Purification on Erev Yom Kippur

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* The custom discussed in this article does not include unmarried women (most married women do not keep the custom either).

The Tur mentions the well-established custom of going to the mikvah (ritual bath) the day before Yom Kippur[1]. Rav Se’adiya Gaon[2]ruled that one must make a blessing after the immersion, but this was rejected by most other scholars[3]. Nevertheless, his opinion can serve as an indicator of the importance of this custom. The Tur concludes by saying that the essence of this practice is that we should become as pure as angels on the holy day.

Some students on campus will not be able to reach a mikvahbefore Yom Kippur. Is there an alternative way that they can fulfill this meaningful[4]tradition?




The Talmud in tractate Berachot[5]teaches that when it is too difficult to use a ritual bath, 9 kabin (an ancient measure) can be poured upon a person’s body at once. Rabbi Yitzchack Weiss writes in his responsa[6]that in modern measurements this is at most 32 liters (close to 8.5 gallons), and Rabbi Shmuel Wosner[7]ruled that it is permissible to use a shower for this purpose. Rabbi Wosner’s ruling is relevant only if one stands still under the stream long enough for 8.5 gallons to pass and is in a position that enables water to flow over his entire body.
Approximately how long does it take to use 8.5 gallons in a shower?
I found the following on Answers.com:
"Federal regulations mandate new shower heads flow less than 2.5 gallons per minute with a line feed pressure of 80 pounds per square inch.

Although actual consumption varies with water pressure at the shower head inlet and the exact flow rate of the shower head, a reasonable average for a 5 minute shower using a low-flow head would be 7-8 gallons of water. This is because most homes have far less than 80psi line pressure, the typical pressure being around 50psi.
Older high-flow or unrestricted shower heads in systems with more typical 50psi water mains pressure can flow over 4 gallons per minute. A 5 minute shower would use 20 gallons of water with an older unrestricted shower head, although it could be more."




So, unless you know your shower is different, I would recommend showering in the abovementioned manner for about 6 minutes as a substitute for the mikvah.


I feel that this is an appropriate opportunity to quote the beautiful and inspirational words that Maimonides writes in the conclusion of the laws of mikva’ot[8]:
רמז יש בדבר כשם שהמכוין לבו לטהר כיון שטבל טהור ואף על פי שלא נתחדש בגופו דבר כך המכוין לבו לטהר נפשו מטומאות הנפשות שהן מחשבות האון ודעות הרעות, כיון שהסכים בלבו לפרוש מאותן העצות והביא נפשו במי הדעת טהור, הרי הוא אומר וזרקתי עליכם מים טהורים וטהרתם מכל טומאותיכם ומכל גלוליכם אטהר אתכם, השם ברחמיו הרבים מכל חטא עון ואשמה יטהרנו אמן.
Translation:[Although we cannot conceive the true essence of the laws of purity] there still is an underlying message: Just as one who sets his heart on becoming pure and once he has immersed [in the mikvah] is pure even though nothing changed in his body, so too when a person sets his heart on cleansing himself from spiritual impurities – which are the negative thoughts and bad personality traits – as soon as he decides in his heart to distance himself from these matters and brings his spirit into the waters of wisdom he is pure, for God says ‘’I will splash you with pure water and you will become purified from all of your impurities and I will clean you from all of your filth’’. May Hashem with his great mercy purify us from all sin and fault, amen.

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[1] OC 606[2]Responsa of the Geonim, Sha’arei Teshuvah 202. It seems that Rav Se’adiya Gaon bases his opinion upon Rabbi Yizchack’s ruling that is mentioned in the Talmud tractate Rosh Hashana 16b. It is possible that according to this the ritual immersion before Yom Kippur is of biblical law.[3]See Shulchan Aruch OC 606:4[4]The mikvah can be viewed as resembling the womb and a person is reborn by entering the water. Also, a convert must first immerse himself in the mikvah before he is considered to be Jewish. So too we have the chance to start over.[5]22a[6]Minchat Yitzchack 4:21[7]Shevet Halevi 1:24[8] Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Mikva’ot 11:12