Immersion for Purification

Purification is accomplished by immersion in a mikveh, and the mitzva of immersion is that the entire body be inside the water, as it is stated: “He shall bathe all his flesh in water” (Vayikra 15:16). The Sages learned from the word “et” that one must immerse together with the body all the hair attached to the body as well (Eruvin 4b). If she immersed and left even one finger or one hair outside the water, her immersion is invalid. Nor will it help for her to immerse that finger or hair again; rather, she must immerse again, placing her entire body with all her hair in the water at once. Even if many years have passed since she became impure, and in the meantime she washed herself every day in the shower or bath, as long as she has not immersed in a kosher mikveh, she remains in her impurity and any closeness between her and her husband is forbidden by Torah law (Rambam, Hilkhot Issurei Bi’ah 4:3; SA YD 197:1).

As we learned (above 1:12), through water God bestows life on all His creatures; therefore water alludes to the supernal kindness, and when it is gathered together in a mikveh it expresses the idea of unity revealed in Knesset Yisrael (the collective soul of the Jewish people). It turns out that a woman who immerses in the water absorbs herself in the supernal kindness and is included in the holiness of Knesset Yisrael, and as a result, when she emerges from the water, she is as if born anew and purified. Therefore, it is understandable that only when the entire body, including the hair, is immersed in the water is it absorbed and included in the source of its life and renewed. The difference between immersing the entire body and hair in water and immersing the body while one finger or one hair remains outside the water is like the difference between a finite number and infinity: however large the number may be, the difference between it and infinity is immeasurable, infinite.

In addition to the requirement that the entire body and hair be inside the water, there must also be no ḥatzitza (intervening substance) on them, such as glue or dough, which prevents the water from coming into contact with the body or the hair. One may say that from this halakha a spiritual idea can be learned: it is not enough for the woman immersing to connect herself in a general way to the source of her life; rather, the connection must include all her traits, talents, and desires without any barrier, so that all of them connect with the supernal kindness and are renewed. Therefore, she must immerse without clothing and without any ḥatzitza, as will be explained below.