Why would someone go to a mikveh in our time, when private baths are in every home?
Ritual purification is not about cleanliness — in fact, one must be clean before entering a mikveh. Immersion signifies a change in status and belongs to the category of commandments known as chukim (decrees of God), where observance is considered an act of pure faith. Immersion also requires a ritual intention. It is not the water but the intentional act of immersion that transforms or purifies. Finally, the maintenance of a mikveh is a communal, not an individual, responsibility.
