As the Jewish world evolves, we will continue to create meaningful ways to welcome and honor women and girls within our tradition. Almost one hundred years ago, a Bat Mitzvah was unheard of. Today, a Simchat Bat (a baby naming ritual for a Jewish girl) is becoming more and more commonplace. When we share our stories about the way our […]
Continue Readingby Amos Lassen Recently I visited Mayyim Hayyim as part of a group from Temple Sinai, Brookline. When I arrived I found myself filled with memories from my childhood. Having been raised Orthodox, I was very familiar with the mikveh and as a youngster I would go regularly with my father. As I grew up, I […]
Continue Readingby Lisa Berman, Mikveh & Education Director Anita Diamant says of our mikveh guides, “You are the face of Mayyim Hayyim.” It’s true. A mikveh guide literally opens the door and welcomes each guest, supporting their visit in whatever way is needed, wanted, imagined, spoken of or hinted at. This winter we have welcomed and are training […]
Continue Readingby Daniel Goldberg December 8th, 2015: my first mikveh experience. I’ve been Jewish all my life, but up until a few months ago I didn’t even know this ancient ritual could be practiced by men, other than for the purpose of conversion. I met Rachel Eisen, then an intern at Mayyim Hayyim, at a Jewish event […]
Continue Readingby Kelly Banker, Intern A few weeks ago, I was in deep need of a ritual space. I was yearning for a way to mark a rite of passage, a moment in time, with my partner (who is Christian), and yet finding something that would be meaningful for the both of us was feeling increasingly […]
Continue Readingby Dr. Keren McGinity If I had eighteen cents for every time someone told me, “McGinity? That’s not a Jewish name!” I’d be a wealthy woman. The statement is based on two assumptions: Jews have distinctive Jewish names and someone with an ethnically “other” name couldn’t possibly be Jewish. OK, so how does a nice […]
Continue Readingby Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director Sheri Gurock. As of January 1, Sheri is Mayyim Hayyim’s board president. If you follow our blog regularly, you’ve gotten to know her a bit already, or maybe you even know her in real life. Sheri is crazy smart, super creative, and holds Mayyim Hayyim to the highest standards possible, […]
Continue Readingby Shira Cohen-Goldberg “Abba, is Santa Claus real?” says my four-year-old from the back of the car. This is most certainly my child. I used to put cookies and milk out on the counter for Santa to take when he came to our house on Christmas Eve. In the morning, the cookies and milk were always […]
Continue Readingby Anita Diamant I am writing this because (1) it’s important and (2) you care about Mayyim Hayyim. I’ll start with (2). If you’re taking the trouble to read the Mayyim Hayyim blog, I’m betting that you understand what Mayyim Hayyim adds to Jewish lives here in the Boston area, New England and well beyond. […]
Continue Readingby DeDe Jacobs-Komisar, Development Manager This is my last post as Development Manager at Mayyim Hayyim. In a few weeks I’ll be heading to a new position as Institutional Giving Manager at the Huntington Theatre. It was an opportunity that fell in my lap, and after much difficult soul-searching I decided to return to my […]
Continue ReadingBy Sheri Gurock, Incoming Board President There’s only one dream I can vividly remember having as a child. If I told you it was about the mikveh, would you believe me? It’s true. One day, when I was very young, I overheard my mom say she’d bumped into a friend at the mikveh. I’d never […]
Continue ReadingBy Jane Matlaw, former Board Member When my children were young, they got something small each night of Hanukkah. Growing up, my parents had demonstrated the importance of giving back and I wanted to pass this value onto my children, as well. I wanted not just to talk about, but actually engage in philanthropy. We […]
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