"Waters Of Eden"

Many women relate to going to the Mikvah as a chore. They feel that it is an imposition on them in order to have intimacy with their husbands, and this often brings with it no small amount of resentment. Ironically, this perspective, though not uncommon, stems from a total misconception about what the Mikvah is actually about and who it is for.

Most of the time in our waking state of reality we tend to overlook the fact that in the physical world there are parallel worlds going on simultaneously. There are natural forces influencing one another in both realities. 
Mikvah is one of these parallel realities. 

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan illuminates the points in the following quotations from the English translation of “Waters Of Eden”

*References to male gender are also meant to include women.

How does man purify himself and remove himself from a state of spiritual uncleanliness? How does he reassociate himself with Eden? The purification is primarily through water, through immersion in the Mikvah. Water is the primary connection we have with the Garden of Eden. All the water in the world has its roots in the River that emerged from Eden. Even though the person cannot re-enter the Garden of Eden itself, whenever he associates himself with these rivers- or any other water- he is re-establishing his link with Eden. This also explains why the Mikvah must be linked to natural water. Water must come to the Mikvah from its natural state, and must not come into contact with man in his state of spiritual exile. Similarly, it must not pass through anything that is capable of being defiled, since this would also break the direct link with the River of Eden. The Torah tells us that Gd planted a Garden, and in it, the Tree Of Knowledge of Good and Evil. With it, the possibility was created that man would sin, and be evicted from Eden. Thus, even before Gd placed man in Eden, He established a link between the Garden and the world outside, namely the River which emerged from Eden. Rather, it is an important statement regarding man's condition in the world outside of Eden. Even though man has been expelled from Eden, a link remains. The concept of Mikvah is very closely associated with this link. Mikvah alludes to the “waters of knowledge” that will ultimately encompass all mankind. To the primitive mind, which had no idea of the inner workings of a womb, the very idea that a woman should lose a portion of her vital fluids was both bizarre and frightening. They could not explain it logically and attributed it to some evil force.We see that all our biological logic and sophistication does not really help us understand this natural phenomena.

Another large area where human imperfection is evident is in the area of sex and reproduction. Rather than being a simple, natural, biological function, sex is the source of man's greatest compulsions and frustrations. Man's innate nature demands that he should have psychological conflicts with regard to sex. One obvious area where man’s lack of sexual integration is apparent is with respect to his attitude towards his body. One of the reasons sex is so holy is because it has the ability to accomplish something that is beyond the power of any other human function- namely, drawing a soul down to the world, and producing a living human being. Incidentally, this explains why Gds covenant with Avraham involved circumcision- an indelible mark on the organ of reproduction . As the father of the “chosen people '' Avraham and his children would now be able use this organ to bring the holiest souls into the world. The covenant of circumcision was one of the things that elevated Avraham from the fallen state resulting from the expulsion from Eden. On a simpler level, Niddah is a sign of the imperfection of the human reproductive process. Therefore, the purification and rectification of Niddah must return to the perfected “womb” that is the Mikvah. The husband-wife bond is essential for the rearing of human children. On the other hand, the very basic and essential relationship between husband and wife can fall apart through something as undramatic as simple boredom. The monthly separation tends to renew the sexual relationship and thus stabilize the marriage bond. On another level, the fact that husband and wife cannot have any physical contact during the days of separation forces them to look upon each other as human beings, rather than as mere sex objects.

-The Mikvah must consist of water, no other liquids can be used. 
-The Mikvah must either be built into the ground, or be an integral part of a building attached to the ground. It cannot consist of any vessel that can be disconnected and carried away, such as a tub, vat or barrel. 
-The water of a Mikvah cannot be running or flowing. The only exception is a natural spring, or river whose water is derived mainly from springs. 
-The water of the Mikvah cannot be drawn. That is, it cannot be brought to the Mikvah through direct human intervention. 
-The water cannot be channeled to the Mikvah through anything that can become unclean. 
-The Mikvah must contain at least 40 Sa 'ah, approximately 200 gallons. 

All this indicates that the entire body must come in contact with the water. There is a general rule that if something is mixed with twice its volume it is considered to be nullified. The largest human body is 20 Sa’ah. Therefore, the amount of water necessary to nullify this body is double this, or is 40 Sa ‘ah. 

Water, being the prototype fluid, is therefore the one substance that primarily represents change and instability. Life is a unique combination of change and permanence. A living thing is constantly changing, and yet at the same time retains its identity. Before creation change did not exist. Gd dwells in a realm above time, and the concept of change does not apply to Him in any way whatsoever. Therefore, one of the first ingredients of creation had to be the very concept of change.

The Torah describes the world at the beginning of creation by saying (Genesis 1:2) "The earth was formless and chaotic, with darkness on the face of the deep, and Gd's spirit causing motion on the face of the water."

Most important, we see that water itself represents the change and flow toward Gd’s goal. When a person immerses himself in a Mikvah, he immerses himself spiritually in the basic concept of change itself. Man's ego represents the element of his permanence, and therefore, when he is totally immersed in the concept of change, his ego is nullified. Thus, when he emerges from the Mikvah, he is in a total state of renewal and rebirth. 

The past is history and cannot be changed. We have no way of even touching the future. Therefore, the arena of action, where all change takes place, is the present. 

“Gd (HaShem) is Israel’s Mikvah” Just as the Mikvah purifies the unclean, so Gd purifies Israel. -Mishneh, Yoma 8:9

In this verse, the word Mikvah actually means “hope”. But what is hope? It actually represents our feelings toward an event in the future. When we hope that some future event will happen, we are dealing with something that is beyond the barrier of time. We therefore say that our hope is Hashem-The name. We use this name when we are speaking of Gd. As we know, the word Mikvah actually means a “gathering”. Taken in this context, it is also a gathering of time- a gathering of past and future into the present, making them both accessible to us. The ability to transcend the bonds of time, on the other hand, is the ultimate freedom.

Therefore, when a person enters the Mikvah, he enters a state where past, present and future are all “gathered together” and is therefore ultimately free. He is no longer bound by past or future, but exists in an absolute present, which is the one instant of time over which man has absolute control. Therefore, the freedom of Mikvah overcomes the lack of freedom associated with Tumah.

Scripture speaks of this when it says, “Who can bring the clean out of the unclean, if not the One”

On a personal note:

Gd seems inaccessible to us, at this time. 
We have no temple or prophecy. The mikvah has been and remains, an unbroken, continuous and total connection to Gd. 
Gd is everything. He is the air we breathe and the water you drink. 80% of the water in your body is Gd. Gd is the water you are immersing in.
The specifications and detail of the mikvah have been set in such a way by Gd, to facilitate this state for us to access him; and has been, for thousands of years. At this time, in order to access Gd in this physical world, we do so through intimacy with one another, and through using the mikvah. You are in a womb for that moment you are under the water. We have an opportunity, as Jewish women, to undergo transformation and be close to Gd in a realm where there is no past, present or future, which is where he resides. When you submerge yourself, and pray for yourself and all those you care about; these prayers are going directly to Gd. 
Yes, we need to use the mikvah to be with our husbands intimately, but we are NOT doing this solely for our husbands. We are doing this for ourselves.Disrobing in front of the mikvah attendant can be unsettling. Why waste these precious moments thinking about the mikvah attendant, when you have such an important opportunity for spiritual connection?