The arrest of an American rabbi on suspicion of filming women in various stages of undress at a ritual bath has raised calls to banish men from this unique women’s space. While routine immersions of women in a mikveh for purposes of ritual purity are overseen by women, when a woman immerses as part of her conversion, the ratification of a Beit Din (religious court) is necessary. While I am not an expert on how such procedures are conducted in the United States, I do know how they are conducted in Israel, and it is high time for a change.
As described on the ITIM website, when a woman immerses as part of a conversion ceremony, she immerses once in the regular manner, observed by a woman. She then comes out of the water, puts on a long, dark, wide robe that allows water to permeate but still ensures that she is modestly dressed, and re-enters the water. Three male religious court judges (dayanim), who constitute a Beit Din for the purposes of immersion, then enter the room and ask her questions about Judaism while she stands in the water. After she has answered their questions, these men, who are usually not the same rabbis who served on the religious court that tested her for the purpose of conversion, ask her to recite the first line of Shema Yisrael and to repeat the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvot that she recited in the presence of the conversion court. They then watch as she immerses a second time, after which they announce her new Hebrew name and welcome her to the Jewish people.
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