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. […]
Continue ReadingWritten 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 […]
Continue ReadingWritten 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 […]
Continue ReadingMy first mikveh experience took place in early Elul. Shabbat was approaching at my first week-long Jewish Renewal retreat at Elat Chayyim, and I decided to join the group which was going to do “spiritual mikveh” in the swimming pool. Rabbi Phyllis Berman explained, beforehand, the ways in which our mikveh would be atypical: we […]
Continue ReadingInching 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. […]
Continue ReadingThis coming May marks my 10th anniversary as the executive director of Mayyim Hayyim. Last Sunday, we held our annual spring benefit, and along with showing films and honoring extraordinary people, Dr. Ellen and Dr. Ernie Kornmehl and Carol and Dr. Steve Targum, I received the Nachshon Award – the one designed to honor those […]
Continue ReadingImagine it. Ten couples sitting around a table, munching on Terra Chips, hummus and carrots, mixed nuts and Peanut M&M’s; some engaged to be married, some already married, in their late 20’s and older, gay and straight, Jewish-Jewish and interfaith, and all interested in raising Jewish children. They want to start their marriages on the […]
Continue ReadingThe question is: how did a mikveh, a place that was alien to me most of life, become part of my life? Like everyone’s personal story it can be long and complicated or it can be short and concise. So here is the condensed version. My life is filled with twists and turns; it is […]
Continue ReadingRabba Sara Hurwitz shares her thoughts on the meaning of mikveh and the Gathering the Waters International Mikveh Conference. Rabba Hurwitz is a member of the Rabbinic Staff at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and the Dean of Yeshivat Maharat. Rabbi Menachem HaMeiri, (Provence, 1249-1306) teaches that on the day that God commanded Abraham to […]
Continue ReadingWe want to give a special shout-out to the Velveteen Rabbi and Frume Sarah, who have such wonderful things to say about the opening day of the Gathering the Waters conference! We’re so glad you were able to attend, and we are thrilled that you are continuing the dialogue…
Continue ReadingJoseph Reimer is the Director of the Institute for Informal Jewish Education and an Associate Professor and former Director of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University. He will co-facilitate a panel on mikveh education next week at our Gathering the Waters Conference – we hope to see you there! As we grow […]
Continue ReadingSearch
