But I Really Wanted to Get Arrested!

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by Lisa Berman, Education Center Director My husband Jeff and I returned very recently from a whirlwind 9-day trip to Israel. Our main purpose was to see our kids, one doing a semester abroad at Hebrew University and one a semester at the Reform movement’s high school in Israel (EIE – Eisendrath International Exchange). They […]

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Coming Indoors

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by 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, […]

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Men, Men, Men, Men…

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by Jody Comins, Development and Events Coodinator So here’s a little secret – for the past few months I’ve been one of the guys. Really! In my role as the Development and Events Coordinator, I’ve been planning a Spring Men’s event.  Men, Mikveh and Malt is coming up on April 25th at the Waterworks Museum […]

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My Mikveh Journey

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by 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 […]

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The Orange on the Seder Plate

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by 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 […]

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Thank You, God, For Life and Babies

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by Carrie Bornstein My five-year old has been asking for a while if she can go swimming where I work. She loves Mayyim Hayyim, which is probably not entirely unrelated to the never-ending supply of animal crackers and pretzels. In the past few months her requests have gotten more frequent. So I engaged her in […]

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The Power of the Mayyim Hayyim Staff

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by Sherri Goldman, Administrative and Finance Director Recently the Mayyim Hayyim staff had a working retreat. Twice each year our team goes off-site for a day of bonding, building our team culture, contemplating our purpose and motives, and working on one or more specific goals. It’s a day where we are offered an opportunity to draw […]

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More Than Just a Mikveh

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by Rabbi Lev Baesh Twice now, I have had the pleasure of celebrating weddings at Mayyim Hayyim, immediately following conversion with a Beit Din and immersion.  The first couple came from Canada with parents and a brother.  I had worked with her toward conversion via Skype and they wanted to complete her conversion at the […]

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In Gratitude…

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by Leah Hart Tennen, Mikveh Center Director Last week marked the end of my first year as a full-time employee at Mayyim Hayyim.  Many have heard me joke, “If you harass people enough, they’ll hire you,” but the truth is, I am incredibly lucky to be able to pass under the sign reading “boachem l’shalom” […]

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Mikveh Thoughts

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Becoming a Mikveh Guide is a thoughtful and intentional process.  Seth Stadfeld is a member of Cohort 8, our newest and first-ever men’s only training, and offers his thoughtful and intentional reflections about immersing in the mikveh by Seth Stadfeld, Mikveh Guide Trainee I have been wrestling with how to understand all I am learning […]

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Leaning In: On Leadership, Babies, and Making it Work

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by Carrie Bornstein I never thought I was making a statement. And yet, as I watched Makers: Women Who Make America on PBS a few weeks ago, I was blown away. If you didn’t see it, Makers tells the story of women “asserting their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic […]

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L'Dor V'Dor V'Dor: From Generation to Generation to Generation

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by Diane Black, Rebecca Friedman, and Jessica Friedman A few weeks ago, Diane Black, one of our board members and a Mikveh Guide, brought her daughter Rebecca and her granddaughter Jessica to Mayyim Hayyim to celebrate Jessica becoming a Bat Mitzvah. Diane guided Jessica, and Rebecca witnessed. A note from the editor: Diane, Rebecca, and Jessica […]

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