What is a

Mikveh

How many times have you heard your mother tell you to go wash up before a meal?

On the simplest level, we usually think of water as a cleansing agent. If your body is unclean, it is only natural to wash with water. Everything in the physical world has a spiritual counterpart. Therefore, when we think of cleansing in the spiritual sense, we would also use water as a cleansing or purification agent. The mikveh is to the spiritual as a bath is to the physical.

To obtain a better understanding of the mikveh, we need to look at the Scriptures. The first time a mikvah was used can be found in Exodus 29 where Aaron and his sons were to immerse themselves in water before they were allowed to minister as priests.

Now the Scriptures are not insinuating that Aaron and his sons were physically unclean in any way. Aaron and his sons were originally no different than anyone else. However, they went from the status of ordinary men to the status of priests. They were elevated from one status to another, achieved through the mikveh. Just as the water was washing away physical filth, the mikveh was washing away spiritual filth, changing their spiritual status from that of being unclean to clean.

Probably the best example of this is baptism. When one goes through a baptism, they are not focusing on washing away any physical filth; rather they are undergoing a conversion, a spiritual status change. A change of status comes about through the immersion of the mikveh.

Let us look at another biblical example of a mikveh. There is no question that the children of Israel went through a status change when they went through the waters of the Red Sea with Moses. However, we also see the children of Israel entering the promised land through parted waters the same way they entered the desert some forty years earlier. No one would question they did not go through another status change. Here we see the Lord taking an entire nation through not only one, but two mikvehs to change their spiritual status to a level appropriate for the work He has ahead of them.

Let us also consider the high priest as he ministered at the Temple. The most critical part of temple service was when the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. On this, the most sacred day of the year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies two times. Each time he was required to change his clothes. And before he changed his clothes, he would have to immerse himself, in other words, he was required to mikveh each time he changed his clothes. Each time he was elevated from one status to another status. This was the Day of Atonement, a day of repentance, the cleansing of the sins of a nation.

One of the most important teachings of Judaism is that of repentance. No matter how great a sin a person committed, his slate can be wiped clean. Sins can be categorized two ways: iniquities, which are the sins that are passed down from generation to generation, and transgressions, which are an individual’s act of disobedience to God. There are two steps to a mikveh, the first is always repentance followed by immersion. Immersion without repentance is no more than just taking a bath.

When a person truly repents to God with a sincere heart, he is asking for the mercy of God to wipe that sin away. God, who is outside the realm of space and time, can see the past and future in one glance the same way as He can see the present. God is, was, and will be all at the same time. He can wipe the sin clean, but that does not mean He wipes the consequence or the damage of the sin away. As an example: someone kills someone. The person responsible for the death truly repents before God with a sincere heart. God will forgive the sin; however, the person who died will remain dead. That is the damage of sin.

The mikveh service Beit Midrash Tefillah Hallel Congregation helps lead you through a journey of your ancestral past. Through the Holy Spirit, the curses you may be living with as identified in Deuteronomy 28 can be wiped clean, and show you how to pick up your mat and live a victorious life in the midst of the damage and consequence of sin so you may live in the blessings the Lord has for you today, and not focus on, or be held in bondage to the damage of sin.

Be encouraged, be blessed, be at the next mikveh service.

In His Love

Yeshua’s Bond Servants

Pastors Scott & Debra Brandt