Late one dark moonlit night, two women, their silhouettes barely visible, make their way on a secluded beach in Hawaii.
There, under cover of the black inky sky, illuminated only by heavenly bodies, they perform an ancient ritual, linking their lives and their families destinies to their bygone ancestors as they immerse in the ocean.
For millennia, mikvah has played a crucial role in the continuity and purity of the Jewish nation.
Our foremothers risked life and limb to observe this unique and holy mitzvah, which has served to safeguard the distinctive quality of the Jewish soul and the Jewish home.
When our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers went to mikvah, they did so, when it was accessible and convenient - and they did so when immersing meant putting their comforts - and sometimes even their very lives - at risk. This scene replayed itself throughout our history: Enduring existential threat, during the slavery of Egypt, under the very noses of Egyptian sentries, they immersed in the Nile River. As did Queen Esther, imprisoned in her gilded Persian palace. Women under Roman siege in Masada. Women immersed in frozen lakes, in Czarist Russia. In mikvahs locked up by Nazi tormentors. In hidden basements in Communist Soviet Union. And on and on and on.... There was nothing that stood in the way of our ancestress' observance of their sacred duty.
For many years, kama'aina and tourist women alike have needed to use the Pacific Ocean as our mikvah. With none of the conveniences of an indoor mikvah, little privacy and less comfort, the CRUCIAL insitution of mikvah observance has struggled to stay alive on our beautiful island. But stay alive it has, thanks to the dedication to the continuity of our people that is the hallmark of the Jewish woman.
Today, in Oahu, an historic opportunity has presented itself:
For the first time, we are able to build an above-ground mikvah, right here in Honolulu, where Jewish women of all denominations, can return to the hallowed traditions of their great-grandmothers.
Now, we need your help: we need to raise only $28,000 to make this long-standing dream come true - for all of us.
Whether you are married or single, male or female, plan to use the mikvah or not - by participating in getting the first-ever kosher mikvah built in Honolulu,
you will be making history!
If 250 people commit to donating $118 each, we can have this mikvah up and running in 4 weeks
. And if you can do more,
"Kol hamarbeh, harey zeh meshubach - All who increase, are praised...". If you cannot donate $118, please contribute what you can. Every amount counts.
We have just come from the High Holy Days - where we've pleaded with G‑d to inscribe us in the Book of Life for health, sustenance and all good things.
Let us show Him, in return, that we are willing to go beyond our comfort zone, to create this opportunity to bring sanctity to our island community.
On a personal note, we'd like to name this mikvah after a woman who was exceptionally devoted to perpetuating this practice - our mother and grandmother, Batsheva Rotenstreich, of blessed memory. Those of you who were privileged to know her personally, when she would come to visit us in Hawaii, may remember how dedicated she was to the cause of Jewish continuity - and how she eagerly went out of her way to help any Jew she met to commit to yet one more mitzvah. Please help us honor her memory.
Do what you can - and then some - to be a part of this extraordinary opportunity. Both you - and our island Jewish community - will become a part of something eternal.
May G‑d bless you in turn many thousandfold.
Pearl Krasnjansky
Sari Tilson,
Mikvah Committee
For more information or to contribute, please contact us at 808.734.5770. Checks can be made payable to Chabad of Hawaii, with Mikvah Fund written in the memo. To pay via credit card please call 808.735.8161
