My wife and I moved out on Shlichus to Colorado Springs in 2001. We serve the Southern half of the state where the Jewish population is much more spread out. Our city has a section of the population that is transient, due to the military presence here. People will be stationed here for a while, and when their assignment is over they typically will not settle in Southern Colorado.
We live about 60 miles from Denver where there is a strong Jewish presence and several mikvaos - so it wasnât in our initial plan to open a mikvah in Colorado Springs. However in 2007 a group of people came to our city for a business retreat and networking event that took place at a resort.
A component of the group were Torah observant Jews and they reached out to me to assist with kashering one of the hotelâs kitchens. They also invited us to join them at the hotel for Shabbat. While everyone was sitting and chatting after the Shabbat meal the idea was raised that Colorado Springs should have a mikvah. This group encouraged us to begin building, offering their support and pledging donations. The idea to build a mikvah in Colorado Springs was complete Divine Providence. I am not certain what made them even think of the concept! Their enthusiasm throughout the entire process fueled the vision for the mikvah until its completion. Several constituents from the initial group of business people who had launched the idea, returned to Colorado Springs for the ground opening.
In 2008, around Rosh Hashanah time, we actually began to fill up the 'natural' water reservoir of the Mikvah. It snows a lot here, but the snow has to melt and drip into the Mikvah to fill up that reservoir. Six months later, around Pesach 2009, the filing process was complete. We had our grand opening a few weeks later.
According to Jewish law, building and maintaining a mikvah takes precedence over a shul and thatâs how it happened in Colorado Springs. We have been operating out of our home for many years, and now with the help of Hashem, we have purchased a property and are in the process of transforming it into a beautiful Chabad house.
There are a number of individuals and organizations who were instrumental in bringing the vision of our mikvah to life. We are extremely grateful to each of them who were part of this tremendous group effort. We also benefited greatly from the assistance of Rabbi Yirmiyahu Katz who oversees the kashrut certification of many mikvahs. In addition to the halachic requirements that he oversaw, he also assisted with the layout of our mikvah. We are also very grateful for the support of Mikvah.org who were instrumental in assisting in the repairs that our mikvah needed over the last few years.
This year, 5785, marks 50 years from when the Rebbe initiated the campaign of Taharas Hamishpacha. The fact that we were able to build our mikvah and partake in a cause that the Rebbe was so enthusiastic about it is especially meaningful to us. The Rebbe viewed Mikvah as critical to the continuity of the Jewish nation and often highlighted the importance of mikvah when speaking about the legacies of his mother Rebbetzin Chana and wife Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka.