Painting
The mitzvah of Mikvah, a “gathering” of 40 Sa’ah , 200 gallons of water, has its source from the third day of creation when the Torah speaks of the separation of water and calls it a ‘Mikveh Mayim’ – a gathering of waters so as to produce life.(Genesis 1:10). 
 Water also represents the concept of spiritual cleansing. When one immerses in a physical Mikvah, his soul likewise becomes immersed in its spiritual counterpart returning to our primary connection with the river that emerged from Eden. When a person immerses in the Mikvah, he is placing himself in the state of the world yet unborn, subjecting himself totally to G-d’s creative power. 
 The letter,“Mem”, derives its name from Mayim , the Hebrew word for water and having the numerical value of 40 represents the Mikvah. This “gathering of waters” to one place to produce life is known as the “female waters”. The letter is composed of the letters, Yud, Vav and Beit.
 Woman, Isha, depicted in the form of the letter "Beit" or "Beis" ,the same letters as the word for home, Bayit or Bayis for it is said, "Isha he Bais", the woman is the home. She covers her eyes praying for the protection of Hashem within her home, as she lights the Sabbath candles. 
 The "pintele yid" or tip of the letter "Yud" is the tip of creation connecting our innermost beings to The Creator. All of life emanates from water, and</i><i> </i><i>Torah is likened to water in its life giving force. There are 40 days during which the embryo is formed. The woman is praying for a child, as she performs the mitzvah of Mikvah.
 The letter, "Vav" has the numerical value of 6, reminiscent of the 6th day of creation, when man and woman were created. Inside the letter are man and woman, "Ish Visha", in a flame, because the route word for each is "Aish". When man and woman are brought together under the uniting force of the "Yud" from Hashem, there is a fire ignited.
 The three stars reflected in the water indicate the beginning of a new dawn, the time when a woman immerses herself in the flowing waters from the original source. Each time she does so, she reenters the original the waters of Eden, and begins life anew, reuniting her relationship with Hashem, her husband and creation.