A Home-based Mikveh Ritual for Immersion, Renewal, and Transition

by Om Green

A Ritual of Sacred Water, Accessible for All

As a disabled person, I have been unable to access the mikveh in person in the last year and a half. I have created this ritual to give access to the mikveh ritual to home-bound people. This ritual is written with disability in mind, and is intended to be altered to fit the person utilizing it. There are suggested amendments included.

It should be noted that this home-based mikveh ritual, as described here, is a spiritually meaningful practice but does not fulfill the requirements of a halachically valid mikveh immersion according to traditional Jewish law (halacha). However, it can still serve as a powerful ritual for personal renewal, healing, and transition.

Preparation & Intention-Setting

Before your immersion, take time to prepare your space. Clean your tub or shower, if possible. Consider lighting a candle, or, decorating your space with meaningful objects or art that create feelings of warmth and nurturing for you.

Before beginning, take a moment to center yourself. What are you leaving behind? What are you stepping toward? You may wish to light a candle, breathe deeply, or set a personal intention for your immersion.

Gathering Living Water (“Mayim Hayim“)

To integrate the element of naturally flowing water, choose one of the following:

*Collect rainwater. Choose a vessel that has meaning to you, or, is beautiful and set it outside to collect falling rain. Use immediately after collecting.

*Submerge clean river stones, leaves, spices, or other natural elements in tap water to symbolize connection to nature.

*Let a glass of water sit in the sunlight.

*Keep a gentle stream of water running as you begin.

Seven Steps Toward the Water

As you approach the tub or shower, take seven intentional steps (or, if stepping is difficult, clap seven times, or take seven breaths), each step accompanied by a kavannah (spiritual intention).

Hineni – Here I am.

I arrive at this moment with all that I am. I move toward renewal with openness and honesty.

Hiddur Mitzvah – The unadorned body is beautiful in itself.

I release judgment of my body. It is whole, sacred, and exactly as it should be.

Nekavim Nekavim – Awareness of the body’s design.

My body is wondrous, a vessel of breath and life. I honor its strengths and hold its struggles with compassion.

Betzelem Elohim – Created in the Divine Image.

I am made in the image of something vast and holy. My existence is inherently sacred.

Elohai Neshama Shenatata Bi Tehorah Hi – My soul is pure.

I am not defined by what has weighed me down. My soul is light, whole, and pure.

Kol Haneshama Tehalel Yah – Every breath praises the Divine.

With every inhale and exhale, I celebrate being alive. I find gratitude in breath itself.

Tikkun Olam – Repairing the world.

As I immerse myself, I renew not only myself but my purpose. I emerge ready to bring healing to the world.

Immersion Ritual (For Those Using a Bathtub or Shower)

If using a tub, pour your living water into the tap water of the tub.

• Enter the Water – Step into the bath or stand beneath the shower, feeling the presence of water as a sacred element.

• Submerge or Pour Water Over Yourself – Fully immerse in the bath or let the water cascade over you, symbolizing purification.

• Recite the Blessing (if doing so aligns with your practice):

Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh HaOlam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al ha-tevilah.

Blessed are You, Source of Life, who has sanctified us with commandments and commanded us concerning immersion.

• Three Immersions (or Three Pourings of Water) – After each immersion, pause and breathe deeply, absorbing renewal.

• A moment – Take some time in the holy space you have created to feel held and connected. Spend time gazing at the water, or, reflecting on the water outside and inside of you. This water is ancient, and connects you to all that has been, is, and will be.

• Emerge in Renewal – As you rise from the water, visualize stepping forward with clarity, strength, and lightness.

Alternative Ritual (For Those Who Cannot Immerse)

For those without access to a bathtub or who cannot submerge, the mikveh experience can still be honored:

*Seven Claps or Hand Movements – Replace stepping with claps or small hand movements, aligning with the seven kavannot above.

*Living Water Application – Use a bowl of water infused with rainwater, stones, or leaves. Pour the water slowly over your head, hands, and shoulders.

Recite the Blessing (same as above) while pouring the water over yourself.

*Hand or Face Immersion – If possible, dip your hands or face into the bowl, symbolizing renewal.

*Breathing & Intention Setting – Take three deep breaths, feeling the shift within you.

*Reflection – take time to reflect on a bowl or cup of water. Let your hands or fingers play in the water. Gaze at it. Spend time feeling connected to it.

Closing & Reflection

Wrap yourself in a towel or robe as a symbol of being held in sacredness.

Take a few moments in stillness, allowing the experience to settle.

Consider journaling, saying a personal prayer, or drinking a warm cup of tea as a grounding practice.

May your immersion be a moment of renewal, healing, and transformation.

This ritual originally appeared on Ritualwell.org

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Om Green is a Jewish essayist, ritual crafter, poet and illustrator living in the Southeast, USA. Since suffering a spinal injury in 2023, she has been learning how to reclaim life within the parameters of her disability, and hopes to bring dignity and liberation to other disabled people through her work. Om’s spirituality has a high focus on water, which is a recurring theme in her visual art, poetry and personal expressions of Jewish ritual.