Before entering the Western Wall Tunnels complex to visit several purification baths named mikvehs, I will provide a general explanation on the subject. The Hasmonean period is known as a period in which the attitude towards purity was significantly strengthened. Especially after they retained control of the temple from the Seleucids and purified the Temple, the whole issue of addressing the laws of impurity and purity increased significantly.
The purification mikvehs actually began to appear during the Hasmonean period. In addition to the increase in the number of pilgrims and visitors to Jerusalem during that period, adding the water required for the purification baths, led to an increase in water consumption in Jerusalem. The water sources from local springs and rainwater are limited, and therefore the Hasmoneans worked to access new water sources from outside Jerusalem into the city and the Temple Mount complex.
A mikveh is man-made facility. It is an artificial substitute for other water purification methods, such as spring water, which has advantages that I will address later, but the local spring water did not provide a solution for the growing population’s purification needs, especially in Jerusalem. Although both the mikveh and the cistern are fed by rainwater, the water differs in the way it is collected in the mikveh, and for this reason, the Sages attributed to them the ability to purify people who have become impure, except for specific cases.
From the Hasmonean period, at the end of the second century BCE, the typical purification bath for the city was a facility built or hewn into the rock, to which rainwater was directed through canals or gutters, that is, without human contact, so that the water in the mikveh was “in the hands of heaven” unlike water pumped from a cistern for consumption, which was “in the hands of man“. Regarding the minimum amount of water required in a mikveh, it is 40 sa’ah, and when translated into liters, there are several opinions, all of which are in the range of hundreds of liters, and therefore it is customary for the amount of water to be a cubic meter of water or more.
When I arrive at an ancient mikveh, what catches my eye are the steps. Although the staircase is a prominent architectural feature, there is no guidance regarding the need or even the definition of the steps for entering the water. It is usually found that the first two or three steps have an average depth of 25-30 cm on average, followed by a step with a wider depth of 40-60 cm and sometimes even more. The height of the first steps is usually 20-25 cm, a height that is comfortable for ascending and descending.
Compared to the average height of 176 cm in recent years for a man and 164 cm for a woman in the Land of Israel, their height 2,000 years ago was significantly lower, so those who were immersed at the time could go down to the first wide step, stand comfortably, dip into the water and complete their immersion without having to go down to the bottom of the mikveh. As the water level dropped, it was possible to go down to the bottom. However, the height of the bottom step could reach 60-70 cm on average. This was perhaps done so that the facility could be used even in extreme cases of water shortage. Climbing from the bottom of the facility to such a height was almost impossible, so at the time a small auxiliary step was installed at the bottom of the staircase that allowed the ascent from there. It is possible that the small auxiliary step was also used to place kitchenware for their purification. Safety in the facility was important, so the edges of the steps were kept round and smooth.
In some of the purification baths uncovered in Jerusalem, an architectural system was found that allowed entry and exit via separate paths, to prevent contact between the purified person leaving and the person entering the mikveh. A contact if occurs between the two would transfer impurity to the clean person and would require him to immerse himself again. For this purpose, two solutions were implemented, which were used together or only one of them. The first – the installation of two adjacent openings that could be closed with two separate doors. The second option – the installation of a low partition along the staircase in the middle,
which is usually up to 20 cm high. A source that suggests separation arrangements in the mikvahs is found in the Mishnah in Tractate Shekalim (Tractate Shekalim 8:2).
According to the interpretation of the sages, there is a distinction in the Hebrew Bible between immersion in a spring (“living water”) and immersion in a pit (“mikveh”), “A spring and a pit are pure water” (Leviticus, Chapter 11, verse 36), so that a spring purifies even when the water is flowing regardless of the amount of water, while a mikveh will only purify if the water is stagnant, and only with an amount of water sufficient to immerse a person’s entire body.
It’s time to enter the Western Wall tunnels – in the next few minutes we will see several mikvehs. The water supply was carried out through the lower aqueduct built above the Great Bridge by the Hasmoneans. The source of water is from the area of Solomon’s Pools, and therefore it is considered the water of a living spring. We will descend from the level of the Great Bridge below Hashelshelet Street above, and before us are luxurious rooms that I will refer to in a separate video, and along this amazing wall that according to archaeologists was built a few dozen years before the destruction of the Second Temple, they have built a purification bath, a mikveh, while damaging the beauty of the room and the wall. Why was this done. For those who have seen the video “John of Gush Halav and the Destruction of the Second Temple”, I described in detail the various groups that ruled Jerusalem over the past years until the destruction of the Temple; about the radicalization, hatred and bitter battles between the Jewish groups. I recommend watching this video as then you can understand what might have been the reason for what was done here. It seems there was a kind of defiance against Herodian culture by building a purification bath in the place where an impressive Herodian structure stood. Here you can see the amazing fountains of splendor, where behind them was a cistern fed from the lower aqueduct, but it is also possible that the cistern was also used as a bath in preparation for mikvahs further on the way towards the Temple Mount.
The next purification bath is unusual in several ways. The bath has steps on all sides, and you can see the immersion area, which is approximately 120 cm high, so for a person today, he would probably have to do a slight dive. In those days, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, the average height was 10-20 cm lower, so a slight bow was required to perform the immersion as required.
Most of the purification baths were built during the Hasmonean period and until the Bar Kokhba revolt, so during a period of 200-300 years. Quite few of them were built or continued to be used from the late Roman period to the Byzantine period. More than 150 mikvahs from this period have been found in Jerusalem, and more than 300 in total throughout the land of Israel. Mikvehs have only been discovered in geographical areas that we know from historical sources were inhabited by Jews or Samaritans. Most of the ancient mikvehs are located in residential buildings, usually in the basement or on the ground floor.
There are also mikvahs that are in the public domain, many such facilities are located at the foot of the Temple Mount, and we saw some of them in the Western Wall tunnels and we also see them in Davidson Archaeological Park. Most of the mikvehs can be classified according to two construction methods. The first method – a facility that is completely carved out of the rock. That is, an artificial cave, or a natural cave that has been processed to suit the needs of such facility, which included carving out steps, plastering, and installing an opening. The second method – a facility that is carved out of the rock but for the lower part, with the upper part built, and this includes the entrance, walls, and ceiling.
And finally, as usual, a question: The first in the Hasmonean dynasty was Mattathias the priest. To which priesthood did he belong? The answer, as usual, at the end of the video.
