Exhilarated!

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Exhilarated! That’s how we feel when a group of 20, 30, or 40 students walk out the door of the Paula Brody & Family Education Center at the conclusion of one of our 115+ programs each year.  We love opening up  minds about what mikveh can be, changing long-held opinions, and engaging in spirited discussions. […]

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A Perfect Fit

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Written by Amy Chartock, National Programs Director       Have you ever been to a mikveh with an art gallery?  If Mayyim Hayyim were only a kosher mikveh, a warm, welcoming space that is gladdening to the eye, dayenu, it would be enough!  But we don’t stop there.  Why not adorn the walls with rotating […]

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Beyond the Huppah

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Mayyim Hayyim is pleased to offer its successful program, “Beyond the Huppah: Creating the Jewish Marriage You Want” beginning this Sunday, March 4 (a few spots still remain!). Enjoy this reprint of a blog post from the program’s facilitator, Judy Elkin, describing one of the remarkably insightful exercises she employs in the program to help couples relate […]

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Learning to Love the Mikveh

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By Emma Green, Jewish Educator at Boston Area Jewish Education Program When I was a child, I spent a lot of time hanging out at my local synagogue. I grew very comfortable with most of the building while waiting for my brothers to be done with Bar Mitzvah meetings or Hebrew School, youth group events, […]

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Mikveh and the State: Who Decides Who's In and Who's Out?

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Written by Aliza Kline, Executive Director Mikveh is in the news here in Israel. Not regarding the battle of allowing Reform and Conservative clergy to bring conversion candidates to the mikveh – though that’s still ongoing in the courts. This is a new case that could have far reaching consequences – though for me it […]

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Maybe God

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by Lisa Berman, Education Center Director Picture this: a sixth grader, participating in an education program at Mayyim Hayyim, responds to the question “who do you think might accompany someone when they are at or in the mikveh?” He answers: “No one. Well, maybe God.” Both of these 2 very brief statements are fascinating to […]

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The Words on Our Gates

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By Stepheny Riemer, Member of Mayyim Hayyim’s Art Committee The words “Come in Peace” and “Go in Peace,” in English and Hebrew, now appear on the        archway to Mayyim Hayyim, completing the entryway to a special haven. The signs mark a destination and an immersion experience that has the power to heighten the […]

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The Transcendent Powers of Mikveh

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Written by Rabbi Scott Rosenberg For me, there is something extremely humbling about immersion in a mikveh. The idea of mikveh and the transcendent powers of mayyim hayyim, living waters, have always evoked within me a sense of reverence and awe.  The link to creation, the notion of rebirth, the existential tension between purity and […]

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Bringing the Waters Together: Mikveh Construction & Maintenance Training

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 Written by Rabbi Joshua Heller As a the senior rabbi of a B’nai Torah, a growing Conservative-affiliated congregation, I’m called upon to wear many “kippot:” teacher of Torah, pastoral counselor, Judaic scholar,  administrator, fundraiser, ersatz (substitute) cantor, occasionally even software debugger. Fortunately, I can point to a part of my rabbinical school training that prepared […]

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A Pluralistic Approach to Studying an Ancient Concept

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Written by Amy Chartock, National Programs Director Two weeks ago, Carrie and I packed up and flew across the country to gather for a very specialized training focusing on the construction and maintenance of kosher mikvaot.  A dedicated group of fourteen people came together from Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, Raleigh, New Orleans, Atlanta Baltimore, […]

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Learning in Partnership

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Written by Rabbi Claudia Kreiman Every year, I am honored to sponsor a few candidates for conversion. As a rabbi, accompanying a person on their path into Judaism is one of the most profound experiences I encounter. I learn from candidates, from their questions and struggles. Their perspectives and experiences enrich my own and open […]

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