By Mayyim Hayyim Staff To date, nearly 2000 people have chosen Judaism at Mayyim Hayyim! April, May and June are particularly busy months for “brand new Jews”. Ever wonder what goes through people’s minds as they finalize their conversion or affirmation process at Mayyim Hayyim? Here are some quotes from our guest book… Thank you […]
Continue ReadingEditor’s note: Lauren brought her daughter, Sofia (name has been changed), for a conversion immersion, naming ceremony, and general celebration of about 65 people. We asked Lauren if we could share her story. Below is what Lauren read to Sofia and her guests on that day. by Lauren Bloom In March of 2011, Sofia Grace Jones […]
Continue Readingby Jordan Braunig, Hebrew College Intern Last September I began an internship at Mayyim Hayyim working on a Men’s Initiative. I’ve had the opportunity to be trained as a Mikveh Guide along with a cohort of nine other guys. I was an attendee at an amazing event, Men, Mikveh and Malt, that took place at […]
Continue ReadingBy Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director Since Mayyim Hayyim opened nine years ago (Happy 9th birthday, Mayyim Hayyim!) over 1000 people have chosen to immerse before their wedding. For some, a bridal immersion is the first of what will become a regular niddah (monthly) practice. For others, it’s a one-time event to mark a […]
Continue Readingby Dr. Naomi Marmon Grumet Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim (the day Jerusalem was reunified in 1967), and the miracle of sovereignty over the wondrous city of Jerusalem. I think that sharing this blog about a program that emanates from Jerusalem is a wonderful way to celebrate! Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows about […]
Continue ReadingEditor’s Note: The author of this article prefers to remain anonymous. I never imagined that I would observe regular mikveh practice. I didn’t grow up Orthodox, nor do I identify as such now. I didn’t have female role models in my life who were using the mikveh, no one encouraged me to take on the […]
Continue Readingby Britni de la Cretaz When we were beginning to plan our wedding, Ben and I began researching Jewish wedding traditions to see which ones felt meaningful to us. We were both raised Jewish and we were both bar mitzvahed (or bat mitzvahed, in my case), but neither one of us consider ourselves to be […]
Continue Readingby Sarah Gurvis, Administrative Assistant One summer at sleepover camp, my mom sent me a series of packages that were a little different from what most kids usually receive. First, she sent me an empty binder with “A Girl in the World is a Wonderful Thing” printed on the front. Every day after, I received […]
Continue Readingby Elisha Gechter I’ve fallen prey to a Facebook trend. Each month I stick a big number to my daughter’s onesie and snap a picture to post online. This month number nine will come out of the package, which has me recalling the milestone we marked in my 9th month of pregnancy at Mayyim Hayyim. As […]
Continue Readingby Benjamin Maron, Mikveh Guide In many ways, my work has been about the people at the fringes of our communities, those outside looking in. I’ve worked in social services, ran youth outreach groups, and started interfaith dialogue groups between Muslim and Jewish students on a too volatile campus. I spend my days at InterfaithFamily, […]
Continue Readingby Michael Franck One Jewish life. Two beautiful Jewish children. That is what mikveh has given me. I have been reflecting on this lately because of Mayyim Hayyim’s upcoming spring benefit event, Men, Mikveh, and Malt, which I am helping to plan. Thinking about the event, and about what Mayyim Hayyim means, has made me […]
Continue Readingby Laura Seide, intern There is a very popular urban legend that an elderly male rabbi once stood up at synagogue and, addressing a female presenter, said “A woman belongs on the bima like an orange belongs on a seder plate.” From that day forward, women everywhere have been placing oranges on their seder plates […]
Continue ReadingSearch
