“According to Jewish law, you’re supposed to build a mikvah before you build a synagogue,” Oregon Board of Rabbis President Rabbi Abby Cohen pointed out.

It is a testament to the centrality of a mikvah, the rainwater-fed pool used for numerous Jewish rituals, to the life of a Jewish community. But what happens when not everyone can access that essential resource? Rachel’s Well, the community mikvah owned and operated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, was constructed with a preparation room built to Americans with Disabilities Act specifications, but that level of accessibility stopped at the top of the seven stairs into the mikvah’s living waters.

“We knew that for true full accessibility or as full as we could do, that we would also need a pool lift,” Federation Chief Planning and Engagement Officer Caron Blau Rothstein, who managed the mikvah construction and continues to serve as its manager. “Unfortunately, delays and budget changes and all of that negated our ability to purchase one right from the outset.”

Thus Rachel’s Well went its first eight years without that key piece. Its absence was noticed by Charlie Rosenblum. Rosenblum, who underwent a leg amputation in 2011, has spent quite a bit of time around mikvaot (the plural of mikvah); participating in batei din for conversions at the Harrison Street Mikvah, attending Shabbatons led by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, while he lived in Ashland and serving as a mikvah guide at Rachel’s Well as part of his work with Chevra Kavod HaMet.

“We went to the new mikvah, and I saw it would be difficult for someone like me to use it,” he said. “So, I started thinking about what could be done about that.”

Rosenblum explained that, like his father, he had forged a successful career as an accountant, and that his father had instilled the importance of giving back to the community.

“My father taught me two values of giving,” Rosenblum said. “One was that you have to put more back into the world than you take out of it.”

Rosenblum offered to cover half the cost of buying and installing the lift if the other half could be sourced. Thanks to the Oregon Board of Rabbis, that other half came through.

“We felt like it was worth the investment for people who couldn’t otherwise access the mikvah,” Rabbi Cohen said.

“I think that in our attempt to be as welcoming to as many people in our community as possible, we have made a huge advance thanks to the generosity of the Oregon Board of Rabbis and a philanthropist community member like Charlie Rosenblum,” Blau Rothstein said.

The lift, which is hydraulically operated and runs without electricity, was installed last summer. At the time, Rosenblum’s donation was made anonymously. This was the second value of giving his father instilled.

“He really preferred anonymity,” relaying an anecdote of his father’s dismay one year at being named on the donor list in the annual report of what is now the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts.

However, Rosenblum shared his story with The Jewish Review for a reason.

“Rabbi Ariel [Stone], who I’ve learned a lot from, has taught me that sometimes the community needs to know that there’s a real person behind this,” he said, “and that everybody can do something.”

“He didn’t just think about himself. He thought about others who would also benefit,” Blau Rothstein said. “I’m proud of and grateful to Charlie for stepping up in this way to make something possible.”

February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. Blau Rothstein explained that the pool lift is just one of the ways Rachel’s Well works to ensure accessibility for all those who wish to immerse in the sacred waters of the mikvah.

“If they’re vision impaired, and they need an escort (to navigate the steps) and they heard that they can only go in the mikvah by themselves, we can make those accommodations,” Blau Rothstein said. “Mikvah really is for any body and every body.”

Those wishing to make an appointment at Rachel’s Well, whether looking for accessibility support or not, can reach out to the mikvah by email at [email protected] or by calling 971-220-5580.

Learn more about Rachel’s Well, the first community mikvah to be owned and operated by a Jewish Federation, online at jewishportland.org/ourcommunity/portland-community-mikvah.