On Sunday morning 26 Adar II, the mikveh "Be'er Chaya
Esther" was officially opened in Johannesburg, South
Africa.
This was a remarkable event in a Jewish community that is
known to be dwindling through emigration. Just the large
number of women who have already started using it before the
official function shows that, in contrast to the overall
Jewish community, the frum community is actually
growing rapidly.
The project was initiated by Rabbi Menachem Raff of the
Maharsha Community, some two years ago. He identified the
need for a new mikva, and saw an opportunity to
perpetuate the memory of one of his congregants, Mrs. Adele
Taback z"l and her two young daughters, who had died
tragically in a motor accident.
The ceremony was held in a marquee in the mikva
grounds. Guests were served tea and cake and were able to
tour the facilities. Various representatives of the community
addressed the audience, including Rabbi Raff; Rabbi Harris,
the Chief Rabbi of South Africa; Rabbi Kurtztag, the Av Beis
Din; and Rabbi Auerbach, head of Ohr Somayach in South
Africa. Mrs. Taback's brother Michael Miller, and two of her
sons Daniel and Aryeh, also addressed the gathering. The
organizer of the financing of the project, Harold Bloch,
thanked the donors and called for contributions to cover the
outstanding costs. The parents of Mrs. Taback, Willie and
Sylvia Miller, then cut the ribbon across the entrance,
symbolically opening the mikva for the community.
The facility consists of two mikvas and has ten bath
rooms and a number of hair drying rooms. The halachic aspects
were supervised by Rabbi Meir Posen who flew in from Israel a
number of times to advise and check. He required many
halachic stringencies, which he said were desirable when it
comes to matters affecting taharas Yisroel. The main
source of water is a bore hole with a specially designed
halachic pump. The second supply is a reservoir on the roof
collecting rain water.
