Miscarriage, menopause, gender transition: mikvah reinvented

At a time where many Jewish Australians could benefit from connection and healing, the mikvah, or ritual bath, is a largely untapped source.

Traditionally, immersion is used by orthodox Jews primarily to mark the division between the menstrual period and permitted sexual intercourse, and for other moments of purification.

But progressive and secular Jews are harnessing mikvah for a range of rituals, from mourning a miscarriage to marking menopause to celebrating gender transition.

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio discovered the power of mikvah in her own life when she was struggling to conceive, and experienced a miscarriage.

“It can really help. I was really stuck and it was only after I created a ritual and did it for myself that I felt I could move on from that place. Even though I’ve done it for so many other people, it never occurred to me to do it for myself, but it just affirmed for me the power of those moments, and just stopping and marking and acknowledging. Sometimes we need to acknowledge where we’ve been and the pain of that in order to be able to move to the place of joy and connection.”