MACoM Celebrates Ten Years of Mikvah

Ten years ago, several moving pieces came together to precipitate the creation of the Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah (MACoM), which will soon celebrate serving the Jewish community of Atlanta, of greater Georgia, and of many of the surrounding states for a full decade.

“At that time, two very large gifts had been made by the Marcus Foundation and the Leven Foundation, and those gifts had been given because of the partnership of the late Rabbi Alvin Sugarman and Rabbi Josh Heller,” said Alice Wertheim, who shortly after that time became MACoM’s first president.

Rabbi Sugarman had visited Mayyim Hayyim in Boston, one of the first and most influential community mikvahs, and met with Anita Diamant, a well-known Jewish writer and its founding president. Diamant was invited as the scholar-in-residence for a weekend at Congregation B’nai Torah, where Heller served as senior rabbi, and took time that weekend to speak at The Temple as well.

“At that time, we were beginning our work towards an expansion and renovation program,” said Fred Chaiken, then-president of Congregation B’nai Torah. “We had our own internal mikvah at B’nai Torah and it was in need of significant updating/improvements.

“Rabbi Heller’s interest was that the only mikvah that served the liberal community was at B’nai Torah, but B’nai Torah was not the primary user of that mikvah,” said Wertheim. “It was being used by all the congregations, primarily for conversions.”

This is one of the things that Rabbi Heller, who has jokingly been called MACoM’s CPO – chief plumbing officer, is most proud of — how MACoM has changed conceptions of mikvah.

“Traditionally it was used for conversion, and for women coming on a monthly basis or before a wedding, and we’re now seeing really a wonderful expansion, where people are finding their own meaning in mikvah for a lot of different kinds of uses, marking milestones, healing,” said Rabbi Heller. “We are now living in a generation that is taking the ‘ick’ out of ‘mikvah.’”

“I have immersed in other mikvahs, where it is kind of top-down, dictated to you how things are going to go — what the mikvah guide expects of you, what the process looks like. MACoM is different– we give the power to the person immersing,” said Sarah Konigsburg, MACoM’s operations coordinator. “We have a fully halachic kosher mikvah that anyone who comes in cannot tamper with — that’s how it was built, that’s how we maintain it — and so anyone can come in and feel comfortable that we adhere to the highest strictures of halachah, and from there they can make it how they want it to be.”

Konigsburg also noted the importance of their various mikvah guides throughout the years, all of whom are volunteers, and their role in crafting a spiritual experience for those who immerse. Wertheim, who was also one of the first guides — and in fact guided immersions before she immersed herself — happened to run into a woman at the Jewish Book Festival who was considering immersing, Wilma Asrael.

“I was going to go to the mikvah, and this wonderful woman was there, and said, ‘I am a guide at the mikvah! I want to be your guide!’” said Asrael. “I said, ‘Uh-oh, I’m really committed now.’ So, she was my guide, and I went to the mikvah.”

“I took a deep breath, and as I walked down the steps — seven steps into the mikvah — I said some prayers to myself,” said Asrael, describing her experience with the immersion, celebrating her 80th birthday. “I entered the water, which felt silky and wonderful, the right temperature — it was water… that I had never experienced before. Someone had prepared a ceremony for me, and I read that and did the immersions three times. I stayed there for a few minutes after to contemplate, and then I got dressed and went out.”

The experience convinced Asrael to become a mikvah guide herself for several years. Asrael’s daughter, Michele Garber, also a mikvah guide around the same time, described how incredible an experience it is for a guide as well.

“One of the reasons I love guiding there is I’ve heard some beautiful things come out of the mikvah. I’ve heard some amazing singing. I’ve been there to watch people’s tears, both happy and sad tears in going there.”

Garber became a member of MACoM’s board, and then its president during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a difficult time, and we weren’t able to raise a lot of money like a lot of Jewish organizations around that time. It was a little bit of a struggle. We had some funds, and we were able to get some through some grants as well. And it was important for us to stay open.”

MACoM made it through, and has continued to serve more and more immersers, reaching two incredible milestones earlier this year –1,000 conversions and 3,000 total immersions — and will be throwing a celebration for 10 years of immersions on Dec. 3.

“It’s our tenth-year anniversary celebration, and there’s a lot to celebrate. It’s going to be a fundraiser and a celebration of all that MACoM has been able to do for the community,” said Garber, who is host committee chair for the event, with Leah and Ted Blum and Lisa and Seth Greenberg serving as event chairs. “The ability to help people celebrate and mark special occasions and changes in their life is amazing. Hopefully it’ll go on forever and ever and ever.”

For registration and sponsorship information, please visit: bit.ly/MACoM10