The New York Community Mikveh Project

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by Sara Luria The week before my New York wedding, I boarded a train at Penn Station, Boston-bound, to immerse at Mayyim Hayyim. I was flustered and hurried, as brides often are in those logistics-packed pre-wedding days. The instructions in the prep rooms at the mikveh gently urged me to slow down, to reflect, and […]

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A Field Trip

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On August 9, 2012, Mayyim Hayyim hosted a group of social workers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to learn more about Mayyim Hayyim’s mission, operations, and how the ritual of mikveh can be of use to both caregivers and those challenged by health issues. Thanks to Jane Matlaw, Director of Community Relations at BIDMC […]

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The Most Special Person on the Planet

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by Lisa Berman, Education Center Director It’s a good day when you create a program described as “absolutely, amazingly, awesomely phenomenal.”  Frankly, it’s even better when a 12 year old says, “I thought that the girls would all have been forced to come by their moms, but we were all genuinely interested – and it […]

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An International and Multicultural Ritual Immersion

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by Gaby Zwiebach My family roots stem both from Peru and from Mexico. The cultures of these two countries have always had a strong influence in my life and in the life of my two older sisters, and eventually in the lives of our respective children. The three of us were born in Mexico to […]

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Change is Change

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by Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director Every summer at camp there would be some new rule or some change that would seem to have dramatic and life-altering consequences.  A schedule change (but we always swim after sports!), a favorite food item discontinued (but we always have purple bug juice at lunch!), a curfew made […]

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On Winter's Spring

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by Katherine Trakhtenbroit I hail from a land currently crisped by drought. There are great stretches of live oak trees and loblolly pines along the bayou; when I was small they were thick with glossy leaves and pungent needles. Now, it’s all orange and brown and parched. So, down there, we know deeply the transformative […]

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Sticky Fingers

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by Carrie Bornstein Today is one of my favorite days of the year at Mayyim Hayyim: the day we put the honey sticks next to our front door in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah.  Usually I hold off – waiting until the world’s birthday arrives to reunite my apple with its honey.  But today… let’s just […]

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Am I Jewish?

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by Stephan Lewy I was born in Berlin, Germany, and had a Protestant mother and a Jewish father. My parents agreed that a boy would be raised Jewish and a girl, Protestant. My birth was in a Jewish hospital, which still exists today. If both of my parents had been Jewish, my life would not […]

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Marking Transitions

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by Jody Comins, Development and Events Coordinator My children came home from camp last week after being gone for seven weeks.  The first day, my 13 year-old daughter, Talia, took to her bed. Itouch in hand, she spent the day crying, listening to music and facebooking with friends that she just left that morning. She […]

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An Important Connection

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By Ron and Brian Olshansky-Lucero Mayyim Hayyim has been an important part of our lives for the last two years. Our connection to Mayyim Hayyim began with Ron’s beit din and immersion for his conversion. We were very blessed that Ron’s sponsoring rabbi knew about Mayyim Hayyim and that he chose this special place for […]

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Nothing Spectacular

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By Nina Cecily Stewart, Mayyim Hayyim Administrative Assistant  I first realized I loved Mayyim Hayyim when, after my first week on the job, I called my dad and spent five minutes waxing rhapsodic about calling mikveh guides, scheduling appointments, and printing immersion forms. When I finally noticed the silence on the other end of the […]

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Ad Me’ah V’Esrim! (Until 120!): Reflections on reaching the 1st Birthday of Libi Eir Awakened Heart Community Mikveh at Beth Meyer Synagogue

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By Rabbi Jenny Solomon Shehehiyanu, v’kiyamanu, v’higiyanu lazman ha’zeh!  (Thank you, God, for giving us life, sustaining us, and enabling us to reach this day!)  It is almost unfathomable to me that just a year ago we opened our doors and our waters to the Jewish community.  Living in a relatively small Jewish community in […]

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