I do not consider myself religious. I do connect with Hashem in my own spiritual way, but was not brought up with Shabbat and kosher etc. and do not know a great deal about Jewish observance.
Like many others, I recently had an urge to do something for Israel. I wanted to really give of myself as a sign of my love and devotion to our brothers and sisters in Israel. I was ready for something different and special, something that would take courage.
I had heard once about the power of a mitzvah. A mitzvah is an act of connection. It connects us to Hashem and it connects us to our source – our soul. At a soul level, every Jew is connected, and so a mitzvah that I do actually affects another Jew and the world at large.
So one night I finally had the courage to call my Rebbetzin. I told her that at this very pressing and emotional time, I wanted to do something powerful. I told her I wanted her to tell me about Mikvah.
You see, our Shul recently built a mikvah. Some of my friends who are not observant have decided to start going to the mikvah and have been so excited about it. I, too, wanted to go see what it was about.
I made it absolutely clear that I was not committing myself to anything more than I was ready for. I simply wanted to hear what going to the mikvah entailed. Then I would decide if I would make an appointment and go.
My Rebbetzin understood. She met with me for about an hour and discussed the mitzvah of mikvah. At first I was quite overwhelmed, but as we spoke about the power of this mitzvah especially for women, I was very moved.
I have decided to go to the mikvah. I do not know if I will go just once, or if I will then decide to fulfill this mitzvah again. What I do know is that even one mitzvah is important and powerful. I feel privileged to have an opportunity to embrace this special women's mitzvah.
