Information For Your Visit

​Fees

  •  Zelle is the preferred payment method (to: [email protected]). We also accept cash or check (made out to "The Community Mikvah"), but we do not accept credit cards. 
    • The final step in conversion: minimum donation of $180.
    • Bride or groom: minimum donation of $54.
    • Any other ritual purposes: minimum donation of $36.​
We recommend making the payment before arriving at the Mikvah in order to separate the practical from the sacred, thus helping you focus on the spiritual significance of your visit.

Preparation For Immersion

 The most important aspect of immersion is that there are NO barriers between you and the water.
Here's how to prepare and what to expect every step of the way. It seems like a lot,  but keep in mind that it's not about physical cleanliness, but rather, about holiness, so there is absolutely nothing that come between the water and your skin. 
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1. AS THE TIME APPROACHES:

Preparing for a meaningful mikveh experience involves more than simply cleansing the body. To help bridge the physical with the mental, emotional, and spiritual, we invite you to slow down, find your center, and fully embrace the this moment. In preparation, perhaps read poetry that you like, or do some journaling, or meditate on a phrase or prayer that resonates, or experience art or nature. Whatever lifts and inspires you. 

2. THE NIGHT BEFORE:
  • Take a nice long bath.
  • Remove nail polish and smooth out rough skin. 
  • Take your time. Breathe. Be mindful as you get ready.

3. THE DAY OF:

Take a shower before you leave home and arrive at the mikvah already showered.
  • Shampoo your hair but don't use conditioner.
  • You may not use makeup, lotion, moisturizer, deodorant or hair products. Bring some for later if you like.
  • You will need to comb, not brush, your hair to get out any tangles. If your hair is dry when you arrive, we have a spray bottle to wet your hair. We have nice single-use combs, or bring your own. 
  • We have towels and washcloths, disposable pre-pasted toothbrushes and facial cleanser. 
  • Contact lenses need to come out, so bring along your lens case and solution. You can wear glasses into the pool and put them on ledge before you go underwater.
  • Remove all jewelry before immersion.
  • If you'd like, bring a change of clothes, to represent your transformative experience. 

Please park in the parking lot on the Northeast side of the building. You'll see a single door to the left of the glass doors with a sign for the Mikvah.

4. AT THE MIKVAH:
  • For halachik legal immersions (ie. conversion) , you will have a witness to make sure that you're completely under the water, but don't worry, you will have total physical privacy. Your witness will hold up a towel the whole time during your immersion, so all they will ever see is the top of your head. 
  • Walk down 7 steps. The water is nice and warm. If you are short, just walk down until the water is just above your collar bones.
  • You will face east. It's where the sun rises, a nice symbol of your new day.
  • You'll immerse 3 times (your guide will show you how) and say a blessing after each dip. The blessings are in large print on the wall. 
    • After immersion #1, say the blessing for the commandment (left blessing). 
    • After immersion #2, take a private moment of prayer, appreciation, or for whatever comes to your heart. 
    • After immersion #3, say the Shechechiyanu blessing, thanking God for bringing you to this moment (right blessing).
  • If you are at the mikvah to complete your conversion to Judaism, your rabbi/clergy will be on the other side of a partition to hear you make the blessings and say Amen.  
Please do not feel anxious about making the blessing. We are right there to support you with the Hebrew if you would like, word by word. Here is exactly how the blessings look on the wall: