By Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director People often ask us, “Is there anything like Mayyim Hayyim in Israel?” We certainly let them know about Mikveh Sh’maya, run by Rabbi Haviva Ner-David at Kibbutz Hannaton, and the innovative work happening at the Eden Center in Jerusalem, led by Naomi Marmon-Grumet. Outside of that, however, the mikveh scene is somewhat […]
Continue Readingby Janine Herrera To understand why my immersion at Mayyim Hayyim was so transformative, one would first need to understand the journey I’ve been on. I made the decision to convert because the synagogue and community I belong to was inclusive, open, and committed to accepting everyone. They unabashedly embraced me as part of their community. […]
Continue Readingby Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving Some people think that life is linear, always moving forward in one direction. But I’d like to disagree. In this past year, life hasn’t felt linear at all. Almost a full year ago, I wrote my first blog post as an intern for Mayyim Hayyim. I wrote about […]
Continue ReadingLisa Berman, Mikveh and Education Director There is something inherently off-putting about saying you’re going to make a movie at a mikveh. Isn’t a mikveh a place where privacy is paramount? Where photography and exposure should not coexist? Yes, of course. So then why last month would a visit to Mayyim Hayyim have found it […]
Continue Readingby Ilana Snapstailer When I brought my 7th grade Rosh Hodesh group to Mayyim Hayyim, we learned about the aquatic lift meant to help someone with a disability use the mikveh. When our educator, Lisa Berman, asked the girls “Why might someone with a disability use the mikveh?” one girl promptly answered, “The same reason […]
Continue ReadingBy Shari Zakim-Yacouby and Talya Sokoll Talya: One thing I’ve learned in my 30 years as a Jew is that there is no one right way to be Jewish. Although my experience of living a fulfilling Jewish life has been intrinsically intertwined with the communities I am part of, I feel so blessed to be […]
Continue Readingby Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director If you’ll indulge me, I’d like you to take a minute and think about the different communities in which you participate. Consider your book group, your synagogue, your kid’s school. Think about your role as an organization’s board member, your work environment, or the class you take on Tuesday nights. […]
Continue ReadingFor several months now, Sandy Miller Jacobs (a former Professor of Special Education) and I have been working on writing and editing a discussion guide to accompany Mayyim Hayyim’s short film about accessibility at the mikveh, Open Waters: Mikveh for Everybody. The film and discussion guide are both projects of a generous grant we received from the Ruderman Family Foundation. […]
Continue Readingby Susan Arndt It’s hard to believe we just celebrated my son’s Bar Mitzvah. Zachary was born a beautiful healthy baby, but at the age of sixteen months, he started having seizures. Over the years, with all of the challenges he has faced being non-verbal and having developmental delays, I have always looked for ways of […]
Continue Readingby A. Fox In my parents’ home back in St. Paul, Minnesota, I used to tiptoe into the bathroom late at night, lock the door behind me, put a towel in the door’s crack and turn off the lights. I knew how many steps it took to reach the faucet. How many inches to lift my hand for […]
Continue Readingby Carrie Bornstein Accessibility to people with disabilities has been a Mayyim Hayyim priority since the very beginning. Petichut – openness – is one of our guiding principles and it is part of everything we do: nobody is closed out of our education programs, art gallery, or immersion the mikveh itself. Now, in partnership with […]
Continue Readingby Sandy Slavet, Mikveh Guide Each of us who comes to the waters of Mayyim Hayyim is called by a voice from within: a voice that awakens our souls to the possibility of transformation. It is a voice that recalls an ancient Jewish ritual and that is as new as every breath we take. I first […]
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