Written by Sara Smolover, Interim Mikveh Center Coordinator 
Celebration and tears marked the final Siyyum of their training on December 13th when 10 special women joined the community of Mikveh Guides at Mayyim Hayyim. It has been a pleasure and an honor to get to know them. I thought it might be nice for you to get to know them just a little, too, by hearing the words they shared on their applications.
“As a volunteer at Mayyim Hayyim I will encounter many different types of Jews and a variety of ritual practice that is unlike my own. I hope that these encounters will produce opportunities rather than challenges or concerns for me.”
“I’ve had so many profound, happy moments there, both alone and with others, and I would love to become a part of the community of people who make it possible.”
“I believe that I am friendly and welcoming yet also discrete. I connect to Judaism in many different ways which I think can be shared with others at the mikveh.”
“My immersion helped me heal mentally after radiation treatment. It was a spiritual and meaningful experience for me personally. I would like to “give back” and be there for someone else who wants to immerse, regardless of the reason.”
“From the first moment I read about it, … Mayyim Hayyim is a place that I want to continue to be a part of and give back to for the service it provides to Judaism.”
“I think I am good at reading people and am a compassionate person. I can be energetic but also can be extremely calm when the situation calls for it. I love people and adore our Jewish community!”
“My two experiences with ritual immersion were very powerful and life-affirming. I would be honored to assist others in this highly spiritual life event.”
“As I understand it at this point, an immersion provides both a physical and metaphorical way of helping an individual to know that they need not define him/herself in narrow terms. It acknowledges change as a positive force. It would be an honor for me to have a role in helping others through this process.”
“I have gone to mikvehs during my marriage and respect the positive changes in the practice. My professional life has been working with people through important life events and transitions.”
“I think Mayyim Hayyim is a very special mikveh. I have been … incredibly impressed with the way that the guides were trained and treated through the whole process, and I would love to be a part of helping people through their experience there.”
Cohort Seven is blessed with the number that is so significant in the Jewish tradition (Shabbat is the seventh day of the week, seven blessings are recited at a Jewish wedding, seven weeks of counting the Omer… [the time between Passover and Shavuot]), but I have a favorite: Kabbalah teaches that seven represents wholeness and completion.
May the women of Cohort Seven go from strength to strength, sharing their unique gifts with all who walk through our doors.
Sara Smolover is serving as the Interim Mikveh Center Coordinator at Mayyim Hayyim and is a Mikveh Guide from Cohort 4. She is an occupational therapist working with adults to foster independence and loves fostering positive experiences for those who come to immerse at Mayyim Hayyim. She is an active volunteer at TBZ Brookline and the Solomon Schechter Day School.