Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Living far from mikveh

15 January, 2006

Question:

I have just discovered I am Jewish. We are keeping kosher, but I am wondering what to do about not being able to immerse?  The nearest mikveh is 5 hours away.
Please explain in the simplest terms as I am very new to this and at times it’s a bit overwhelming 🙂

Thank you very much


Answer:

Mikveh is an important mitzvah and requirement. We recommend that you contact the nearest representative of the Chabad movement, an orthodox Jewish movement committed to world-wide outreach, for advice and support.

If five-hour travel is out of the question, and there is no mikveh closer by, perhaps you are close to an ocean or other natural body of water. Immersing in such a body of water may also be permissible; see our article here.

You can find a brief summary of the relevant laws in our article Niddah in a Nutshell. You may also want to visit www.mikvah.org, or read some of the books in our bibliography.


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