Oprah Visits a Mikvah For Her New Show

Since Oprah Winfrey ended her internationally acclaimed talk show, she’s had quite a bit on her plate. Earlier this year, Winfrey launched OWN, a television network focused on real, inspirational stories. This past week, Winfrey visited New York to immerse herself in Orthodox Judaism for an episode of her upcoming show, ‘Oprah’s Next Chapter’.

Winfrey spent time in the strictly Orthodox NYC suburbs of Crown Heights and Borough Park. She enjoyed a traditional meal and even visited a mikvah (ritual bath for religious Jewish women) in Brooklyn Heights. Although she didn’t take a dunk, Winfrey was given a tour by a group of Lubavitch women in hopes of completely understanding how it worked.

“It’s a very spiritual thing,” said synagogue member Ed Weintrob. “You’re supposed to build a mikvah before you build a synagogue.”

Traditionally, mikvah’s draw water from all natural sources. Orthodox women cleanse themselves after a menstrual cycle before resuming sexual relations with their husbands.

Bronya Shaffer, a member of the congregation that showed Winfrey around the mikvah, admitted that she had never seen a single one of the superstars’ shows.

“When I told Oprah’s producer that I didn’t know anything about her work, she said, ‘That’s refreshing!’” Shaffer explained.

‘Oprah’s Next Chapter’ will air in January on OWN, and follows the host out of the TV studio. Winfrey intends to interview people in various new and interesting locations around the world in order to provide her audience with greater cultural and social insight.