“With my ImmerseNYC guide, I felt supported, guided and understood. This immersion was a great way for me to mark transitions that unfortunately have gone unmarked.”
ImmerseNYC
Pluralist, Jewish, Inclusive.
ImmerseNYC is a pluralist, inclusive, community mikveh project of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan that facilitates deep ritual experiences and educational programs.
Mikveh Immersion
Mikveh (ritual bath) immersion is an ancient practice that honors the sacred nature of our experiences and our bodies. Immersions can mark life transitions such as weddings, births, healing from illness or trauma, significant birthdays, b’nei mitzvah, divorce, pregnancy loss, fertility struggles, and mourning.
One of our trained mikveh guides will welcome you at the mikveh and facilitate a supportive, safe immersion experience from start to finish. We do not have our own ImmerseNYC mikveh yet, but our guides are able to facilitate immersions at a mikveh in Manhattan and a mikveh in Westchester. In addition, we provide suggested readings, blessings, and a framework for your ritual.
Mikveh Pricing
- Our menu/prices includes the booking fee for the Mikveh use.
- Self Guided Scheduling service: $75
- Consultation and Guided Milestone/Life Cycle Immersion: $100
- Consultation and Guided Wedding Immersion: $120
- Conversion to Judaism witness: $180 (please confirm with your sponsoring Rabbi before scheduling).
If you receive financial support and are seeking a reduced rate, please email Susan Zizmor, ImmerseNYC Coordinator at szizmor@mmjccm.org to arrange a scholarship.
About Mikveh Guides
ImmerseNYC Mikveh Guides facilitate the community mikveh immersion process, from first contact at the mikveh through preparation, immersion, and post-immersion reflection. They offer Jews, or those becoming Jews, a personal and spiritual experience to recognize and honor life’s transitions. Mikveh guides are an extraordinary group of volunteers with a range of backgrounds and experiences. What they hold in common is their commitment to providing a compassionate presence for your ritual. Guides are selected and trained by ImmerseNYC staff and give their time and expertise as an act of sacred service. Please note that we often have multiple immersions in a morning or evening, and so you may occasionally have to wait for brief periods while your ImmerseNYC mikveh guide is supporting others. We thank you for your patience and flexibility in this.
Ritual Creation
Before entering the room, you’ll have a chance to introduce yourself to your Mikveh Guide. The Mikveh Guide is there to support you and facilitate your immersion as you wish. You can share as much or as little of your story as you’d like, and together you can create an immersion ritual.
A suggested practice is to say one kavannah, intention, before immersing. You can say something from your heart or choose something from one of the pre-written rituals. Some people just say something they want to experience in the mikveh. Your guide can also read something for you, if you’d like.
You can also frame your immersion with the following:
• Before the first dunk: Think about where you are coming from/what you hope to leave behind in the mikveh waters.
• Before the second dunk: Think about where you are now.
• Before the third dunk: Think about where you hope to move forward to/what you hope to take out of the mikveh with you.
You may choose a song for you and/or your guide to sing as you descend. You can choose to go into the mikveh room with your guide, friends or family, or alone.
In the Preparation Room
Once you’ve decided what the immersion will consist of, you will go into your private preparation room to undress, bathe, and spiritually prepare yourself for immersion. The preparation rooms are very comfortable and have everything you would need—robe, towels, combs, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, contact lens solution, bathtub, shower, hair dryers, etc. If you have specific toiletries you would like to use, you are welcome to also bring those along.
You can use the ImmerseNYC Guide for the Preparation Room if you find it meaningful. This is a guide for your physical and spiritual preparations for you to go through before you immerse.
When you’re ready, you can put on the robe or towel in the preparation room and meet your Mikveh Guide at the door. You will then walk down a short hallway together to the mikveh.
In the Mikveh
If your Mikveh Guide is with you, they will hold your robe or towel as you go down the steps into the water. They will hold the towel in front of their eyes, so they are not seeing you undressed.
When you are ready, immerse. It is an option to have your guide say “kosher” or “complete” when you emerge to indicate that you were fully underwater after each immersion. If they are confirming this for you, they will lower the towel only when hearing the water splash.
It is customary to immerse three times, but you can do it however many times you’d like. You or your guide can say something each time or you can immerse in silence or song. Before your last time, it is suggested to say an intention for what you want to either leave behind or take with you or any other kind of blessing you desire.
Once you are finished immersing, you can stay in the mikveh for as long as you like. Your guide can leave you alone or stay in the room – let them know which you prefer. When you are ready to get out, your guide can help you back into your towel or robe and walk you back to the preparation room. Take the time you need, as transition is a precious opportunity for holiness.
After Immersing
The Mikveh Guide will walk you back to your preparation room, where you can get dressed and ready to leave. The Mikveh Guide will walk you out of the mikveh.
May you be blessed with what it is that you most need.
Testimonials
“My immersion experience completely changed the pace of my wedding weekend. It gave me a chance to be still, reflect, and welcome in this new chapter without distraction. In this special moment, I stopped to think about where I am coming from and where I am going, and to be thankful for the journey I’ve had so far… [This immersion] helped me become more present and mindful on my wedding day.”
“After my mother died, I immersed in the mikveh as part of my mourning process.
The mikveh waters coated my body with a warmth that was instantly soothing, instantly healing. I could feel her presence with me. I stayed in those waters for a long time. I wept, I sang, and I wept some more. Every year I return and every time I am held once more.”
“Immersing for the first time helped me let go of anger I had been holding, and feel connected to deep tenderness. I felt I was allowed to hold whatever I wanted to keep. It felt like I was being given permission to be me.”
“I have been going to the mikveh for years. My immersion with ImmerseNYC was the first time I had a positive and uplifting experience at the mikveh. I will carry forward the energy I gained from it into my personal and family life.”
“I didn’t think mikveh was ‘for me’ but ImmerseNYC provided an amazing experience to mikveh newcomers like myself. My mikveh guide was thoughtful and sensitive, and the whole experience was incredibly meaningful and sacred.”