Top 10 Reasons to Be a Volunteer Mikveh Guide

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Written by Carrie Bornstein Shortly after Mayyim Hayyim opened in 2004, I remember the nervous excitement I felt opening the email inviting applications for volunteer Mikveh Guides.  “Would they accept me,” I thought?  “Do I have what it takes?” Incidentally, it all worked out okay. Little did any of us who became Mikveh Guides know, […]

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Coming Home

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By Rick and Sarah Perron If someone had told us seven years ago that we would one day make the decision to become Jews, we would have been doubtful, to say the least. However, on 26 Sivan, 5771 (June 28th, 2011), each of us found ourselves immersing in the serene waters of the beautiful mikvaot […]

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Destination Mikveh

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Written by Amy Chartock I like to imagine the day when I open The New York Times Travel section and find Boston as the featured destination, listing a visit to Mayyim Hayyim as one of the “must sees” on their list.  But why a visit to Mayyim Hayyim specifically?  Simply put, you need to see […]

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From Knowledge to Meaning

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Written by Angel The path that led me to the mikveh at Mayyim Hayyim and to finally become Jewish was distinctly the “road less travelled.” My best friend and love of my life was born Jewish. My daughter and I were not. If you had told me a year ago that I would find myself […]

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No More Learner's Permit

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Written by Carrie Bornstein I remember the first time I ever drove by myself. As soon as I got my license, the deal was that if I drove my father to the train station, I could use the car for the day. My alarm went off early – 6:30, to be precise – plenty of […]

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'Summertime' at the Mikveh

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Written by David Levy For theater lovers, there’s only one place to be tonight: the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, where the American Repertory Theater will begin previews for their new version of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Although tonight will be the first time this production unfolds before a paying audience, its advantages and […]

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Liminal Moments

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Written by Aliza Kline In just a little over a week my family and I will embark on a big adventure – a 10-month sabbatical in Israel. This will be the year that we look back on; the myth that shapes our family’s story. I will return next summer to a strong and healthy Mayyim […]

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The Dream that Never Vanished

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Written by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein What does mikveh have to do with becoming a rabbi? Even before Mayyim Hayyim existed, I had explored mikveh. After spending one Omer soul searching, I gathered some very close friends at Freeman Lake to witness my own mikveh ceremony. The night before I wondered what was next. An […]

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Judaism's Dark Day

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Written by Elisheva Baskin Tisha b’Av, the ninth day in the Hebrew calendar month of Av, is Judaism’s “dark day.” Ironically, it comes in mid- to end of the summer, when the days are long and the sun shines bright. This makes the matter of fasting, not drinking liquids, and not bathing as especially difficult […]

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Disconnection from the Physical

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Written by Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman A few months ago, a well-meaning hasid from Jerusalem was trying to figure out what it meant for the woman he’d just seen lead a traditional mincha-maariv service to be both Jewishly observant and a rabbi.  He asked me: Do you keep shabbes?  Yes, I responded.  You don’t drive?  Right.  […]

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Inside my Soul

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Written by Madeline Mayer As I peered for the first time at the glistening waters of the mikveh at Mayyim Hayyim, I felt as if I was truly seeing inside my own soul—this time with a renewed, lucid state of mind. With its beautiful blue stones and tranquil waters, the mikveh enveloped me with spirit and […]

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Surrender Yourself

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Written by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin The mikveh has been part of my life for 35 years. I have “taken the waters” in Manhattan, Beer Sheva, the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, Baltimore, and just this past spring, at Mayyim Hayyim. I have written healing rituals for post-partum ceremonies, victims of abuse, rape, illness, infertility, separation […]

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