To be reborn anew, I must remove the old.
I remove fear of what I do not understand.
I remove vanity and unnecessary self-importance.
I remove labels for the One who cannot be named.
Stripped to nothing to become one with everything,
I humble myself through obedience.
Obedience is to give way to the way.
The way of purity of purpose,
to sanctify the gift given to me.
As a woman
As a mother
As a friend
As a child
As a creator
As a bride
I am transformed.
May my soul join together with all that is
And release what is not.
Let my mind body and soul be cleansed
by the holiness of the MikvahThe ritual bath. The waters of the mikveh symbolically purify – they are seen as waters of rebirth. A convert immerses in the mikveh as part of conversion. Many Orthodox married women go to the mikveh following their period and before resuming sexual relations. Couples go to the mikveh before being married. Many, including some men, immerse before Yom Kippur; some go every Friday before Shabbat.