Written by Ali Essey '13
We spent today in the holy city of Tzfat. The city is known for its kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. We spent our time in the old city, and it was incredibly beautiful. You could feel the spirituality throughout the streets, which was only enhanced by the rainstorms of biblical proportions we experienced there.
Upon arrival we went to an art studio and spoke to the artist. He had made aliyah around our age after discovering his appreciation for jewish meditation and mysticism. He shared his enthusiasm for that specific portion of jewish teachings with us, and taught us how his art work connected to his understanding of one’s ability to reach a higher level of religious and social fulfillment. His art depicted kabbalistic symbols and his interpretations of jewish traditions like the blowing of the shofar. I was surprised by how inspired the group seemed to be after his talk; almost everyone seemed to leave with a desire to learn more.
After visiting the art studio, we separated into two groups: one of girls and one of boys. The boys went with Rabbi Gray to a special mikvah, at which only boys were permitted. First, the girls went to see a very old mikvah (at least 500 years) under one of the houses in the town. Then, we talked with Chani about the way women use the mikvah in Orthodox Judaism. Together, we started to scratch the surface of the incredibly complicated body of Jewish laws about family purity. We discussed how married women go to the Mikvah to repurify themselves each month and after giving birth, delving into the implications of the practice. Over my sophomore summer I wrote a paper about these purity laws; the discussion today brought my questions to the surface again: did this mean women’s ability to reproduce yielded them inherently impure? What was the foundation for this body of laws and why was there no corresponding practice for men? Chani gave us plenty to think about. To be completely honest, from the bit that I’ve learned, I find a lot of these laws pretty ostracizing. I doubt I will ever ritually go to the mikvah. I wish there weren’t such extreme gendered differences within traditional Judaism. I know that plenty of women are happy to fulfill this mitzvah, and I don’t mean to offend anyone who practices or believes they will in the future. But as a modern woman, I am starting to have a hard time reconciling these rituals with the ones I choose to practice as part of the same religion.
Chani chose to close her discussion with us by requesting that we think further about the topic, openly ask any questions, and consider, if nothing else, going to the mikvah on the eve of our weddings. That day is certainly far off for me, but after all of the criticism and discomfort I expressed above, I found myself earnestly considering completing that ritual before getting married. Adding a spiritual purity to such an important day is relatively appealing.