Member Spotlight: Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement

by Sarah Panzer, Rising Tide Intern

The Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement is an open mikveh in Wilmette, Illinois. It has been serving the midwestern Jewish community since it opened its doors in 1998. It is a hub for inclusive, welcoming immersions, and people from all over Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana come to use the Community Mikvah. Users come from a variety of denominations, including reform, reconstructionist, and unaffiliated communities.  

The idea for the Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement emerged due to a need for inclusive mikveh access in the area. Before the Community Mikvah’s founding, there was a mikveh in the Illinois area that primarily served the orthodox community. It was technically designated as a “community mikveh” for non-orthodox rabbis to bring conversion candidates to. However, conversion candidates were often met with hostility when they used the mikveh. After a particularly ugly incident where members of the orthodox community harassed conversion candidates coming out of the mikveh, the need for a truly open and welcoming mikveh in the community became clear. A donor generously gave $100,000 to the cause of creating a community mikveh in the area, and the Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement was born under the supervision of Rabbi Carl Wolkin and mikveh guide Carol Schnitzler. Carol has served as the administrator, guide, and expert on all things mikveh at the Community Mikveh of the Conservative Movement since its founding, and is retiring this year after 25 dedicated years of service.  

Cantor Liz Berke is looking forward to several exciting initiatives in the works at the Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement. She is planning to engage in more outreach strategies to remind the community of the importance of their mikvah. She hopes to conduct more tours and events at the mikveh to encourage more volunteer support. Finally, she is excited about the prospect of creating a lay community to support the mikveh, which could include a fundraising arm to maintain crucial funding. 

Liz says that Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement contributes to the open mikveh movement by being a place of warmth, healing, and embrace. She says that the mikveh is truly open to the needs and wants of its clients and community, and is open to creative uses to mark important life transitions. She notes that Carol has been essential in creating this open atmosphere, as she is open to facilitating any mikveh ceremony that marks a transition in life.  

Liz also notes that the Rising Tide Network has been incredibly supportive to the Community Mikveh of the Conservative Movement. Resources, like shared COVID precautions, job description templates, and google forms for volunteer sign-ups have been helpful in supporting the work at the Community Mikveh. She would like to shine the spotlight on Carol for all her amazing work over the past 25 years, and share her dream of the Community Mikveh becoming known as the Mayyim Hayyim of the Midwest, with the Rising Tide Network. For more information about the Community Mikveh of the Conservative movement, visit http://www.communitymikvahwilmette.org/.