Shabbat and Holidays

Many Blessings from the New Year

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By: Mayyim Hayyim Staff September, for many people, is a month of transition as summer moves into milder days, children return to school, and Jewish calendar turns over into the new year. Immersion ceremonies are ways to mark transition and we are grateful that so many people shared their spiritual transitions this month by immersing […]

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Transitioning into Fall

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by Rachel CaraDonna, Mayyim Hayyim Development Intern Summer is transitioning quickly into fall; the air is becoming noticeably crisp and the leaves are beginning to change. The season known best in New England brings along the classic activities and foods such as apple picking, pumpkin carving, apple crisp, and pumpkin pie. Going anywhere, it’s inevitable […]

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Jonah in the Belly of the Big Fish: A Pre-Yom Kippur Immersion

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by Rabbi Sarah Tasman For the past number of years, immersing in the waters of the mikveh has been an important part of my transition into the new year. Immersing before Rosh Hashanah in previous years felt very natural, an extension of the images of rebirth and renewal, of creation, and of the world coming […]

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Rosh Hashanah is the New Elul

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by Carrie Bornstein Every year I tell myself I’m going to immerse in the mikveh before Rosh Hashanah.  And every year, Rosh Hashanah sneaks up on me and I wonder how I can possibly set aside the time to make it happen.  Yes, I am aware that it takes approximately 7 seconds to get from […]

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An Immersion in Friendship: Preparation for the High Holy Days

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by Rabbinic Pastor Matia Angelou and Cantor Louise Treitman Over eighteen years ago, we wanted to do something special together to prepare for the High Holy Days. We decided that the tradition of immersing in the mikveh could help us as we each prepared to lead services at our respective congregations. We had done musical […]

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In Gratitude…

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by Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director Last week marked the end of my first year as a full-time employee at Mayyim Hayyim.  Many have heard me joke, “If you harass people enough, they’ll hire you,” but the truth is, I am incredibly lucky to be able to pass under the sign reading “boachem l’shalom” […]

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Immersion for Bloggers-to-be

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by Jordan Braunig, Hebrew College intern Who knows how long I’d been sitting at my desk.  Hours?  Days?  Months?  It was time to write my blog post for Mayyim Hayyim, but what to write!  I racked my brain, and still, nothing; literally, nothing.  Sure, I’ve had the occasional case of writer’s block, but this was […]

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Sunday, Monday… Happy Days: A Trivia Contest For All

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by Carrie Bornstein Today is (and yesterday was, too) Rosh Chodesh Adar – the first days of the month of Adar.  Adar: the month on the Hebrew calendar that brings us Purim, which I take very, very seriously.  When Adar comes we are meant to increase our joy – a command for happiness! In case […]

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525,600 minutes…

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by Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director With apologies for plagiarizing from “Rent”, I ask everyone to think about how one measures a year.  “In daylight? In sunsets?  In midnights? In cups of coffee?” This particular year feels a bit different, however, as I can measure it in many different ways.  As my first 365 […]

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The Magic of a New Year

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by Sarah Gurvis, Administrative Assistant  Every year, as I’m sure most people do, I look forward to January 1st. There seems to be something magical about the beginning of a new year that we all seem to believe in. It’s the reason that New Year’s Eve is such a big deal with parties, and champagne, […]

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Our December Dilemma Ritual

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by Julia Becker Collins, Director of Community Engagement When my husband and I were in our Introduction to Judaism class at Temple Beth Shalom, we had a class discussion about what is often called the “December Dilemma.”  This is the coined phrase that surrounds the ‘conflict’ that appears to many interfaith families and couples at […]

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Recreating Chanukah

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By Lisa Berman, Mayyim Hayyim Education Center Director Can you recreate ritual? Of course we here at Mayyim Hayyim believe that you can reimagine it, breathe new life into it, re-envision it, and interpret it in new, contemporary and meaningful ways. We do it every day with the ritual of mikveh.  But could a family recreate Chanukah? […]

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