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Mikveh
Jewish ritual bath / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Mikva" redirects here. For the U.S. Representative and federal judge, see Abner J. Mikva.
A mikveh or mikvah (Hebrew: מִקְוֶה / מקווה, Modern: mīqve, Tiberian: mīqwe, pl. miqva'ot, mikvoth, mikvot, or (Yiddish) mikves,[1][2] lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual immersion in Judaism[3] to achieve ritual purity.
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In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered to; consequently, the mikveh is central to an Orthodox Jewish community. Conservative Judaism also formally holds to the regulations. The existence of a mikveh is considered so important that a Jewish community is required to construct a kosher mikveh even before building a synagogue, and must go to the extreme of selling Torah scrolls, or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for its construction.[4][5]