Stamford builds new mikvah... in the spirit of Marcia Lieberman
By Cindy Mindell
STAMFORD - Sen. Joseph Lieberman may be the favorite Jewish son of this city, but it's his late mother who has a special place in the hearts of local observant Jewish women.
According to Rabbi Daniel Cohen of Congregation Agudath Sholom, local lore credits Marcia (Manger) Lieberman, with the 40-year-old community mikvah on the grounds of the synagogue. In the 1950s, when a new mikvah in the Bronx drew away the Jewish women of Stamford, Marcia was the only woman left using the outdated local facility. When she considered commuting to the Bronx with the others, her mother warned her that the Stamford mikvah would close, so she stayed put, and lobbied successfully for the community mikvah that was built in the '60s on the grounds of Agudath Sholom.
That same spirit is being called forth again as a new mikvah takes shape at the synagogue. While still in use, Cohen says, the existing facility has not been renovated since it first opened, and suffers from poor ventilation, outdated décor, and space constraints.
"As a result, it's been difficult to attract new users, and many current users now travel to Scarsdale, New Rochelle, or Mount Kisco to use their mikvaot instead of staying in Stamford," he says. "A respectable and hospitable mikvah is a critical component to the future of our shul and the larger Stamford community."
The new mikvah has been in the works for the last three years.
"The concept has grown organically in the congregation and the community, both as an important need in the short term and as a way of creating a more attractive community for prospective residents," Cohen says.
The planning committee is headed by Justine Levin-Allerhand. Barbara Pomerantz of Stamford is the project architect. The design team worked with a consultant from Brooklyn on halachic guidelines. "It's a very special and challenging project; there's none like it in the whole region from a construction standpoint," says contractor Ron Avidan. "It has the same materials and form of other types of buildings, but because of its religious aspect, there are special instructions we needed to follow," including the use of natural raw construction materials and a special drainage system to manage the rainwater in the pool.
This is the first mikvah project for Avidan, a building contractor who has lived in Stamford for four years and is a member of Agudath Sholom. After breaking ground last August, Avidan and his builders had to troubleshoot as the project progressed. While the building itself is at grade, the pool required a 26-foot excavation, 15 feet below the water table. The construction team took several months to design a drainage system around the entire building to prevent groundwater from penetrating the pool, as well as unique drains for the roof.
The mikvah is designed primarily to accommodate women's monthly usage, following "Taharat HaMishpacha," the halachic law of family purity. "That mitzvah should be done in the most beautiful and spiritually inspiring way," Cohen said. "God willing, the new mikvah - which will be aesthetically pleasing and meet the highest halachic standards - will be inviting, not only for people who use it currently, but to new users as well."
The existing mikvah, a stand-alone building at the rear of the synagogue, will be kept as a men's facility, with the new mikvah designated primarily for women's monthly usage and men and women marking lifecycle events like marriage and conversion. The 1,400-square-foot building, located below Agudath Sholom's simcha room, includes a mikvah pool to accommodate Jews of all denominations, two changing rooms, a reception area, and a vessel mikvah to kasher new metal kitchen items.
Agudath Sholom sought nearly $700,000 from the community for the project and received a significant donation from the B.L. Manger Foundation, in memory of Marsha Lieberman and Faye Manger, aunt of Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
The ribbon-cutting is tentatively planned for this October, after the chagim. For more information: www.agudathsholom.org/mikvah.htm