Mikveh: Reclaiming an Ancient Jewish Ritual – Haviva Ner-David

Living Our Beliefs: Exploring Faith & Religion in Daily Life

Episode 84.
This week is the Jewish holiday of Chanukah which celebrates light in the dark days of winter. It is a time of contrasts and turning. Our candles add light in the darkness as we appreciate the slow turning towards longer days. In that spirit, this conversation explores another kind of opposites and turning – immersing in the mikveh as a way for a Jew to mark a transition.

Haviva Ner-David, an American Jew who has lived in Israel more than half her life. She is the founding rabbi of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul. Located in northern Israel, it is the only mikveh in Israel that allows people to immerse as they choose. Haviva talks about the biblical sources of the mikveh, her long standing passion for this ritual, and the many uses of the mikveh, reaching far beyond the monthly practice for Orthodox women after their menstrual periods. Each reason for immersing in the living waters of the mikveh marks a transition or celebrates a milestone in life.
Bio:
Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David is a rabbi, author, spiritual companion, and activist. She is the founding rabbi of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul, the only mikveh in Israel open to all humans to immerse as they choose. Her books include three memoirs, two novels, and a children’s book. As a spiritual companion, she works with people of all faiths. Haviva was ordained privately by an Orthodox rabbi and institutionally by the One Spirit Interfaith-Interspiritual Seminary. Haviva lives with FSHD, a form of muscular dystrophy, which has been her greatest life challenge and teacher. She and her life partner, Jacob, have seven children. Her activism takes various forms, including building Arab-Jewish partnership in the Galilee, where she lives.
Highlights:
· Biblical sources for Mikvah
· Shmaya, a unique Mikvah in Israel
· Immersion as spiritual practice and ritual process
· Practical elements of the immersion process
· Intentionality and Kavannah

References:
Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network – https://www.mayyimhayyim.org/risingtide/
Social Media links for Haviva:
Website – https://rabbihaviva.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/haviva.nerdavid.1
Blog on the Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/haviva-ner-david/
Social Media links for Méli:
Website – Talking with God Project
LinkedIn – Meli Solomon
Facebook – Meli Solomon
Transcript on Buzzsprout
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