Q&A: How Many Times Does One Need to Immerse?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
How Many Times Does One Need to Immerse?
Question
That is, may a woman immerse once in the water (and not three or seven times)?
Answer
To the best of my knowledge, the numbers three or seven have no basis. One can speak of two times because of the question of reciting the blessing immediately before the act; one immerses before and after (Sephardim customarily do it once, and Ashkenazim twice). Clearly, one immersion done properly (preferably under supervision) is effective for becoming purified, and that is the main point.
I heard from Rabbi Yehoshua HaKohen Friedman of Kokhav HaShahar that the most important thing is that the number of times one goes into the mikveh should be identical to the number of times one comes out of it 🙂
With blessings, the Levite who poured water over his hands
And there was an incident in the days of the First Intifada, when Rabbi Yehoshua came to the synagogue and asked: “Do Arabs have the commandment of redeeming the firstborn son? I was driving, and an Arab threw five sela coins at me…”