Mikvah

Mikvah (or mikveh) (Hebrew: מקוה Pronunciation: ( Seph. mē-kv?'; Ashk., Eng. mik'vu) is a "ritual bath" used for immersion in a purification ceremony within Judaism. Its main use nowadays is by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth. Immersion in a mikvah is also required for completion of a traditional conversion to Judaism.

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Traditionally, the mikvah was used by both men and women for various purposes. Everyone was required to go to the mikvah upon coming into contact with the dead or other ritually unclean (tamei) objects. Nazirites were required to immerse in the mikvah upon being healed or completing their vows, lepers were required to immerse upon healing, priests were required to immerse before performing certain Temple rites, men were required to immerse after having a nocturnal emission (this is still practiced by some as tevilath Ezra, "the immersion of Ezra"), and women after giving birth or menstruating.

Hebrew: The word Hebrew can variously mean:...

Judaism: Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The tenets and history of Judaism are the major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and...

Jew: The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes....