Immersing in Climate Change

Raucher discusses Jewish women's usage of mikvah to imply that religious rituals can motivate women in their ethical commitment to climate change. Although the waters of the mikvah have a few purposes in contemporary Jewish practice, the most common is by traditionally observant married women for a monthly immersion following their menstrual period and seven "clean" days. This monthly cycle is known as niddah. Feminist critique of niddah and mikvah abounds, focusing particularly on the ways in which men control women's bodies and sexuality through mikvah regulations. Women who observe niddah laws have responded to this male control in a number of ways that might be instructive for thinking about the connection between feminism and climate change.