A Post-Tufts T’vilah

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by Andrew Wofford When my Rabbi suggested that I immerse in the mikveh to mark my graduation from college, I was rather confused and somewhat hesitant. I had known of the mikveh only as a formality, an obligatory element of the conversion process. As the son of a non-Jewish father and a Jewish mother, I […]

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Blessing My Marriage in the Mikveh

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by Laura Bishop I did not have a traditional Jewish wedding. In another life, where I married another man, I would have loved to have been under the chuppah (wedding canopy), wrapped in a tallis (prayer shawl), as the rabbi blessed us, our union, and consecrated our marriage under the laws of Moses and Israel. […]

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Making a Marriage: Inside Beyond the Huppah

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As Beyond the Huppah 2017 approaches, we are reminded of these unique insights written and adapted by educator Judy Elkin. Imagine it. Ten couples sitting around a table, munching on Terra Chips, hummus and carrots, mixed nuts, and Peanut M&M’s; some soon-to-be married, some already married, in their late 20’s and older, gay and straight, […]

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Off the Deep End!

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Reposted by Mayyim Hayyim in recognition of the recent launch of “Now What?,” a post-conversion curriculum for new Jews and their partners now available for your community! by Cantor Louise Egbert Treitman I converted to Judaism almost 45 years ago and have been immersed in the Jewish world ever since. I was still in college when […]

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”…and Other Challenges

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by Leeza Negelev, Associate Director of Education Last spring, I sat in the Mayyim Hayyim Education Center with a group of people who had at some point made the decision to become Jewish. It was the very first session of “Now What? Questions and Answers for Those Who Have Chosen Judaism,” a program Mayyim Hayyim […]

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Lessons from Beyond the Huppah: An In-Depth Review

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by Sarah Bolts and Michael Chernicoff, Beyond the Huppah Participants fall 2015  Sarah: I honestly didn’t know what to expect from a pre-marriage class. I grew up in the Orthodox community, where pre-marriage classes came in the form of “kallah (bride) classes” in which a bride would learn about the laws of niddah (regular separation of […]

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A Gift for Mom

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Excerpts from Keeping the Faith: How Compromise, Curiosity and Tradition Guide One Interfaith Family, by Abigail Mnookin Reflections before the mikveh: For my mom’s 70th birthday this month, my brother and I are giving her an unusual gift. Her four grandchildren will be immersed in a ritual bath, or mikveh, which symbolizes their conversion to […]

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A Pastor and a Rabbi go to a Mikveh in Uganda

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This month, our blog’s theme is mikva’ot from around the world. Mikveh is a ritual that spans centuries and continents; earlier this month we shared Cantor Rachel Stock Spilker’s encounter with a mikveh in Cuba, and today we’re sharing Samantha Lakin’s trip to a mikveh in Uganda. Stay tuned for next week, when we share about a unique mikveh in Israel. If you […]

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A Quiet Holiness

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by Kelly Banker, Intern A few weeks ago, I was in deep need of a ritual space. I was yearning for a way to mark a rite of passage, a moment in time, with my partner (who is Christian), and yet finding something that would be meaningful for the both of us was feeling increasingly […]

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