Spiritual Purification

Yesterday I came across an article in our local newspaper that caught my eye. The article is about the building of a mikvah (a ritual bath for spiritual purification) in Bozeman, Montana. Steve and I visited Bozeman in 2007. Here is a link to the article:

Jewish ritual finds home in Big Sky Country

What is a mikvah?

An ancient ritual bath in which Jewish women traditionally immerse after their monthly cycle and before the resumption of sexual relations. Also used for conversion.

Mikvah has been passed down from mother to daughter as a thoroughly private, even secret ritual. Today it is a many-faceted silent celebration of womanhood observed by a broad spectrum of Jewish women.

By immersing in the Mikvah, a woman links herself to an ongoing tradition that has spanned generations, to Jewish women around the world and throughout time. As she brings herself in immediate contact with the source of life, purity, and holiness - with G-d who surrounds her and is within her always.

Here is a link to an excellent article concerning an event that was billed as “The Ultimate Feminist Experience: Mikvah.”

What an incredibly spiritual experience it must be for Jewish women to be immersed in "living waters." Here are photographs of mikvahs.



Click here for a Mikvah Tour

And for my LDS readers, you may find this post at an LDS blog of interest: Mikvah.

Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts about the mikvah.

SHALOM

Three Sisters

My oldest sister passed away today. I found this poem and dedicate it to my sweet sister. Jeannie, you will be in our hearts always.

Three Sister's
© Francis I. Gillespie

We are three sisters
Three sisters are we
I love each of you,
And I know you love me

We’re not always together,
Life sometimes keeps us apart.
But we're never separated
We’re in each other's heart.

Now I know we've had our troubles,
But we always get thru.
The real message is you love me,
And I also love you.

We have had lots of good times
That we'll never forget
Sometimes we worry
And sometimes we fret

But if God ever gave me
Something special you see,
It might have been the blessing of,
Three sisters are we.
The Lord above has gave me lots
Of happiness and glee
But the most special thing he did was
Make us sisters, all three.
Three Sister's by Francis I. Gillespie Sister Poems

Where to turn?

I've been struggling with this all day.

My middle sister telephoned yesterday to tell me that our oldest sister is in ICU and that she may not be with us much longer.

I keep wanting a loving God to send a miracle and that my sister will pull through somehow. My middle sister told me that our oldest sister is on a breathing machine and has been rambling something to the effect of "they won't open the gates for me." All I can think is that she is now somewhere between life and death.

If it is my sister's time to go, I do want her to be released from any further pain and suffering.

I have put my sister's name on the temple prayer rolls for several weeks now. In February, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer that has spread to her lungs. My sister turned 62 last month.

I am profoundly sad. How am I supposed to maintain a belief in a loving God at times like this?