by Leah Hart Tennen My very basic introduction to mikveh was: “this is something that Orthodox Jews do, mostly women after their periods.” The first person I ever knew who went to the mikveh was an Orthodox Jew who went after her period. Fast forward many, many years and one of my closest friends asked […]
Continue Readingby Aviva Herr-Welber, Mayyim Hayyim Rabbinic Intern This past Wednesday, we were blessed to welcome two groups of Israelis from Haifa on a visit to Mayyim Hayyim: a group of adult Haifa civil society leaders and a group of tenth-grade students. The visits had been planned long ago as part of the larger itinerary for […]
Continue ReadingSeptember 2023 / Elul 5783 Dear friend, As we embrace the season of reflection and renewal, I’m thinking about my own experience with Jewish ritual, like mikveh. Mikveh has been there to help me grow and change. It is here for so many of you at times of celebration, healing, and transition. I became Mayyim Hayyim’s […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published by Jewish Women of Words, re-posted with permission by Karen Paul I strip off my clothes, step into the shower, scrub my skin raw. Nothing can sit on the surface of my body as I walk towards the mikveh – not jewellery, not contact lenses, not nail polish. I must be as clean […]
Continue Readingby Pamela Rosenblum I experienced my first mikveh immersion 25 years ago when I became a member of the Jewish People. It felt profound and transformational. It was many years before I had the opportunity to immerse again when, prior to the high holidays, my Rabbi introduced a small group of women to ImmerseNYC, a […]
Continue ReadingJune 2023 / Tamuz 5783 Dear friend, On behalf of the Board of Directors of Mayyim Hayyim, I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Julie Childers as Mayyim Hayyim’s next Chief Executive Officer. Following a search process led by a committee of board members and community partners, the Board voted unanimously to select Julie for this role. […]
Continue ReadingMay 2023 / Iyar 5783 Dear friend,This Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about my role as a parent and reflecting on my surrogacy in 2017. It was an experience filled with many wonders and unknowns. That year I marked half a decade leading Mayyim Hayyim. In those years and the many before them as a staff member and Mikveh Guide, I […]
Continue Readingby Erica Riddick I came up, breaking the surface of the water, and opened my eyes. Fresh lake water droplets melded with my saltwater tears. So many things colliding together at once burst forth as a geyser of emotion. I had entered the water in Saugatuck, Michigan with the intention of marking a transition toward […]
Continue ReadingBy Cantor Rachel Stock Spilker My connection to mikveh is nearly as old as Mayyim Hayyim itself. Eighteen years ago, I was in Boston visiting family. My sister-in-law, who was then a Mayyim Hayyim board member, asked me to go to the mikveh with her as she marked a miscarriage – sadly one of many. […]
Continue Readingby Molly Kazan, Development Manager We’re really into water and its whole shtick over here. We exist because of water. We know all about its properties, we cherish its power, and we revel in its potential. Closing our doors this month because of water damage has been such a blow to our hearts. The bright […]
Continue ReadingDear Friend, I am writing to share important and bittersweet news with you. After fifteen years on staff and nearly eleven years serving as CEO of Mayyim Hayyim, Carrie Bornstein has decided to step down from that role in summer 2023. Since 2006, Carrie has been a pillar of the Mayyim Hayyim community, first as […]
Continue ReadingDecember 2022 / Kislev 5783 Dear friend, A few months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, I opened my email to find this message: “Mayyim Hayyim will always be a safe place to mark an abortion, whatever the circumstances. Many in our community are righteously angry and ready to fight for our rights.” This blew […]
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