For thousands of years, Jewish marriages have been strengthened through the sanctity and holiness inherent in Taharat Hamishpacha – the practice of Family Purity, of which immersion in a Mikvah is an integral part.
The mikvah is a mystical pool of rainwater that transports a person back to the very origins of spiritual purity.
The word Mikvah means a gathering of water, natural water. Unlike an ordinary tub or pool, complex laws and specifications govern a Mikvah’s construction. The accumulated rainwater is kept in a separate pool and is adjacent to the immersion pool which is filled with heated tap water and meticulously cleaned. The pools share a common wall that has an opening, allowing the waters to touch, thus conferring upon the immersion pool the legal status of a Mikvah.
Our Mikvah, containing waters untouched by human hands because they fell as rain directly into the Mikvah, is the closest thing we have to a piece of heaven on earth. Water is the most spiritual of all the physical elements. It gives us the opportunity to reunite with our spiritual source.
The Mikvah Chaya Mushkah was built in 1988 and has served the Jewish community of El Paso ever since. The main problem in the construction of a kosher Mikvah in the desert of El Paso, was the difficulty of collecting enough rainwater. The problem was solved when a letter was sent to the Rebbe requesting a special blessing for rain. After the letter was sent, a rain storm came to El Paso that very Friday night and by the next morning, the requisite amount of water was realized. The great miracle and blessing of "geshem (rain)," in its time, had finally come to El Paso.
Renovations were done to the Mikvah in 1998. With it's newly renovated state of the art facilities and beautiful decor, the Mikvah is an experience of comfort and spirituality.
Mikvah is the threshold separating the mundane from the holy and spiritual. Immersion in the Mikvah has offered a gateway to purity ever since the creation of man, when Adam sat in the flowing rivers of Eden. Emerging from beneath the Mikvah waters, a person gains a sense of renewal, rejuvenation and rebirth as his/her physical being and spiritual nature join together.
To learn more about Mikvah and Family Purity, and for a directory of Mikvahs throughout the world, please visit Chabad's Global Mikvah Site.
The mikvah is available for women every evening by appointment only. To schedule an appointment to use the mikvah call Chana Greenberg at (915) 241-5711.
For questions or more information email Mrs. Chana Greenberg at [email protected].