by Esther Sadie Brandon I am now a breast cancer survivor. In the summer of 2015, an immersion at Mayyim Hayyim was my medium to mark the transition from being in treatment to healing. The words Refuah Sh’leimah can be interpreted as a prayer for wholeness. Integration is the neurological process of bringing together differentiated […]
Continue Readingby Lisa Berman, Mikveh and Education Director It was a hot, sunny day during Sukkot last month and I was in Jerusalem visiting my daughter. During our ten days together, we’d plan an adventure each day. One day we scoured the Muslim Quarter of the Old City for a 200 year old address-less pastry shop […]
Continue Readingby Rabbi Miriam-Simma Walfish Niddah is the practice of abstaining from sexual intimacy around the time of menstruation. When contemplating the rabbinic laws surrounding menstruation, it can be easy to wonder: Why is there a whole area of Jewish law devoted to the intricacies of determining the beginning and end of women’s menstrual cycles? At times, […]
Continue Readingby Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Often when I teach youth about mikveh, I talk about how a ritual can help us get from Point A to Point B. We start with the secular. For a few minutes, a group of middle school students and I will generate all kinds of transitional moments and […]
Continue ReadingOriginally posted in March 2017 by Anonymous As a Jewish woman living a traditional halachic life (governed by Jewish law), I am often faced with questions from myself and others regarding my religious choices. One question that will likely always come up is that of the place of women in halachic Judaism. In modern-day Orthodoxy, […]
Continue ReadingOriginally posted on January 18, 2017 by Cantor Sarah Bolts and Michael Chernicoff Sarah: I honestly didn’t know what to expect from a pre-marriage class. I grew up in the Orthodox community, where pre-marriage classes came in the form of “kallah (bride) classes” in which a bride would learn about the laws of niddah (regular separation […]
Continue Readingby Cantor Rachel Stock Spilker We return to who’ve we’ve always been, are meant to be, but have not yet become. (R. Dov Peretz Elkins) The whole country was focused on the moon and the sun in August for the highly anticipated solar eclipse. We bought our special sunglasses, decided where we wanted to be […]
Continue Readingby Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assistant I was fortunate enough to join the Mayyim Hayyim staff in June of 2016, and it has since been a working girl’s dream in every sense of the word. This team, the work, the ritual, the mission – they’re nothing but holy. My formal position here is a […]
Continue Readingby Ev Bastow In August of this year, I had the unique experience of visiting Mayyim Hayyim. I cannot talk about that encounter without telling about the life events that led up to that memorable day. I was born and raised in New York City and grew up in a mostly unobservant home. Except for […]
Continue Readingby Amber Caulkins, Director of Ride Tide I was recently asked by my alma mater to participate in a panel discussion on working in the nonprofit field as part of their annual career day. For the last week I have been thinking about what pearls of wisdom I can try to impart in ten to […]
Continue Readingby Karen Calechman The theme for my synagogue’s “Joys of Jewish Learning” event this past year was mayyim (water). Sharon Amster Brown, our Director of Education, excitedly chose “The Mikveh Monologues” as the perfect theatrical piece to be performed at Temple Israel of Long Beach, California. “The Mikveh Monologues,” a play based on stories from […]
Continue Readingby Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving This is a story about silver linings. This story begins two years ago, immersing at Mayyim Hayyim for Rosh Hashanah – my first ever immersion. It was wondrous, and my heart felt open. Chapter Two continues with my second immersion, one year ago, also for Rosh Hashanah. I […]
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