Hello, and welcome back to the Archive Deep Dive! It has been an eventful time here at Mayyim Hayyim with both the High Holy Days and the archives project.
Outside of my archival duties, I am a Mikveh Guide at Mayyim Hayyim, and my experiences as a Mikveh Guide have given me a deeper understanding of the records I process. Additionally, as I come across older versions of materials I encountered during my own training, I can see how we as an organization have evolved alongside the community to better serve those within it.
One of the key facets of Mayyim Hayyim’s mission for me is to “provide meaningful resources and personal experiences to all interested Jews, and those becoming Jewish,” with emphasis on the “all” part. The inclusivity that we strive for is reflected in the archival records I have found of past Mikveh Guide cohorts, having always included a level of sensitivity training and various readings/resources that relate to marginalized groups in our community.
Importantly, since Mayyim Hayyim’s founding, there has been an effort to stay current on current LBGT+ terminology, as exemplified in the folder I found from a 2009 Mikveh Guide workshop in conjunction with Keshet (our neighbor on the Temple Reyim campus!). The workshop materials include a schedule, readings, and activities including having guides learn new terms and their definitions by mixing and matching them. As someone who has gone through a much more recent edition of Mayyim Hayyim’s Seven Steps training, it’s truly amazing to see what has remained the same and what has changed since our early days as we continue to learn and grow!
We are very excited to report that our 13th cohort of mikveh guides just began their online training, and if you’re interested in joining the next cohort, please email info@mayyimhayyim.org.
Gabrielle Keen
Archivist
Pronouns: she/they