Safety, Mikveh, and More

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By Rabbi Gail Diamond A recent visit from Aliza Kline of Mayyim Hayyim to the Conservative Yeshiva in Israel brought up a kind of intense and weird nostalgia and homesickness in me. When Aliza arrived at my work, she called to ask about parking. I said I’d meet her outside and when I got there, […]

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Getting the "Rich" out of "Ritual"

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By Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director When I was growing up in Jackon, Mississippi (yes, there are Jews in Mississippi—but not many), the only way to be involved in the Jewish community was to go to services and religious school.  So, my family went to services most Friday nights.  As a petulant teenager, you […]

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In The Thick of It

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By Aliza Kline, Mayyim Hayyim Founding Executive Director “Mikveh is fundamentally about marking transitions.” This is the line I have said countless times over the last decade when teaching about Mayyim Hayyim. We all can relate to this. We all go through transitions, large and small, every year, every month, every day – sometimes it […]

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A Calming Space

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By Jody Comins, Development and Events Coordinator “May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.” “On the eve of your Bat Mitzvah, I hope that you will continue to grow and learn with all the wonderful attributes that you have already attained.” And so the blessings continued as each of the girls and […]

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The Spiritual Transition to Fatherhood

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By Max Klau Becoming a father for the first time is a big deal.  And like most big transitions, it’s easy for the deep significance of the change to get lost in details that are material, financial, logistical, and medical.  Amidst all the planning and reflecting that I was able to do with my wife, […]

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What Does it Take to Build a Community Mikveh in Israel?

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by Aliza Kline, Mayyim Hayyim Founding Executive Director In my few remaining weeks in Israel (just under four at my last count), I am busier than ever supporting burgeoning community mikvaot in Israel. Last week I spent a day at Mikveh Sh’maya, the “spiritual, educational and ritual” mikveh directed by Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner David […]

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Shavuot Reflections

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by Rabbi David Lerner I was pretty nervous – I had never been “in” a mikveh – not to mention, it was the night before my wedding! As my father and I drove up to the mikveh that Saturday night, I prepared by thinking about my life – what I was happy about, what I […]

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Celebrating Rest

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by Jamie Bornstein Each night Carrie and I settle into our familiar routine. Dinner, kid bedtime, clean up dinner, adult parallel play (each of us sitting on the couch with our laptops catching up on work), Seinfeld at 11 pm, and sleep. Ours is a story familiar to many full-time working couples (with the exception […]

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Becoming a Grandmother

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By Carol Targum During my daughter-in-law’s pregnancy, a lot of my friends told me that being a grandparent was the icing on the cake, the interest on the principal, the absolute best. It sounded wonderful. But in the last few weeks before the birth of my first grandchild, I began to think beyond the pure […]

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Shalvi’s Rock and Individual Responsiblity

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by Sarah Chandler Once there was a young girl named Shalvi who lived by a magic stream. These waters could mend a broken heart, repair a shattered limb, and even heal grave illnesses. The individual need only immerse completely in the waters in order to unlock their magic. And yet, many visitors left with their […]

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Rooted

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By Nina Stewart, Mayyim Hayyim Administrative Assistant This past Sunday, Earth Day, New England was soaked in a heavy rain that provided much-needed respite from a three-months-long drought. As a Southern transplant, I am still awestruck by the slowness that this region’s rainstorms bring to city life. I spent most of the day reading and […]

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Mikveh for LGBT Jews: Use, Adaptation, or Appropriation?

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Written by Gabriella Spitzer, Barnard College Student At Barnard College, where I am currently a junior, I am taking a class called Thinking Sexuality.  Among other things, it deals with the intersections of queer/LGBT life and other aspects of identity.   I’d love your help with research for my final project, researching how queer/LGBT Jews and […]

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