Luxurious Ritual Bath Dedicated by Dnepropetrovsk Jewish Community

For the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, only the best would do when it came to the construction of its brand-new mikvah. No expense was spared in building the ritual bath, and according to the city’s Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzki, that was part of the point.

“This is our city’s fourth mikvah,” relayed Kaminetzki, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary who presided over the ritual bath’s dedication this week. “We’ve upgraded each time. This is our most expensive, but we’ve already seen a huge response on the part of the public.”

It took three years to build the mikvah in the city’s historic Golden Rose synagogue complex, with committee members poring over the finest details, right down to the choice of furniture.

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“We ordered special materials from Italy,” noted Kaminetzki. “The furniture was custom made. The technology is also very special: It’s all computerized, from the temperature of the water to the ventilation of the building.”

Motty and Adina Korf partnered with Ukraine developer Alexander Kaganovsky to completely fund the project. The mikvah was named in memory of Chaya Rivka Korf, Motty Korf’s grandmother.

No expense was spared in the construction of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine’s newest mikvah. Special materials were imported from Italy, while the furniture was custom made.

In explaining the importance of making sure that the mivkah was as luxurious as possible, Kaminetzki said that officials wanted the ritual bath experience to be pleasant and inspiring.

Jewish tradition places a premium on keeping the laws of family purity, going so far as to assign the construction of a mikvah a higher priority than the building of a synagogue.

“Our message is that having a Jewish family begins here,” said Kaminetzki.

To that end, Chabad-Lubavitch of Dnepropetrovsk underwrote the printing of a special booklet about mikvah use in Ukrainian. In addition, while the mikvah will charge a fee to users, anyone who needs financial assistance will not be denied entry.

“Opening a mikvah is among the first tasks of a Jewish community,” the rabbi said in his dedication speech. “Therefore, no effort is spared.”