First ‘mikveh’ inaugurated on an Israeli military base

The first-ever Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) on an Israeli military base was inaugurated in central Israel on Wednesday.

The unusual addition to the Border Police base comes at a time when Israelis have drawn closer to faith and tradition following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, a shift which, surveys show, is particularly notable among younger citizens.

The ritual bath, which was donated by the American filmmaker and philanthropist Cheryl Halpern in memory of her husband, Fred, was inaugurated at a small ceremony in the presence of Jewish and non-Jewish Border Police officers and a diverse array of rabbinical leaders just before the Shavout holiday, which marks the giving of the Bible at Mount Sinai.

Halpern cited the importance of “self-purification and self-meditation” for the paramilitary police officers, irrespective of their faith, before going on a mission.

“I pray that when you go out on a mission with such danger, and you do not know if you will return alive, that when you immerse yourself, God will protect you,” she said. “What you are doing is giving life to the Nation of Israel both inside the country and outside of it.”

Halpern told JNS that she had been looking for an appropriate way to memorialize her late husband. While visiting Israel in March, she learned from a Border Police commander that some of his troops were immersing themselves in a ritual bath in nearby communities before going out on missions.

Her contact person for the project was a Druze Israel Border Police officer in the reserves.

The spanking-new, ultra-modern mikveh, located adjacent to a small newly renovated caravan that serves as a synagogue at the base, was filled with late-spring rainwater within two months. A Hebrew sign at its entrance reads “Mikveh of the Friends” alongside a quote from the Book of Leviticus, “Before the Lord you shall be purified.”

“Precisely at this place, there is a special significance in having a mikveh as it serves as a spiritual anchor for us all,” said the commander of the Israel Border Police, Maj. Gen. Brik Yitzhak.