Four entries from the Mayyim Hayyim guest book. The text of the entries is as follows: (1) Shanah tova from Brandeis BaRuCH! We have loved making Mayyim Hayyim a highlight of Reform programming these past few years and are so grateful for your hospitality and care for us. (2) Thank you for this meaningful opportunity–I will remember this for a long time (3) Thank you all for allowing me to experience the mikveh. Feeling all the connection + intention (4) Thank you for everything. This place has been my secret garden with Hashem.
By Riv Thrope, Mayyim Hayyim Hebrew College Rabbinic Intern, 2026 – 2027
During the month of Tishrei, which is filled with holiday after holiday after holiday, we have our hands held by tradition. There is so much liturgy that it requires special books called machzorim to don the chairs of our synagogues; there is so much ritual to tell us how to live, pray, and connect with the cycles of Jewish time.
Now, as Cheshvan commences, we enter a month with no holidays or special liturgy. We enter a time with much less structured Jewish ritual than the month prior. As I adjust to the flow of life without holidays, I find myself calling to mind a recent moment from mikveh guiding at Mayyim Hayyim:
Just before the high holidays, a group of college students came into Mayyim Hayyim to immerse. One student, whose first time it was immersing in a mikveh, asked questions as we reviewed the steps of immersion: Do I use conditioner or just shampoo before going into the mikveh? Do I bring the kavanot sheet in with me to the mikveh pool? What if I forget to say a blessing?
When it came time to immerse, this young person called the guide desk. “I’m ready to immerse,” he said, “do I wait for you to come tell me what to do, or do I just go in and have my experience?”
“Just go right in!” I replied, “and have your experience.”
When the student left, he left a note in the guest book, reflecting his joy about his immersion.
As a Jewish educator, my proudest moments are when I empower a student to feel ownership of a text, skill, or ritual without the need for intervention by a teacher. When a student can say, “this text is mine,” I feel at-ease with the progress I and my students are making. The mikveh, in this moment, provided a similar opportunity: here, I was able to say, just go right in; this ritual is yours.
One of the gifts of mikveh guiding, I am beginning to learn, is that by simply opening the door and facilitating an immersion, I get to say over and over again, this ritual is yours.
Now, in the expansiveness of the holiday-free month of Cheshvan, I find myself calling to my Heavenly Mikveh Guide: “I am waiting for You to come tell me what to do!”
But my Heavenly Mikveh Guide has no more instruction for me; They have given me my tour, answered my questions, and left me–alone–in my preparation room. When I call, They answer: “Just go right in; have your experience.” This tradition is yours.