Mikvah Fire Campaign emblem Mikvah Fire CampaignA project of Mikvah Tahara Association Donate

Sofia, Bulgaria

Embers of yesterday, waters of tomorrow

A fire tore through the only mikvah in Sofia. With Mikvah Tahara Association, it was rescued, rebuilt and beautifully renewed.

Donate See the new mikvah

The story

A community of two thousand years, and one mikvah

Jews have lived in Sofia since Roman times. During the Second World War, brave Bulgarians protested the deportations and most of the city's 25,000 Jews survived. Today Chabad Shliach Rabbi Yosef Salomon leads a community of around 4,000.

Then the city's only mikvah caught fire. The walls, the tiling and the pool were left blackened and broken, and the mikvah could not be used.

Mikvah Tahara Association stepped in and the entire premises was renovated. Read the full Sofia, Bulgaria mikvah project on our main site.

~4,000
Jews in Sofia todayled by Chabad of Bulgaria
~20
families use the mikvah regularlysince it reopened
5
tevillos a night, at moston busy summer nights

Before

What the fire left behind

Inside the Sofia mikvah after the fire: burnt-out walls, collapsed ceiling panels and rubble in the rooms.

Video · December 2018

Fire ravages the only mikvah in Sofia, Bulgaria

Footage from inside the mikvah right after the fire, from the Mikvah Tahara YouTube channel.

After

A beautiful new mikvah for Sofia

Rebuilt with the help of Mikvah Tahara Association: a new pool, preparation rooms and finishes throughout.

Why a mikvah matters

A mikvah is the heart of Jewish family life: without one, a community cannot fully keep the laws of family purity. What is a mikvah?

Sofia is one of many communities Mikvah Tahara Association has helped. When a community asks for help, we assist with the planning, the halachic details and the building itself.

Give

Help the next community rise from the ashes

Every mikvah we rebuild starts with someone's gift. Donate online through Mikvah Tahara Association, or send a check by mail.

Donate online

By check

Make checks payable toMikvah Fire

Mail to
10 W Fessler Dr, Monsey NY 10952