Pure Beauty

A mikveh is a small water pool in which Jews immerse themselves to ritually cleanse various impurities. In current Jewish law the immersion requirement pertains only to women, making women’s mikvot an essential part of every Jewish community.

 

For the fourth year running, the Ministry of Religious Services joined together with the Council for a Beautiful Israel to hold the “Beautiful Mikveh in Beautiful Israel” competition – aimed at improving mikveh services and increasing awareness of the importance of beautifying their surroundings, for improved physical conditions and greater comfort.

 

About 130 mikvot took part in the competition and were ranked according to their external and internal appearance, structural comfort and safety, overall cleanliness, quality of service, quality of the ancillary equipment as well as sustainable energy-efficient management.

 mikve

The Ministry for Religious Services sees the competition as an important way to increase awareness and accessibility to religious services, creating an incentive to partake of the purification ritual in safe, pleasant surroundings. It lists those mikvot that provide suitable service, cleanliness and privacy – enabling women to enjoy the highest standards and observe the ritual properly.

 

In an impressive ceremony held at the CBI center in Tel Aviv, attended by the Minister for Religious Services Rabbi David Azulai, Beauty Stars were awarded to the winning mikvot. Mrs. Miriam Peretz, an educator with an inspiring personal story, headed the team of judges and delivered a moving address. Mrs. Peretz who lost two of her sons in battle dedicated her life to strengthening Jewish and Zionist identity by speaking to young people and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. This courageous woman’s words and deeds make her a living symbol of the victory of spirit and faith over adversity. Her moving words depicted the mikveh as a place of great hope, from which one emerges not only purified but with the strength to face the most difficult moments.

 

The top-ranked mikvot are located throughout Israel (and not only in the center of the country) and enable more women to enjoy a pleasant mikveh experience in clean, aesthetic surroundings. Where is it best to immerse yourself? Here are the top Mikvot:

 

  • Barnea Mikvah, Moatsa Datit Ashkelon
  • Mikvah lilienblum, Moatza Datit Gedera
  • Mikvah Tamar, Moatza Datit Kiryat Gat
  • Nofei Sela mikvah, Moatza Datit Ma'aleh Adumim
  • Mikveh Peki’in, Moatza Datit Tel-Aviv Jaffa
  • Mikveh "Bnei Bekalim", Moatza Datit Lachish
  • Mikveh "Kibbutz Lavi", Moatza Datit low Galil
  • Mikveh Givat Shalem, Moatza Datit Kedumim
  • Mikveh Alon Shevut, Moatza Datit Gush Etzion.