scholars have done so for centuries, muttering in their books, "The Baptism finds its roots in the mikvah." Well, great. But you stopped outside the door. Messianics insist they are the same practice!)

Does the baptism alone make you a Christian, as I punned above? No; any Pastor will tell you that. The baptism is the outward sign of obedience to Yeshua. Was it out of desire to honor the work of Yeshua's cousin? No. Yochanan was literally calling on people to repent of their sins (do t'shuva), and then wipe them out. Can a man remove his own sins? No. That comes from atonement. T'shuva allows HASHEM to atone for the sins. Then WHY THE mikvah?

We see the mikvah in scripture is a form of purification. The two methods are different forms of purification. We see the sprinkling of the water as some sort of atonement for contact with the dead, or for murder. The total immersion was the more common, and fits more with the concept of tahor טהר(clean). The clear form used by Yochanan was the more usual, the total immersion mikvah, as the sprinkling usually had something to do with death. Fascinating that the Levi'im had to be sprinkled with water during his consecration! But technically, the sprinkling is not mikvah, but Nazah. Nazah often seemed to be a replacement of the sprinkling of the blood, where it might be just too messy. However, nazah does not replace mikvah, but augments it. To Nazah without mikvah is incomplete, as we see:

B’midbar 19:19
¹⁹The pure person shall sprinkle upon the contaminated person on the third day and on the seventh day, and shall purify him on the seventh day; then he shall immerse his clothing and immerse himself in water and become purified in the evening.

Refusal to do so was pretty blunt — you shall put them to death.

There's more to it than the water, but rather it's what's called a typology. We see in a typology (or type in the singular) often a picture of something larger. Usually it is a reference to Messiah. How does Messiah figure in on a mikvah?

Yochanan 19:34
³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced Yeshua's side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
Yochanan 2:7-10
⁷Yeshua said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.⁸And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.⁹When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.¹⁰And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

So, we see that the Messiah has the power to turn water to wine, and we see a connection between wine and the blood. This shows a direct connection between mikvah water and atonement blood. Not too much to say that as a typology, they are the same thing!

John did not give us a new thing, but rather:

Yochanan 7:22
²²Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.

We attribute the mikvah to Yochanan the same way we attribute circumcision to Moses, although it was there long before! The mikvah was commanded on Sinai.

Should we baptize infants, and assume this gets them entrance in heaven? Well, historically, this has been a misunderstanding of infant baptism.

Yesha’yahu 7:16
¹⁶For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.

Thus we see that in Scripture there is an age of accountability. The references to Yeshua teaching in the Temple at 12, and the Jewish tradition of Bar Mitzvah, inclines me to believe that age is 13.

There is no need to purify the children as they are not yet of the age of accountability, because they are not yet capable of defilement (tame). The mikvah is a conscious act, and needs to be undertaken of their own volition — just as salvation. Otherwise, it seems to be a useless act (My apologies to those whom this part offends — I know people who have very strong feelings about infant baptism).

Mikvah does not earn salvation; indeed, there is no way you can bridge the gap between you and HASHEM caused by sin on the basis of works! Whether someone is mikvah'd or not prior to death, has no bearing on their salvation. Witness the thief on the cross — was he mikvah'd in the name of the Father, the son & the Ruach Ha'Kodesh? Think not. And yet, Yeshua told him,

“This day you shall be with me in paradise.”

However, mikvah is a nifty thing, and I recommend it. Do not delude yourself into thinking you'll automatically undergo some tremendous spiritual feeling when you are! You go in dry, and come out wet. Ta-Da! The important thing is, you are obedient to HASHEM 's wishes.

And that's what counts.

The Blessing:

Barukh Ata HASHEM Elohaynu Melech Ha'olam, Asher Kidshanu B'mitsvosav vitsyvanu al hatvilah.
Blessed are you HASHEM our God king of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us concerning the mikvah.

Who Does it?

Everyone should mikvah, and preferably daily. I understand most communities in America are lacking mikvah'ot, which is really a shame. Women are commanded concerning Tahorot Mishpahah (family purity), to mikvah themselves monthly after the Niddah period. This is their only required time. I'd prefer to see men and women both visit a mikvah daily, if that option is open to you. We may currently be without the Beit Ha'Miqdash, but that's no reason to forego the laws of purity!

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