by Lisa Berman, Mikveh and Education Director It was a freezing, snowy day at Mayyim Hayyim, and we were struggling with frozen pipes in bathrooms and laundry rooms. We still had one working preparation room and one warm mikveh, so we were happy to be able to continue to welcome guests. That morning, a guest […]
Continue Readingby Jim Billings, Mikveh Guide It is finished, and it has begun! Over 30 years ago, I converted to Judaism. I would eventually marry a Jewish woman, and raise a Jewish family. My rabbi was not “into” the ritual of mikveh as part of the conversion process, so I never immersed to complete my conversion, as […]
Continue Readingby Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Mayyim Hayyim’s Seven Kavanot for Mikveh Preparation lists seven practical steps for the removal of chatzizot (barriers) that might come between the water and me. This document also offers seven intentions (kavanot) that focus my mind on removing these barriers with loving attention and respect for my body. Having used the […]
Continue Readingby Anita Diamant, Founding President I have to tell you a story. At the recent Reform Movement Biennial, more than 50 participants from all over the world took a field trip to Mayyim Hayyim. The response was — rapturous. Mikveh and Education Director, Lisa Berman, asked those 50 URJ guests how many had never been […]
Continue Readingby Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assitant January 1st… It’s coming. The new year brings with it a sense of infinite possibility, a childlike sense of hope, a renewed faithfulness in our capacity to fundamentally transform ourselves and the world around us. Of course, we Jews already had the opportunity to take stock of ourselves […]
Continue Readingby Anonymous I grew up in an observant household, and because of that, going to the mikveh was, in many ways, a given for me. Ever since I was old enough to figure out why my mom would go out for a while each month and come back with wet hair, I just assumed that […]
Continue Readingby Amber Caulkins, Director of Rising Tide Mikveh Network A few weeks ago I traveled to Baltimore with two of my Mayyim Hayyim colleagues to attend the Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network gathering. The trip gave us the opportunity to connect with Jewish leaders who are working to create “communities of meaning,” defined by Kenissa […]
Continue Readingby Rabbi Jeremy Sher This Hanukkah season, as we get ready to commemorate the rededication of the Temple, I’m thinking back to a very special time of personal rededication: my immersion at Mayyim Hayyim, one of the formative experiences of my life. I had been to Mayyim Hayyim several times to witness immersions, but it […]
Continue Readingby Kimberly Creem Earlier this year, my daughter, Lily, became a bat mitzvah. I’d been looking forward to this for years. Beneath the Surface, Mayyim Hayyim’s program for Bat Mitzvah girls and their moms, sounded like a wonderful idea. When I told Lily we were going to sign up, she wondered if we’d know anyone […]
Continue Readingby Diane Baum On a recent Sunday in October, the bar and bat mitzvah class of seventh graders from Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton visited Mayim Hayyim to learn about mikveh. Here is what my 13-year-old daughter had to say about it: The mikveh was interesting and beautiful. We learned through discussion and charades where […]
Continue Readingby Rebekah Erev In 2000, a group of radical queers in Olympia, Washington welcomed me into a chavurah (group of friends) of artists, musicians, and organizers. We had all experienced feeling excluded, living on the fringes, and shared a desire to welcome and acknowledge the beauty of the liminal space we occupied as queers. We […]
Continue Readingby Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director The last time I wrote for this blog I was preparing to deliver a baby as a gestational surrogate, for a Jewish couple from London. So, yeah… that happened. On September 28, 2017 I delivered a 6 lb., 10 oz. baby girl – you can read the whole birth story […]
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