by Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director One year ago I wrote a post, Six Reasons I’m Psyched for 2016. It’s gratifying to reflect on it, and to see the things I imagined then right in front of me now. The Mayyim Hayyim team of staff, volunteers, and supporters has done an outstanding job of making it […]
Continue Readingby Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Last week I taught a group of 7th graders and parents from Congregation Shalom in Chelmsford. It was our standard, 90-minute education program where students learned about the biblical origins of mikveh immersion, the halachic (Jewish legal) construction of a mikveh, and the many reasons why people immerse, among […]
Continue Readingby Tammi Levy-Cantor It’s been a busy year for our family. Our child will be invited to and attending almost 60 Bar and Bat Mitzvahs from her classmates at the Rashi School, her camp family, our actual family, and long time friends. My husband, son, and I have also been incredibly fortunate to share in […]
Continue Readingby Carrie Bornstein, Executive Director Last week a 12-year old girl decided to immerse at Mayyim Hayyim prior to becoming a Bat Mitzvah. As is the often the case, she led the way by bringing in her step-mother and grandparents, all of whom were skeptical about visiting a mikveh. Resolute in her plans, she calmly […]
Continue Readingby Jenna Margolis I was little when my cousin converted to Judaism, but I distinctly remember watching my aunt hold her own breath as she released her new baby into the water. After several dunks in the Mayyim Hayyim mikveh, the child was Jewish, according to our rabbi. My family rejoiced, my aunt breathed again, […]
Continue Readingby Susan Morrel, Jewish Educator for Mayyim Hayyim’s “Water Wonders” I am often astounded by the questions early elementary school children ask. They are so full of wonder and curiosity, seeing the world through a lens of awe, fascination, and joy. Not surprisingly, they love to learn about the natural world, particularly water, a mysterious and […]
Continue Readingby Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Last week, Gann Academy brought over sixty Israeli and American teenagers to learn at Mayyim Hayyim. We set up stations located throughout our first floor, each one exploring an aspect of our particular mikveh, for the purpose of a big-picture conversation about how to welcome people into a […]
Continue Readingby Rachel Bernstein I had been preparing for my first immersion for eight years. I didn’t know exactly when it would be, but I could guess why it would be. The first eight times I had visited Mayyim Hayyim, I went in my capacity as Academic Adviser for the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute summer internship. I brought […]
Continue ReadingOctober 2016/ Tishrei 5777 Enough with the hand-wringing about the Jewish future. The kids are all right—and then some. You want proof? Listen to Mayyim Hayyim’s young visitors. Listen to Ira, who immersed before his bar mitzvah: This has been one of the most meaningful, spiritual, serene, and overall amazing experiences I’ve […]
Continue ReadingIn light of Leeza’s interview blog post with her now husband after doing the Beyond the Huppah class, I thought I would take a stab at one about the Beneath the Surface class I took with my 12-year old daughter, Elliana. Ceceley: Do you want to write a blog post with me about the Beneath the […]
Continue ReadingBy Nora Smolonsky *This post originally appeared in Fresh Ideas from HBI, the blog of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. As someone who is not a practicing Jew, I felt reservations before going to Mayyim Hayyim, a mikveh in Newton, MA. To be honest, I was not entirely sure what a mikveh was. I was worried that […]
Continue Readingby David Zenaty and Leeza Negelev David and Leeza, two former participants of the program, who were recently married, discuss their experience at Beyond the Huppah: Creating the Jewish Marriage You Want, led by Judy Elkin, PCC. Mayyim Hayyim’s seminar for engaged and newly married couples. DAVID: Hey, Leeza. I thought it would be interesting to create […]
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