The Montreal community marked a major milestone with the dedication of a brand-new men’s mikvah at Congregation Lubavitch, serving hundreds from the broader community. After many years in which the mikvah was in need of extensive repairs, and with much patience and support from the community, Boruch Hashem, a brand new state-of-the-art bor al gabei bor Mikvah has now been built.

Getting there was not simple. The original mikvah had been built with a bor b’tzad bor, and for years no one could dig deeper because the water table sat directly beneath the structure. When the new bor was being dug, workers actually uncovered an old pump buried three to four feet beneath the mikvah, apparently left behind from an earlier attempt, some 20 to 25 years ago, to pump out the groundwater and dig down properly.

At the time, a bor al gabei bor was not considered as critical, so the builders settled for a bor be’tzad bor instead. This time, the committee was determined to do it properly. That meant digging down, installing a separate sump pump, and working through a long list of engineering challenges to finally achieve a proper bor al gabei bor.

“We ended up doing the project in stages,” Dovid Slapochnik, a member of the Mikvah Committee, tells Anash.org. “First we renovated the shower room, to see if the community could come together and raise the funds. Then we worked on improving the existing bor be’tzad bor. Finally, we completed a full renovation of the mikvah. In a sense, the entire project unfolded in three stages.”

The Mikvah Committee put together architectural plans and raised funds for several much-needed improvements, accomplishing the goal of completing a beautiful and comfortable mikvah for the entire community.

Under the guidance and direct oversight of Harav Dovid Banon, Harav Berel Bell, and Harav Moshe Stern, the committee engaged Rabbi Gershon Grossbaum, an expert who has built and supervised numerous mikvaos, together with an experienced local team. Their combined expertise ensured that the new bor was constructed in accordance with the highest halachic and professional standards.

Rabbi Grossbaum flew in seven times over the course of the project to inspect the work in depth. Every update along the way was shared with the rabbonim, with each step reviewed and vetted before moving forward.

Additionally, an ongoing WhatsApp group was used extensively throughout the project, with detailed updates, pictures, and hundreds of messages so the rabbonim can be involved in every step of the process.

The committee would also like to thank Rabbi Pesach Sperlin for constructing a brand new Otzar, a reservoir of rainwater.

No detail was overlooked. The committee installed heated floors and searched extensively for anti-slip tiles, holding out until they found an option that was both safe and met the halachic requirements for a mikvah floor. A new filtration system, at a cost of $20,000, was also installed to serve the more than 150 people who use the mikvah daily.

“For the next generation to keep coming, it needs to be nice,” Slapochnik said. “Our main focus is that bochurim and the younger generation should have a clean place and a good experience.”

The mikvah serves as the central mikvah for the greater Montreal community, drawing not only Anash but many from outside the Lubavitch community as well, including Sephardi and other members of the Montreal Jewish community. The committee has intentionally kept membership fees low so that it remains affordable for everyone.

Since the renovation, many new members have signed up to use the mikvah daily. The excitement was evident from the moment it opened.

“Recently, while I was in shul,” Slapochnik shares with Anash.org, “a friend of mine turned to a guest sitting nearby and greeted him warmly, telling him about the community’s brand new mikvah. The guest laughed. ‘You Montrealers and your mikveh,’ he said. ‘I’ve been here twelve hours and thirty people have already told me how proud you are of it. It’s like all Montreal has.'”

Another special element of the project was the community’s response. Close to 400 individuals contributed, many of them very generously, from Montreal and from outside the city.

“People got involved in the fundraising in a way that made the entire project feel like a true community effort, coming together to get it done,” Slapochnik said.

The Montreal community expresses immense appreciation to the entire Mikvah Committee: Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Rabbi Baruch Aaron Hus, Mendy Mochkin, Dovid Slapochnik, and Mendy Zirkind.

Their tireless dedication to this project paid off.

Special thanks to Rabbi Chaim Shloma Cohen, the Montreal Torah Center, and Tzeirei Hadas for making their mikvaos available to more members of the community during construction.

Photos and videos: Nochum Greenwald