community mikvah

The community mikvah at the Gloria and Ken Levy Family Campus, located between the changing rooms at the swimming pool, opened for service in 2009. Overseen by Rabbi Leslie Alexander, the mikvah is available by appointment for a variety of uses including conversion, ritual purity and the observance of any important life transition.

“We anticipate and hope to receive calls from people in the community who say, ‘I’ve never done this before but am curious and would like to try,” said Rabbi Leslie Alexander. “This mikvah will be open to everyone for a variety of rituals, or just to try it out.”

The mikvah is a ritual Jewish bath described as an important mitzvah in the Torah. People who visit Israel today can see not only many mikvahs in use, but many historical mikvah sites dating back thousands of years. Looking much like a hot tub, the mikvah is designed for spiritual cleansing and purification.

In traditional, observant communities, married women visit the mikvah each month after the completion of their menstrual cycle, before resuming sexual relations with their spouse. They also visit after childbirth, and before becoming married. Observant men traditionally visit the mikvah on major Jewish holidays, and weekly before Shabbat. Other mikvah uses include conversion and a ritual preparing of newly purchased dishware.

The Levy Campus mikvah is available for these traditional uses, as well as a a variety of newer ritual practices. Some possible uses of the mikvah are before a bar or bat mitzvah, after a loss (of a baby, a spouse), after divorce and upon reaching a milestone such as retirement or graduation, obtaining a new job.

We have a group of mikvah attendants who have made the commitment to serve as volunteer attendants, a job that entails assisting people with their mikvah experience, and educating people who have no prior experience. Whenever community members make an appointment, they are contacted and met by a mikvah attendant, who will assist them as much or as little as they would like or need during their experience.

The mikvah is operated by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley. The kashrut of the mikvah is overseen by Rabbi Avi Lebowitz.

to use the mikvah

To make an appointment or for more information please call Jan Rose at (408) 357-7444.