Being a Mikveh Guide is Rabbinic Training

by Hayley Goldstein, Mikveh Guide

When I walk through the arch and down the winding, flower-lined path, punch in the security code, hang my coat up in the closet, and sit down at the desk, I have a distinct feeling that only Mikveh Guides feel. It feels like a fluttering in my heart and belly, a bowing of my head in humility, and a joyous skip all combined into one. It’s the feeling of having absolutely no idea what stories, personalities, circumstances, and emotions will come through the door in my short two-hour shift. It is complete awe at the prospect of guiding people through a ritual that, regardless of the things they bring with them in the building, will leave them feeling alive and ready. This Mikveh-Guide-feeling is my favorite part of my week.

In merely two and a half years, I will be ordained as a rabbi. My job will be to guide people through rituals that mark beginnings and endings, to help people feel alive and ready – ready to live a Jewish life and ready to connect to themselves, community, and God. This is why being a Mikveh Guide at Mayyim Hayyim is the absolute best rabbinic training I could ever ask for. Every week I get to embody the holy curiosity that Mikveh Guides are trained to embody: to be open and welcoming to every story that brings a person down the flower-lined path and through the doors. In less than a year of guiding I have guided people through rituals for birthdays, weddings, gratitude, finalizing a divorce, healing from cancer, surviving a stroke, mourning a miscarriage, and more. I know that what will (God willing) make me a good rabbi someday is the holy curiosity that I could have only learned through my experiences being in this special place.

Click here to learn more about how you can become a part of our upcoming cohort of Mikveh Guides.

hayleyHayley is a third year student at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, and the Rabbinic Advisor of Boston College. She has loved being a Mikveh Guide at Mayyim Hayyim since her training with the 10th cohort in early 2016. Originally from Minnesota, Hayley is a passionate Jewish educator whose other passions include, but are not limited to: making music videos, being a puppeteer, pottery, cooking, and her fat, glorious cat, Yossi. 

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  • Mayyim Hayyim currently has limited availability for immersions while we undergo construction to repair damage incurred to the building following the extreme cold on February 4. We will be updating this page periodically with new information. To support our repairs, click here to donate.