Mikveh for Fifty

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by Julie Dean We stood together with eager anticipation, a palpable electricity among us. Over fifty women from all walks of life, gathered around the indoor swimming pool in Albuquerque, NM, which was about to become our mikveh. The rabbi with us skillfully crafted our spiritual space, igniting our hearts with awareness of this ancient […]

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Step by Step

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by Sarah Fendrick, Event Coordinator Spring awakens my senses — shades of green and pastel pinks emerge from the trees, a multitude of birds call, sweet smells of hyacinth and lilac beckon— spring makes me glad to be alive. The longer days are ripe with moments of reflection; the world around me awakens to possibilities […]

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Does Water Remember?

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by Kelly Banker, Intern I have always been captivated by water. It holds a certain mystical quality, a kind of knowing. Growing up, my family spent our summers living in a cottage on a lake in New Hampshire, so water has been a staple of my life from an early age. Lakes, streams, rivers, waterfalls and […]

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Diving into the Deep End

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by Yasmine Moideen My earliest memory is of being carried on my aunt’s back in a small stream in southern India. I was 4 years old. My 3 aunts, wading in, with their colorful saris floating in the water, laughing, taking turns with me on their backs, making sure I was safe. My parents, brother, […]

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Israel’s Mikveh for Everyone

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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 about a mikveh in Cuba, Uganda, and today we learn about the latest in mikveh news in Israel from Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David. If you have a mikveh story from another corner […]

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Mayyim Hayyim’s Jewish Feminist Ambassador

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by Sabrina Zionts A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting Mayyim Hayyim for the first time with Wellesley College Hillel. At the beginning of the education program, Leeza asked what we hoped to learn from the session. I shared that I was most interested in learning whether the ritual of mikveh immersion is, or […]

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“Because nothing should come between you and the experience.”

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by Lisa Berman, Mikveh & Education Director Picture a small, sunlit-filled atrium filled with 22 wiggly eleven-year-old boys and girls. They’ve just been darting in and out of mikveh preparation rooms, opening closets, peeking in cabinets and behind shower curtains, flinging themselves on the tiled floor to dip their fingers in the warm mikveh water. […]

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When Immersing Feels Impossible

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by Kelly Banker, Intern Is visiting the mikveh always a peaceful and pleasant experience? As mikveh guides and as an organization, we strive to make it so. And I believe that here at Mayyim Hayyim, we do make immersion experiences as positive for people as we possibly can. But, ultimately, we cannot fully know what […]

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My Miscarriage and My Mikveh

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by Elisha Gechter You see blood and it changes everything. You go from being unharmed to wounded, from ritually ready (tahor) to ritually unready (tameh), and sometimes from being pregnant to losing that pregnancy. And that’s what happened to me – at 10 weeks pregnant, responding to a middle of the night cry from my […]

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Disability Justice is a Jewish Issue

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By Shari Zakim-Yacouby and Talya Sokoll Talya: One thing I’ve learned in my 30 years as a Jew is that there is no one right way to be Jewish. Although my experience of living a fulfilling Jewish life has been intrinsically intertwined with the communities I am part of, I feel so blessed to be […]

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We’re in Good Hands

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by Rene Katersky Actually, I have felt that Mayyim Hayyim has been in good hands all along. Thoughtful strong leadership, and inspired, inspiring vision has been a cornerstone and continues in abundance. Having just had three future Mikveh Guides shadow me during two recent shifts, I don’t think this could be more true today. These, now […]

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No Sharks in the Mikveh

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by Rabbi Jen Gubitz Liz wrote to me in an email and shared her excitement with her community on Facebook: “I’m going to Mayyim Hayyim today to immerse in honor of the one year anniversary of my conversion!” This is the type of note every rabbi dreams of: a woman like Liz who chooses to become […]

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