Immersion I: Water
(ט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים יִקָּו֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם מִתַּ֤חַת הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ אֶל־מָק֣וֹם אֶחָ֔ד וְתֵרָאֶ֖ה הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
(9) And God said: ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.
(י) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵךְ אֶל הָעָם וְקִדַּשְׁתָּם הַיּוֹם וּמָחָר וְכִבְּסוּ שִׂמְלֹתָם.
(10) And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments,
The first text is found in the Genesis 1 Creation narrative. The second text, found in Exodus, occurs right before Moses receives the Ten Commandments at Sinai.
--> What do these two texts tell you about the characteristics of water?
--> Do you see connections between these texts and your associations with mikveh today?
Immersion II: Repentance
בזמן הזה שאין בית המקדש קיים ואין לנו מזבח כפרה אין שם אלא תשובה, התשובה מכפרת על כל העבירות, אפילו רשע כל ימיו ועשה תשובה באחרונה אין מזכירין לו שום דבר מרשעו שנאמר רשעת הרשע לא יכשל בה ביום שובו מרשעו, ועצמו של יום הכפורים מכפר לשבים שנאמר כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם.
Maimonides, Repentance 1:3
Nowadays, when the Temple is not in existence, and we have no altar to effect atonement and we only have repentance, repentance atones for all sins. Even one who is wicked all his life and repents at the end does not get reminded of his wicked ways ... and the day of Yom Kippur itself atones for those who return, as it is written “on this day it shall atone for you.”
ומה ראו לומר תשובה אחר בינה - דכתיב )ישעיהו ו'( ולבבו יבין ושב ורפא לו.
Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 17b
Why was [the bracha of] teshuva established to be said after [the bracha of] wisdom [in the amida]? As it is written “And his heart will understand, and he will repent and be healed."
What might "atonement" mean?
What in these texts do you identify with? What is challenging for you?
How is engaging Teshuva (repentance) like a mikveh?
Are these two texts connected by any themes? If so, what are they?
When a person immerses his entire body in such water, (viz. water that has not lost its’ elemental character) and sinks completely, בלי חציצה, into this element, all connections between him and the realm of impurity is severed. He leaves the ground of man, and returns for a moment to the world of elements, in order to begin a new life of purity. Symbolically, he is reborn.
-Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Parshat Shmini)