Welcome to the virtual home of the Maine Mikvah Oral History Project, a collection exploring how modern Jews in Maine are engaging with and reimagining one of Judaism’s most ancient rituals.
Mel Weiss introduces Colby students to Beth Israel Congregation’s new mikvah in Waterville, ME.
Wait, What’s A Mikvah?
In many cultures and religions, water is a liminal and sacred space; a site and symbol of transformation, of renewal, and of rebirth—and Judaism is no exception. For millennia, Jews around the world have immersed in a special bath or pool of water called a mikvah—both for spiritual cleansing and purification rites, and to mark important transitions and lifecycle events.
According to Jewish law, a mikvah has many sanctified uses. Many Jews immerse before getting married, in preparation for Shabbat and the High Holidays, and some even use the mikvah to make plates and utensils kosher. Immersion is considered an integral part of the religious conversion process, and mikvah are also used in rituals surrounding preparing the dead for Jewish burial. Since Biblical times, the most traditional and popular use of the mikvah, however, has been primarily by Orthodox women who observe Taharat Hamishpacha, a detailed set of “family purity” rules regarding menstruation and marital relations. For this reason, many contemporary Jews (outside of Orthodox communities) are unaware of the institution of the mikvah; some have abandoned this mitzvah altogether.
In recent years, though, the role that the mikvah plays in Jewish religious and spiritual life has been changing. Beyond what Jewish law dictates, a number of modern Jews have been embracing this powerful ancient ritual in creative ways to move through all kinds of status changes and thresholds—such as bar and bat mitzvah, graduation, gender transition, divorce, illness, recovery, bereavement, pregnancy and infertility— while others are immersing simply as a way to reflect and reconnect.
About This Project
In the spring of 2024, Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville debuted its brand new community mikvah; the Conservative synagogue in central Maine hadn’t had one in over a century. At that moment, big questions began to form: Was this new Waterville facility a signal that the mikvah renaissance was also happening in Maine? What are the histories and stories of others mikvahs in the Pine Tree State? And how is having access to a mikvah shaping Jewish life and spirituality in Maine today?
This line of inquiry was at the heart of the 2025 Colby Jan Plan Course, RE/JS221: The Jews of Maine, taught by visiting instructor Nora Saks. A working journalist and oral historian, Saks introduced students to oral history interviewing as an ethical method of collecting personal and communal narratives. Each student interviewer was assigned an interviewee (or narrator) who had a special connection to a particular mikvah (past or present). Then, over the course of a month, students visited mikvahs in Portland and Waterville, conducted research, and gathered more than a dozen firsthand accounts of how Maine Jews from diverse backgrounds are engaging with the mikvah as a spiritual, religious, and cultural practice, and how Jewish life and communities in Maine are continuing to evolve.
This map, designed by Jen Lin, represents the mikva’ot discussed in this oral history collection. It’s not complete, or exhaustive, so if you know of another mikvah in Maine, past or present, please let us know!
Explore: Browse Interviews
Connect: Share Your Story
Do you have a story you would like to share about mikva’ot in Maine? We’d love to hear from you! If you’re interested in participating in an oral history interview for this ongoing project, please reach out to Nora Saks [nsaks at gmail dot com].