A few weeks ago, I brought my Hillel students to Mayyim Hayyim. I know how special Mayyim Hayyim is from my own personal experiences. I immersed when I became a rabbi, and in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. Still, I didn’t expect how much my students would benefit from visiting Mayyim Hayyim. Our visit to Mayyim […]
Continue ReadingThis year, we are revisiting member spotlights about our Rising Tide Network members. These spotlights were previously featured on a separate Rising Tide website that is now a main section of this website. We’re excited to introduce our amazing members to you! Original post by by Sarah Panzer, 2021-2022 Rising Tide Intern Rachel’s Well Community […]
Continue ReadingBy Maya Shwayder I grew up in a secular household and didn’t even know what mikveh was until college. I learned about mikveh from my more religious friends. I was curious, but never really had access, and friends had relayed to me some less-than-stellar experiences. As someone who didn’t really know what she was doing, […]
Continue ReadingThis year, we are revisiting member spotlights about our Rising Tide Network members. These spotlights were previously featured on a separate Rising Tide website that is now a main section of this website. We’re excited to introduce our amazing members to you! Original post by by Savannah Lipinski, 2022-2023 Rising Tide Intern The Community […]
Continue Readingby Nina B. Lichtenstein As a convert to Judaism, I have always said that “doing Jewish” is how my chosen identity anchored and deepened itself, and it has helped explain (to myself) why I embraced so fervently (relatively speaking) the laws of Shabbat, kashrut, and taharat ha-mishpacha (the laws of family purity). These three pillars […]
Continue ReadingFebruary is Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month. Recently, we partnered with our friends at Kesher Newton, whose students learned about marking life transitions through mikveh and created some beautiful social stories about visiting the mikveh. Social stories are a visual learning tool, originally developed to support people with autism. The Kesher students lovingly created […]
Continue Readingby Jordan Namerow, Incoming Board President Tonight, as I gazed at my fully illuminated hanukkiah, I reflected on the importance of rituals in the face of uncertainty. Now, more than ever, rituals are helping me stay tethered to my history and my people, as we strive for a brighter future. That’s why I’m proud to […]
Continue Readingby Leah Hart Tennen My very basic introduction to mikveh was: “this is something that Orthodox Jews do, mostly women after their periods.” The first person I ever knew who went to the mikveh was an Orthodox Jew who went after her period. Fast forward many, many years and one of my closest friends asked […]
Continue Readingby Aviva Herr-Welber, Mayyim Hayyim Rabbinic Intern This past Wednesday, we were blessed to welcome two groups of Israelis from Haifa on a visit to Mayyim Hayyim: a group of adult Haifa civil society leaders and a group of tenth-grade students. The visits had been planned long ago as part of the larger itinerary for […]
Continue ReadingSeptember 2023 / Elul 5783 Dear friend, As we embrace the season of reflection and renewal, I’m thinking about my own experience with Jewish ritual, like mikveh. Mikveh has been there to help me grow and change. It is here for so many of you at times of celebration, healing, and transition. I became Mayyim Hayyim’s […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published by Jewish Women of Words, re-posted with permission by Karen Paul I strip off my clothes, step into the shower, scrub my skin raw. Nothing can sit on the surface of my body as I walk towards the mikveh – not jewellery, not contact lenses, not nail polish. I must be as clean […]
Continue Readingby Pamela Rosenblum I experienced my first mikveh immersion 25 years ago when I became a member of the Jewish People. It felt profound and transformational. It was many years before I had the opportunity to immerse again when, prior to the high holidays, my Rabbi introduced a small group of women to ImmerseNYC, a […]
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