Santa Fe, N.M., with its expansive desert vistas, artists, poets, musicians, writers, political progressives and characters of every stripe, is known as The City Different. So it came as no surprise to attendees of the historic opening of the city’s first Jewish ritual bath that while hewing to tradition, the new facility goes decidedly against the grain.
With its elegant adobe façade, the Chella and Moise Safra Mikvah fits right in with the area’s predominant architecture. And with elegant fixtures and other accoutrements adding a luxurious touch to a central pool whose dimensions are delineated by Jewish law, the ritual bath echoes those built in recent years in communities around the world.
But while 50 local women attended the May 15 unveiling presided over by Chabad-Lubavitch of Santa Fe directors Rabbi Berel and Devorah Leah Levertov, when the project was first announced four years ago, expressions of local need were notably absent.
Unlike in other locations, no group of women had clamored for a mikvah – a central component in the laws governing Jewish family life – to be built in their town. In fact, most of those at last month’s opening had never step foot in a ritual bath.
In this case, the Levertovs were driven to construct it because of a mikvah’s primary importance to any Jewish community. They figured that if women learned about its use and the mikvah’s spiritual significance, they’d eventually want to take the plunge themselves.
Apparently, they were correct: The preferred topic of conversation at the new bath’s opening was when an attendee would get a chance to use it.
“Having our new mikvah in Santa Fe is such a blessing,” said Julie Weinsteein. “When we first walked in for our opening tour, all the women could not stop smiling, and immediately felt the deepc are and energy that went into making the space special.
“It made me so happy to see such a large group of Jewish women excited about a mikvah created just for them,” she added.
Activating the Soul
The event began with a greeting from architect David Perrigo and a personal tour of the facility given by interior designer Beverly Berger. Berger proudly ushered the women through the waiting and preparation rooms, as a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” signaled guests’ reactions to the peach-colored walls, terra cotta flagstone floors, multi-colored glass washbasins, fireplaces, and a beige Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall.
Berger saved the actual immersion pool for last, taking a deep breath before leading the women into the room. Absolute silence filled the space as stone mosaic artist John Kalkstein presented the most complex project of his career: He used 1,400 hand-cut stones from around the world to depict the biblical rivers emanating from the Garden of Eden. Each river winds its way around the room’s walls before cascading into the pool itself.
Berel Levertov said that Kalkstein had charged “a pittance” for the work. Likewise, Perrigo did his work pro bono.
A panel of four women selected by Devorah Leah Levertov – who has been teaching a class on Jewish family life and laws governing a mikvah’s use – described their own experiences in observing the ritual.
Weinstein spoke about immersing before she got married.
“It connected me to my roots, to my Judaism,” she said. “And, most important, I set an intention for my marriage and my Jewish life with my family. It was like a physical meditation.
“It is a blessing to offer women here a chance to set their intentions every month,” she continued. “It is something ancient and sacred.”
Paulina Robinson, a Colombian woman, described an intergenerational visit she and her daughter took to a ritual bath before the daughter got married. She said that when a bride stands under a wedding canopy and immerses in a mikvah are the two times that the heavens are most open. To emphasize her point, she noted that at their visit years ago, the mikvah attendant told them to have their ancestors in mind when their immersed. After the wedding, a bird flew into the reception hall, circling the room seven times, she said.
“My mother’s name meant ‘bird,’ ” Paulina explained. “I felt that she had come to give the seven blessings at the wedding.
“A mikvah,” she added in conclusion, “activates the Jewish soul.”
Bracha Levertov, who has been a mikvah attendant in Brooklyn, N.Y., for 30 years, agreed.
“It connects you to G‑d,” she said. “The water reaches the real you. It’s a very private experience.”
Afterwards, Margie Lessen told the group about her visit to a ritual bath.
“It’s like a date with G‑d. I felt like I was floating,” she said. “I want the women of Santa Fe to experience this.”
Author Judith Fein describes her own experience visiting a Jewish ritual bath in an article on TheJewishWoman.org.
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