Blog

A Moment to Myself

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Women go to the mikveh for many reasons. For most, it is seen as a monthly ritual to purify oneself in living waters, mayyim hayyim, after menstruation and preparation for physical reunification with a spouse. I think many women look at the mikveh as a monthly chore, another appointment to fit in to an already […]

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Immerse Yourself into Your Story

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The Yahrzeit Candle March 29-30, 1997  It was 7:30 on the night before Easter Sunday, and I was about to light my first Yahrzeit candle. Lev Baesh gave this memorial light to me. Two and one-half years earlier after hearing one rabbi’s spiritual presentation at a hospice training session, another rabbi intimately entered my world. […]

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Shavu'ot: Witnessing a Conversion, Remembering Ruth

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As a mikveh guide who volunteers regularly, I see the holidays in a way that I hadn’t before—while I have always known they mark time’s passage, celebrations, and events, when people come to the mikveh to immerse for a holiday, I see how some people carry tradition with them by taking time out of their […]

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Got It!

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Inching our way down Commonwealth Ave, all I could think was, “We’re going to be late.” As I pulled into the parking lot just minutes before our scheduled arrival at 2:00 pm, my cell phone rang. One of the other vans had taken a different Washington Street and was still 15 – 20 minutes away. […]

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The Calendar, the Mikveh, and Great Sex

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Not all sex is made equal.  Sex is sometimes good and sometimes really good.  So how does sex go from good to great?  Many couples, guided by a whole genre of literature on the subject, focus on techniques, positions, and props.  There is, however, another factor that I believe is incredibly helpful when it comes […]

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A Mikveh Guide and Board Member Muses on Immersion

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I felt like a fraud! Mayyim Hayyim’s mission speaks to me, it speaks loudly and it speaks clearly!  So, why had I never immersed? I have had the privilege of serving on the organization’s Board of Directors.  I have also taken the training to become a mikveh guide, and find those experiences of being witness […]

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Mikveh Misdemeanors: Why We Need More Mikvaot Like Mayyim Hayyim

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I love the mikveh.  I love this mitzvah so much, in fact, that over the last thirteen years I have immersed in many mikvaot around the world.  And despite having encountered many mikveh misdemeanors, I continue to return to the “living waters” time and time again.  As I reflect on these “misdemeanors,” I don’t include immersing […]

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The Mikveh Has Left the Building

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In a few weeks, tens of thousands of Jewish kids in North America will pack their bags, say goodbye to their families, and enter the alternate universe of Summer Camp. Campers absorb a great deal of their Jewish education in that universe, a place where many Jewish values take root.  I believe that summer camps […]

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Training a Male Mikveh Guide: a reflection

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As a Male Mikveh Guide you are about to embark on a marvelous journey through uncharted waters. You will become, with a little patients and practice, the “Mikveh Lady” for your male peers. During the first part of the training you will learn a great deal about the rules of contact between a man and […]

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How Did We Manage “to take out” Sex from the Mikveh?

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I was asked to write a blog as an anthropologist who had done work on Jewish Moroccan women, and to be personal and provocative, so here we go!  The first image that came to my mind, is that of Ruth, one of my informants who told me, in the 1980’s, that she would go to […]

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Hair

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The Mikveh Monologues (© 2005 Mayyim Hayyim) was created in 2004-2005 by internationally acclaimed author Anita Diamant and director Janet Buchwald. The play is based on interviews with men, women and children who marked a personal life transition by immersing in a mikveh. I had decided to immerse as part of my cleaning for Passover, as […]

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Unexpected Euphoria

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When my wife announced she was taking us to a mikveh to begin the celebration of my 50th birthday I was worried. Do men use mikvehs? Will I know what to do? Will I be held under water? Will I need to know Hebrew? Will it be awkward? Will I be quizzed about my support […]

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  • Closure Notice

    Please be advised that Mayyim Hayyim will be closed starting July 25 through August 7 while we install critical AC units. Existing appointments will occur as scheduled.

    Thank you for your understanding. We will be doing this work to ensure guest comfort during Elul, the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah.

    If you have any questions, please reach out to info@mayyimhayyim.org