The proposed location of the mikvah.
Credit: Google Maps
A Jewish house of worship is planning to build a ceremonial bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion at a lot along North State Street in Newtown Borough.
Rabbi Aryeh Weinstein and an attorney from the Glazier Jewish Center at 25 North State Street outlined plans to the borough council to replace the home at 223 North State Street to build a mikvah bath house that would be used for a “spiritual and ritualistic purpose.”
The council was presented with two preliminary lot plans by the Glazier Jewish Center.
The proposed mikvah would fit in with nearby construction and be “lower impact” than a residential home, attorney Paul Cohen said.
Weinstein said the facility is designed to be private and plantings would buffer neighbors from that facility that would only be occupied by between one and five people at various times between 6:30 a.m. and within two or three hours of nightfall, with Saturday being the busiest day. The facility is purposefully designed to keep the identity of those using the mikvah private.
“This is used with utmost privacy,” Weinstein said, adding that the only person who would likely see the mikvah user is an attendant.
Weinstein told the council the building would have separate area mikvah baths for men and women, which would be used at different times.
“This is not a place that they hang out. They’re in and out. This is solely for spiritual purpose,” Weinstein said. “We want to make sure everyone has privacy.”
“This is going to be extremely low impact and in a relatively small structure,” Cohen said.
A small three to four vehicle parking lot is included with the plans, but the lot would likely not be filled up due to the nature of the religious ritual performed in the structure. The plans shown before council included options for the parking area to be in either the front or back of the building.
The structure is expected to have a flat roof to collect water to be used as part of the mikvah process.
The council said they would evaluate the project once formal applications are filed and were interested in hearing feedback from North State Street residents.
