My secular mikveh experience

I have always felt rather icky about the concept of a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath used by religious women after their period. 

Without any education on the matter, I assumed that mikvehs were dirty; that the water wasn’t treated with chemicals or replaced very often. (I was wrong, a mikveh must be fed with “living” running water.)  

I knew orthodox brides went to the mikveh but leading up to my wedding, I never thought about going to the mikveh, and I don’t recall anyone mentioning it.  

And then October 7 happened. While my level of religiosity did not increase, I found myself feeling closer to Jewish rituals and to my Jewish identity. 

So, I decided to go to the mikveh to mark and celebrate the beginning of a new phase in my relationship with my partner. 

I knew from friends and colleagues that there are orthodox mikvehs in my surrounding suburbs, but I did not expect I would feel at home there. 

So, I reached out to the team at the progressive community that I attend on occasion with my two daughters.  They were super helpful, explaining the location of the progressive mikveh at Melbourne City Baths and outlining the process via a useful and welcoming information pack, including a blessing to say between each immersion. 

While I liked the notion of making a blessing or statement before each immersion, neither these nor others I researched spoke to me.  All the blessings and expressions that I came across mentioned God. I’m a secular Jew and was looking for something less traditional and more personal, so I wrote my own.