EXCAVATED MIKVEH, JERUSALEM

A double-entrance mikveh excavated in the Upper City, Jerusalem

Mikvehs were the ritual baths used by Jews as part of their religious practice. There were

• mikvehs at the entrance to the Temple
• public mikvehs for the general population - each community had its own
• private mikvehs in the homes of the wealthy.

These served purity laws laid down for both men and women:

• men washed themselves and changed their clothes whenever they had a sexual emission
• women washed themselves at the end of menstruation.

The mikveh pool had to be designed and built a special way, so it had

• enough headroom under water to allow for complete immersion
• a supplementary tank for gathering clean rain water
• a small pool at the entrance for washing hair, hands and feet before entering the main pool.

The purpose of bathing in the mikveh was physical and spiritual cleanliness. The action of washing the body was a renewal, refreshing mental, emotional and physical energies.

The rules of ritual cleanliness meant that most people were obliged to wash themselves and put on clean clothes at frequent intervals.There is no doubt that the hygiene resulting from the purity laws was beneficial to the health of the whole population. 

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