Mikvah Thoughts

Lazer Brody shares his glurgey take on the practice of ritual immersion:

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches that immersion in the mikva is the cure for all troubles, and has the power to purify a person from every form of sin and impurity. The spiritual power of the mikva is rooted in the most exalted levels of wisdom and love.

When the soul is purified, the brain thinks more clearly and the body feels a sense of wellbeing. Immersion in the mikva is superb preparation for both prayer and Torah learning. As such, many people - especially in Israel - immerse in the mikva every morning.

Immersion in the mikva before the Sabbath prepares the soul to receive the added, high-level sanctity of the Sabbath.

The Kabbalists say that when one immerses oneself in the mikva in this world, one's soul is immersed and purified in the upper worlds.

I already made my views on this subject clear. I never felt any spirituality going to mikvah, unless spirituality is akin to worrying about athlete's foot. I understand that tumah and tahara are matters of khoq, the practice still strikes me as fairly bizarre. The interaction between the physical world and that of tumah and tahara is just strange and beggars rational justification. Which would lead one into a discussion of taharas ha'mishpakha, and I don't plan on going there.