There are thousands of medical studies [1] showing that old-time religion can be good for your health, but it’s not all about faith. Take for example the news out of Jerusalem that men’s mikvah slashes the risk of heart disease risk by 87.5%. [2]

It’s been long known that Haredi Jews are more stout-hearted but nobody could figure out why. It’s all the more surprising because of all the risk factors: They tend to overeat, smoke, drink, stress out, and rarely exercise. With all that, they are 1/8 as likely to have heart problems compared to other Israelis, religious or otherwise. Why the difference?

Cardiologists at Hadassah hospital think they have found an explanation in the custom that most Haredi Jews practice of “going to the mikvah.” This involves taking a daily dip in a pool of heated rainwater for spiritual purification before prayer.

Research shows that immersing the body in hot water stimulates the heart to produce a healing hormone called ANF, atrial natriuretic factor. This suppresses the kidney hormone vasopressin that triggers the impulse to urinate (“Hey kids, not in the pool!”) but more importantly keeps the levels of inflammatory cytokines in check.

While indispensable to healing and immunity, high levels of these inflammation agents are disastrous, being implicated in such conditions as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, alzheimer’s, glaucoma, cataracts and heart disease. By stimulating the production of ANF, a daily hot mikvah seems to be a natural preventive to all of these. And on top of all that, as an effective antioxidant, it boosts IQ and treats ADHD.

Ever since Sinai, mikvah immersion has been an integral part of Jewish life. During the Tabernacle and Temple eras spanning about 1,300 years, immersion was required to enter the central sanctuary and partake of sacrificial offerings.

For the past 2,000 years, however, only married women are required to immerse by Jewish law. Women attend the mikvah monthly, following their menstrual cycle, in order to resume intimate relations with their husbands. Men would immerse once or twice a year, before Yom Kippur and Passover, just as a matter of custom.

About 300 years ago, men got back into the dip due to the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. The custom spread quickly and it was even deemed permissible to immerse in a hot mikvah on the Sabbath, even though bathing in hot water on the Sabbath is otherwise prohibited. [3]

Women’s mikvah observance also has its health perks. Dr. Joseph Menczer, a leading authority on cervical cancer, writes that “Among orthodox Jewish women who observe the laws of Niddah, cervical cancer is even less common than in the rest of Israeli Jewish women. This observation seems to support the notion that abstinence from intercourse during and for several days after menses is a protective factor.” [4]

Menczer’s review of the medical research shows that Jewish women are from 5 to 9 times less likely to get the disease regardless of whether they are European, Israeli or American, Sephardic or Ashkenazic. Once mikvah observance is taken into account, the rates drop to virtually nil, although this may be in part due to other minimized risks such as number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, and smoking. Other vaginal and sexually transmitted diseases are similarly rare among observant Jewish women.

There are social wellness benefits as well. Rabbi Manis Friedman, a Chabad educator in Minnesota, speaks of a family he knows who had terrible marital difficulties and consulted with many experts. Finally after months of counseling at high hourly rates they were told “Try two weeks on and two weeks off.” Friedman commented bemused, “I could have told them that in five minutes for nothing!”

During the period of separation, spouses (or is it spice?) have to develop non-physical ways of communicating so kind words and helpful gestures forge a strong personal bond. This sets the stage for increased pleasure once intimacy is again permitted.

Even fertility is enhanced by careful adherence to the niddah and mikvah laws. Fertility is lowest during the menstrual period and abstinence during this time also raises the sperm count in the male, increasing the chances of conception. Beyond all this, there seems to be a ‘mazal’ factor as well, since many couples have successfully conceived when adding mikvah to the rhythm method of fertility.

The Jewish life-cycle is replete with healthful laws and customs even though they may seem weird at first. A Jewish man’s life starts with a bris, or circumcision on the 8th day. It may seem barbaric to some, but studies show that circumcision is the single most effective preventive measure against STD’s, with the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases cut by 50%. Penile cancers are over 1000 times less likely in circumcised males. Also, being on the 8th day, Jewish circumcision is exquisitely timed to coincide with peak levels of Vitamin K, the major blood-clotting factor. [5]

Next is the Bar Mitzvah. For those celebrations that focus on the mitzvah more than on the bar, the highlight is the boy starting to wear tefillin, the leather boxes, straps and parchments that symbolize the binding of the mind and heart to G-d. Acupuncturist Steve Schram describes in the Journal of Chinese Medicine how he listed the pressure points touched by the tefillin and presented the list of points to several experts for analysis. They all said that the points constituted an effective prescription for mental clarity and spiritual well-being. Apparently this observance is more than a symbolic ritual. [6]

Even into old age, observance keeps you healthy. Torah study keeps the mind sharp, while prayer excersises faith and trust in G-d, helping to remedy anxiety and depression. Attending set services adds ritual and community, two very comforting dimensions of life, especially for the elderly, who need more consistency and connection in their lives.

Of course, none of this constitutes the real reason for observing the mitzvos of the Torah. There’s really just one reason and that is: G-d said so. That’s why we find men and women faithful to mikvah observance even if it involves nothing so aahhh-inspiring as a nice hot local mikvah, but rather a long trek to a frozen lake where they must pick and chop through the ice just for a chance at a deed that’s more likely to hurt than heal. The same is true with bris and tefillin. The benefits are a bonus. It’s the deed itself that counts.

Even if the mitzvah gets us into hot water, and even if we go in way over our heads, we will still take the plunge. Ahhh, Judaism.

 

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