People First

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For 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. […]

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The Earth-Shaped Universe

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by Ashley Loc “The main difference is that hope is based on precedent, while faith is the strength to believe when there may never be proof.” Button-down shirt, slightly wrinkled pants, and a distinct hairline. With his almond-toe oxfords never ceasing to slam against the floor, my 8th grade History teacher is still worth remembering five years […]

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Blue for Boys, Pink for Girls

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by Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Do you remember the moment when you figured out the world would relate to you according to your physical sex? I realized this while picking apples with my family at age four; I was hot, and my dad said I should take off my shirt. For the first time […]

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Russian-speaking Jews: Beyond Assimilation

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by Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education In July, Mayyim Hayyim sent me to attend the COJECO Symposium for Russian-speaking Jews. COJECO (Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations) is the coordinating body of the Russian-speaking Jewish community of New York. This symposium gathered 50 professionals from Jewish organizations throughout North America to ask: what works in engaging Russian-speaking Jews […]

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Life is Short

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by Ruth Oppenheim When Rabbi Klein announced a trip to Mayyim Hayyim, I signed up immediately.  I have reached an age where I am well aware of how finite life is, and I recognized an opportunity for a spiritual experience. Though I was clear that I wanted to join Temple Habonim’s visit to Mayyim Hayyim, […]

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Queering the Mikveh

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by Cara Rock-Singer, Mayyim Hayyim Intern A couple weeks ago, I sat in on a class at Mayyim Hayyim. Joy Ladin, a professor of English at Yeshiva University had brought a class of high school students from the Genesis high school program she was teaching at Brandeis, called, “Investigating Gender, Sexuality and Society.” Our Associate Director of […]

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The Mikveh is Still Here

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by Rachel Eisen, Mayyim Hayyim Intern Things can change in an instant. Last week, nearly 70 teens from Camp Ramah in New England came to visit Mayyim Hayyim. Our Associate Director of Education, Leeza, was rotating them in three groups through an education program, and she was masterfully teaching the second group when it started hailing. […]

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Stark

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by Walt Clark, Office Manager Stark: severe or bare in appearance or outline. This past week at Mayyim Hayyim the walls were empty. The art has come down as we wait for the next exhibit to go up. A fresh coat of paint has seemingly washed the nicks and scratches off the walls, so that all that is […]

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The Violin and the Joods Bad

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by Iris Adams I’ve always been curious about the tradition of mikveh, so I was pleased to accept an invitation to visit Mayyim Hayyim in June with a group of women from the Merrimack Valley.  When I walked through the gate by a pretty white and blue tiled bench set among greenery and gardens, I […]

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Our Bodies, Our Mikveh

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by DeDe Jacobs-Komisar, Development Manager This week marks my first Mayyim Hayyim “work-iversary.” When I started as Development Manager in July of 2014, the very first thing I did was observe an educational program with high school students from Genesis, a Brandeis University Jewish studies summer program for teens from all over the world. It […]

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Transmikveh

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by 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 […]

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