Our Newest Jews…

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By Mayyim Hayyim Staff To date, nearly 2000 people have chosen Judaism at Mayyim Hayyim!  April, May and June are particularly busy months for “brand new Jews”.  Ever wonder what goes through people’s minds as they finalize their conversion or affirmation process at Mayyim Hayyim?  Here are some quotes from our guest book… Thank you […]

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Thank You For Everything

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by Laura Seide, Intern I can’t believe that my year of interning at Mayyim Hayyim has come to a close. In many ways, the experience of working here has been a mikveh in and of itself, as it has helped me transition from one state to another: from college grad to rabbinical student. I have […]

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Finding My Rainbow

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Editor’s note: Lauren brought her daughter, Sofia (name has been changed), for a conversion immersion, naming ceremony, and general celebration of about 65 people.  We asked Lauren if we could share her story.  Below is what Lauren read to Sofia and her guests on that day. by Lauren Bloom In March of 2011, Sofia Grace Jones […]

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Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

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By Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director    Since Mayyim Hayyim opened nine years ago (Happy 9th birthday, Mayyim Hayyim!) over 1000 people have chosen to immerse before their wedding.  For some, a bridal immersion is the first of what will become a regular niddah (monthly) practice.  For others, it’s a one-time event to mark a […]

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When Sensitivity is Taught

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by Dr. Naomi Marmon Grumet Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim (the day Jerusalem was reunified in 1967), and the miracle of sovereignty over the wondrous city of Jerusalem. I think that sharing this blog about a program that emanates from Jerusalem is a wonderful way to celebrate! Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows about […]

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A Shabbat for my Marriage

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Editor’s Note: The author of this article prefers to remain anonymous. I never imagined that I would observe regular mikveh practice.  I didn’t grow up Orthodox, nor do I identify as such now.  I didn’t have female role models in my life who were using the mikveh, no one encouraged me to take on the […]

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The Water Makes Us Malleable: My Bridal Mikveh

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by Britni de la Cretaz When we were beginning to plan our wedding, Ben and I began researching Jewish wedding traditions to see which ones felt meaningful to us. We were both raised Jewish and we were both bar mitzvahed (or bat mitzvahed, in my case), but neither one of us consider ourselves to be […]

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Keep Calm and Bathe On

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by Sarah Gurvis, Administrative Assistant One summer at sleepover camp, my mom sent me a series of packages that were a little different from what most kids usually receive. First, she sent me an empty binder with “A Girl in the World is a Wonderful Thing” printed on the front. Every day after, I received […]

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A Pregnant Pause

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by Elisha Gechter I’ve fallen prey to a Facebook trend. Each month I stick a big number to my daughter’s onesie and snap a picture to post online. This month number nine will come out of the package, which has me recalling the milestone we marked in my 9th month of pregnancy at Mayyim Hayyim. As […]

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But I Really Wanted to Get Arrested!

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by Lisa Berman, Education Center Director My husband Jeff and I returned very recently from a whirlwind 9-day trip to Israel. Our main purpose was to see our kids, one doing a semester abroad at Hebrew University and one a semester at the Reform movement’s high school in Israel (EIE – Eisendrath International Exchange). They […]

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Coming Indoors

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by Benjamin Maron, Mikveh Guide In many ways, my work has been about the people at the fringes of our communities, those outside looking in. I’ve worked in social services, ran youth outreach groups, and started interfaith dialogue groups between Muslim and Jewish students on a too volatile campus. I spend my days at InterfaithFamily, […]

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