The woman is empowered to light up the special soul shared by herself and her husband, as the Zohar explains: “By arousing the fire of love toward her husband, she sets the lamp of their soul aflame. According to the Sages, the woman officiates in her home as the priest in the Holy Temple. This is in the merit of the three mitzvot (commandments) which are entrusted to her in particular, namely, lighting the candles on the Sabbath and the Festivals, setting aside the challah from her dough, and observing the Laws of Family Purity.

Similarly, Aaron, the High Priest, and his sons were charged with lighting the golden menorah, (candelabrum) and performing the service of the show-bread, (which is also called challah ). Like any other Jew, the priests were required to immerse themselves in a mikveh before entering the Sanctuary, or later, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

The parallel of the Priest in the Temple to the Jewish woman in her home is both powerful and enlightening. It affords us an insight into the elevated stature of the woman in Judaism, and casts a light on her role in Creation. Let us give it our full attention.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and sacred day of the Jewish year. The service in the Holy Temple reaches its climax when the High Priest enters the most sacred spot not only in the Temple, but on the entire face of the earth, namely, the Holy of Holies. It is difficult for us to imagine the sanctity of this moment. For seven days, the High Priest has busied himself with preparations for this hour. Now, as he approaches the moment when he will effect an atonement for his own sins and those of his nation, he prepares himself by immersing in the mikveh.

In a similar vein, Judaism regards the moment of renewed intimacy between the Jewish husband and wife as holy and sublime in its harmony and unity. Like the High Priest, the woman prepares herself for seven days before immersing her body in the mikveh. She does so in order to add a spiritual dimension to her re-union with her husband. Together, they will pursue the lofty goals for which man comes into this world.

The woman's act of purifying herself before G-d through immersion in the mikveh waters, after seven days of preparation, is akin to the High Priest's immersion before entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. It signifies a clinging to G-d, a degree of attachment to the Creator in which there are no barriers to separate the created from the Creator. When the woman enters the waters of the mikveh, it is a moment of spiritual elevation. She draws near to the heights of sanctity and sublimity, with no barriers or separation.

Let us go into the question of why the mikveh is imbued with this power to sanctify.