When the Water Calls

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by Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assistant Every morning, I am first to arrive at Mayyim Hayyim. I am here when the building is silent and the pools still. Sometimes on my way to my desk, I peek into the atrium near the water and peer into the mikveh room. It’s quiet, the water is undisturbed. […]

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A Year in Days: Why Support Mayyim Hayyim?

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by Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving It’s December, the time of year when many people make charitable contributions. As the Director of Annual Giving at Mayyim Hayyim, it’s a busy time of year for me. Sometimes it’s also easy to get lost in the weeds – then I remember all the reasons why I […]

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It’s Time for Mayyim Hayyim’s Top Ten List

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by Lisa Berman, Mikveh & Education Director It’s that time of year when we’re surrounded by lists – top ten best movies of the year, books, songs, the like. Here at Mayyim Hayyim, we judge ourselves by our impact on our guests. Did they have a positive experience? Were they made to feel welcome? Did […]

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Jewish Ritual as a Guide to Community Healing

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by Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving This past week has been, to put it mildly, a tumultuous and heavy one. As a (white) Jewish woman, I’ve been worried and scared for my friends and family of all races and religions, as an antisemitic man and a homophobic man were named to the presidential transition team. […]

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The Kids are All Right – Thanks to You

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October 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 […]

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Siman Tov U’Mazel Tov U’Welcome Tov!

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by Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving There are definitely quirks about working in a building that is centuries old. Oftentimes, no two rooms are the same temperature. Once, running a microwave knocked out the power on the third floor. But my favorite quirk is the way sound travels in this old house. Whenever there is […]

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The Jews are Alright

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by Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assistant I grew up in a very traditional Conservative-with-a-capital-C Jewish household: Shabbos every week, day school, Camp Ramah, USY, study abroad in Israel – the whole megillah. All of this exposure, (or immersion as we like to say) into Jewish life had given me what I thought was a […]

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Where Working is a Delight

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by Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assistant Almost two months have passed since I began working at Mayyim Hayyim. I have settled into my desk, built a challenging, but civil relationship with our computer systems and their quirks, and am actively growing as a member of this extraordinary team of women who keep Mayyim Hayyim […]

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“I Wish…”, When You Want a Mikveh Do-Over

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by Lisa Berman, Mikveh & Education Director Expectations. Raised, lowered, managed. We can’t help it — we think about what an experience will be like and then we measure it. Was it as good as we’d hoped? What would we do differently next time? What do we wish had happened? Mikveh is no different. I […]

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Everything Always Comes Back Around

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by Rachel Eisen, Director of Annual Giving Some people think that life is linear, always moving forward in one direction. But I’d like to disagree. In this past year, life hasn’t felt linear at all. Almost a full year ago, I wrote my first blog post as an intern for Mayyim Hayyim. I wrote about […]

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From Tragedy to Transcendence

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by Leah Robbins, Administrative and Marketing Assistant When I walked into my first day on staff at Mayyim Hayyim yesterday, I had tucked away the pain of this weekend’s horrific events that have been weighing so heavily on me. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have been wrought with fear and grief over […]

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Movie-Making at the Mikveh

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Lisa Berman, Mikveh and Education Director There is something inherently off-putting about saying you’re going to make a movie at a mikveh. Isn’t a mikveh a place where privacy is paramount? Where photography and exposure should not coexist? Yes, of course. So then why last month would a visit to Mayyim Hayyim have found it […]

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