(2017/5777)
The Challenge
Natural rain water, water that has never been in a receptacle (Mayim She’uvim) is the lifeblood of a Mikveh.[21] Forty Se’ah (1000 liters/265 gallons) of natural rainwater serves as the base from which the Mikveh branches out. Typically, the rainwater gathers in a collection pool and the Mikveh is ready to be placed into action. However, in many locales in the world, including Israel, rainwater is not readily available during much of the year. An inoperable Mikvah for months on end is an untenable situation for a Jewish community. Is there a viable Halachic alternative in such a situation? Detailed guidance from an expert in the Halachot of Mikveh-creation is an absolute necessity, but let us review the Halachic literature regarding creating a Mikveh from snow, natural ice and artificial ice.
Mishneh Mikva’ot 7:2
The Mishneh (Mikva’ot 7:2) seems to clearly support the creation of Mikva’ot using snow and ice. The Mishneh states at first that snow and ice can be used to create a Mikveh. Rabi Akiva proceeds to relate how Rabi Yishma’el argued before him that snow cannot be used as a Mikveh. Thereupon, Rabi Akiva reports, the people of Meideva testified in the very name of Rabi Yishma’el that Rabi Yishma’el had instructed them to create a Mikveh from snow!
The Rosh (Hilchot Mikva’ot no. 18) codifies the Mishnah and states that the Pesul (disqualification) of Mayim She’uvim does not apply to snow and ice, since only water is regarded as Mayim She’uvim. Moreover, the Rosh clarifies that it is acceptable to create an entire Mikveh from snow or ice.
Ra’avad and Ba’al HaMaor--the Status of Snow that Has not Melted
However, the issue is not so simple. First, the Ra’avad (Ba’alei HaNefesh pp. 92) raises a basic question regarding snow--may snow itself be used as is to create a Mikvah, or may it be used only after it melts and becomes water? The Ra’avad concludes that only when snow melts can it be used as a Mikveh. On the other hand, the Ba’al HaMaor (as appears in the Sela HaMachloket, printed in the Ba’alei HaNefesh pp. 161) argues that snow itself has the status of water regarding the rules of Hilchot Mikva’ot.
There are two huge Nafka Minot (ramifications) of the dispute between the Ra’avad and the Ba’al HaMaor. One is whether snow may be used for Tevilah (either of people or Keilim/utensils) before it melts. The Ba’al HaMaor rules that snow enjoys the status of water and may be used for Tevilah. The Ra’avad disagrees.
A second enormous Nafka Minah is whether snow that is placed in a utensil is rendered as Mayim She’uvim. The Ra’avad rules that the snow does not gain the status of Mayim She’uvim as a result. He reasons that “when the snow melts, it becomes a different entity.” The Ba’al HaMaor strongly disagrees, arguing that snow has the status of water both in a lenient and stringent direction.
The Rulings of the Shulchan Aruch and its Major Commentaries
The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Dei’ah 201:30) rules leniently in both directions, permitting Tevilah in snow before it melts and ruling that the disqualification of She’uvim applies only to water. The Rama (ad. loc.) rules that it is best to avoid using snow itself for Tevilat Keilim. The Shach (ad. loc. number 71) strongly rejects using snow that has not melted as a Mikveh. The Aruch HaShulchan (ad. loc. number 147) strongly endorses the Shach’s approach. He writes, “heaven forfend we be lenient about this matter.”[22] He notes that many Rishonim (including Rashi and Rambam) rule in this manner and that even Rav Yosef Karo in Orach Chaim (160:12) does not regard snow as acceptable for Netilat Yadayim. However, all of the commentators seem to endorse the Shulchan Aruch’s ruling that snow cannot be rendered as She’uvim, even if placed in a utensil, before it melts.
Rabi Akiva Eiger (to Y.D. 201:30) notes that although the Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries permit creating a Mikveh entirely of snow, the Ra’avad in the Ba’alei HaNefesh permits using snow only if there is a majority of the required 40 Se’ah of rainwater already in the Mikveh. Only if there is already more than twenty Se’ah of rainwater in the Mikveh may snow be added to complete the Mikveh.
Creating a Mikveh from Snow - the Chatam Sofer
The Pitchei Teshuvah (ad. loc. no. 21) cites Teshuvot Chatam Sofer (no. 200) and Teshuvot Toledot Yitzchak (no. 24) who both permit creating a Mikveh entirely from snow in accordance with the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch. However, melting the snow in the Mikveh poses quite a challenge. Chatam Sofer and Toledot Yitzchak rule in accordance with the Shach that snow does not have the status of water in regards to Hilchot Mikva’ot. Thus, pouring boiling hot water from heated pots invalidates the snow. Such water is Mayim She’uvim. Adding three Logim (approximately a quart) of Mayim She’uvim before a Mikveh has accumulated 40 Se’ah of rainwater that has never been stored in a utensil disqualifies the Mikveh. Three Logim of water poured from boiling pots, accordingly, invalidate the Mikveh. Chatam Sofer and Toledot Yitzchak recommend heating metal rods that do not accept Tumah to melt the snow. The modern-day equivalent is to use a blowtorch.
Due to this concern, snow used to create a Mikveh is shoveled with perforated shovels (which do not constitute Keilim due to their imperfections) and is transported in perforated utensils so that the snow does not melt and accumulate three Logim of Mayim She’uvim. This also serves to satisfy the opinion of the Ba’al HaMaor. When creating a Mikveh, we are very stringent and seek to accommodate even those opinions of the Rishonim that are not cited in the Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries.
Another major problem with snow is that even when it melts it yields very little water. One can bring an entire truckload of snow and it will not melt into 40 Se’ah of water. Finally, a Mikveh made entirely of snow does not create a Kosher Mikveh according to Rabi Akiva Eiger’s understanding of the Ra’avad. Although I have heard of communities whose Mikva’ot were created from snow, in a situation where a Mikveh is needed to be repaired expeditiously, using snow to create a Mikveh might not be a practical option.
Natural Ice and Artificial Ice
In order to overcome some of these obstacles, natural ice was often used to create a Mikveh. While in earlier times, huge blocks of ice were cut and readily available on the commercial market, in our times, huge blocks of ice are not readily available. One would be hard-pressed to find a professional who could provide a huge block of ice to create a Mikveh.
Therefore, the question has been raised as to whether artificial ice may be used to create a Mikveh in a case where creating a Mikveh with rainwater is not a viable option. This question has been hotly debated by the Poskim of the past century with no clear consensus emerging.
The case, as articulated by Rav Nissan Telushkin[23] (Taharat Mayim 54-56), for permitting a Mikveh created from artificial ice is very straightforward. The Beit Yosef (Y.D. 201) cites the Tosefta (Taharot 2:3; as explained by the Semag[24]) which states that Mayim She’uvim that freeze lose their status as She’uvim and may be used for immersion after they melt. The Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 201:31) codifies the Tosefta, the Shach (ad. loc. number 74) presents the Semag’s explanation, and none of the major commentaries express any dissent. In fact, three major Lithuanian-trained Poskim support Rav Telushkin’s conclusion that a Mikvah may be created from artificial ice--Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky (Teshuvot Achiezer 3:33), Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohein Kook (Teshuvot Da’at Kohein 101), and Rav Avraham Shapira (Teshuvot Devar Avraham 3:13). The great Sephardic authority Rav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad[25] permits this as well (Teshuvot Rav Pe’alim 2: Y.D. 24).
Many great Poskim, such as Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein (Teshuvot Levush Mordechai no. 25), strongly disagree. Rav Epstein reasons that even though the water has frozen, the act of freezing does not remove the status of the water with regards to its being She’uvim in the case of artificial ice. He argues that if the water was drawn to be placed into a machine to be frozen, that water would be deemed unfit, and the problem cannot be corrected through the freezing and thawing process. Therefore, Rav Epstein ruled that one should use only naturally occurring ice to create a Mikveh.
The Poskim who forbid using artificial ice even in case of great need include the Chazon Ish (Y.D. 138), Rav Zvi Pesach Frank (Teshuvot Har Zvi Y.D. 179), Rav Moshe Feinstein (Teshuvot Igrot Moshe Y.D. 3:67), and Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (Teshuvot Seridei Eish 2:87). Clearly, no consensus has been reached regarding this issue.
Conclusion
Two contemporary authorities, Rav Yirmiyah Katz (Mikveh Mayim vol. 3, ch. 14) and Rav Shlomo Dichovsky (Techumin 16:116) record that the accepted practice is to create a Mikveh from snow[26] in a case where it is impossible to make one from water. However, Rav Y.C. Grunstein (formerly a Rav in Halifax, Nova Scotia) presents[27] the saga of how he created a Mikveh in Nova Scotia from ice with the endorsement of Rav Hershel Schachter citing Teshuvot Achiezer. Rav Grunstein describes the extraordinary efforts he made to insure the availability of a Mikveh in Nova Scotia. His efforts exemplify the tradition of the Jewish People throughout the millennia to make extraordinary efforts to observe the entire Torah, especially the rules regarding Mikveh.
[21] Gray Matter Vol. 2 (now available online) presents a comprehensive introduction to the laws of creating a Mikveh.
[22] The Pitchei Teshuvah (Y.D. 120:4) cites the Chochmat Adam (73:19) who permits Tevilat Keilim in snow in case of great need only in regards to glass utensils. He reasons that since the requirement to immerse glass is only rabbinic in nature, one may rely upon the lenient opinion in a case of great need. Rav Elazar Meyer Teitz, quoting his father, Rav Pinchas Teitz, permits following the approach of the Chochmat Adam. Rav Zvi Sobolofsky strongly opposes immersing even glass utensils in snow. Even he permits, though, using snow to purify one’s hands after visiting a cemetery.
[23] A leading American mid-twentieth century authority in the area of Mikvaot.
[24] In one of two explanations he offers for this Tosefta
[25] Known as the “Ben Ish Chai”.
[26] Rav Katz provides a detailed guide on how precisely to accomplish creating a Mikveh from snow in practice.