France: Groundbreaking Held for First Mikvah in Caen

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France: Groundbreaking Held for First Mikvah in Caen

More than 150 people gathered on Sunday, 7 Marcheshvan, for the groundbreaking of the first Mikvah in Caen, Normandy, France. The project was initiated by Chabad of Caen and the Landing Beaches, directed by the Rebbe’s Shluchim, Rabbi Motti and Mrs. Zlata Levin, marking a major milestone for the local Jewish community • Read More, Photos

More than 150 people gathered on Sunday, 7 Marcheshvan, for the groundbreaking of the first Mikvah in Caen, Normandy, France. The project was initiated by Chabad of Caen and the Landing Beaches, directed by the Rebbe’s Shluchim, Rabbi Motti and Mrs. Zlata Levin, marking a major milestone for the local Jewish community.

Located in the region whose coastline is remembered for the Allied landings during World War II, Caen is now preparing to welcome a new center of taharah and Jewish life. The Mikvah will enable local Jewish families to observe the mitzvah of Taharas Hamishpachah with greater accessibility and strengthen Jewish life throughout the area.

Dedicated in the Merit of a Couple Awaiting a Yeshuah.

Rabbi Motti and Mrs. Zlata Levin dedicated the Mikvah in the merit of their friends, Hadasa and Menachem, who have been awaiting the blessing of children for more than a decade, with heartfelt tefillos that they merit a yeshuah and good news.

Among the more than 150 participants were Rabbonim and Shluchim from across the region, community leaders and representatives of local and national government. Those attending included Rabbi Mendel Azimov, the Rebbe’s Shliach in Paris; Rabbi Shmuel Lubetzky, Shliach and Rabbi of Rouen; Rabbi Shmuel Levin, Shliach and Rabbi of Deauville-Trouville; Rabbi Shlomi Levin, Shliach and Rabbi of Cabourg; Rabbi Y.Y. Levin and Mrs. Chaya Nissilvitch of the Schneor institutions in Aubervilliers.

The program opened with remarks and video presentations explaining the need for the Mikvah and its importance in Jewish life. One video, created with artificial intelligence, illustrated the Mikvah as a source of purity, renewal and continuity between generations.

Participants then proceeded to the construction site, where each was invited to add a small amount of cement as a symbolic part of the building, accompanied by a personal tefillah to Hashem.

The gathering concluded with refreshments and L’chaim. Each participant received a bottle of water from the wellspring of Lubavitch as a memento of the occasion.

The groundbreaking marks an important step in strengthening Jewish life in Caen and the surrounding region, laying the foundations for the city’s first Mikvah and a lasting source of taharah for generations to come.