Written by Rabbi Scott Rosenberg For me, there is something extremely humbling about immersion in a mikveh. The idea of mikveh and the transcendent powers of mayyim hayyim, living waters, have always evoked within me a sense of reverence and awe. The link to creation, the notion of rebirth, the existential tension between purity and […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein Did you see the moon the other night? The skinny, little, beautiful, new moon. Rosh Hodesh Kislev, the new month of Kislev, the one where Chanukah, the season of rededication comes. Rosh Hodesh is known as a half-holiday for women. It’s been reclaimed and now groups of women get […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Rabbi Joshua Heller As a the senior rabbi of a B’nai Torah, a growing Conservative-affiliated congregation, I’m called upon to wear many “kippot:” teacher of Torah, pastoral counselor, Judaic scholar, administrator, fundraiser, ersatz (substitute) cantor, occasionally even software debugger. Fortunately, I can point to a part of my rabbinical school training that prepared […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Amy Chartock, National Programs Director Two weeks ago, Carrie and I packed up and flew across the country to gather for a very specialized training focusing on the construction and maintenance of kosher mikvaot. A dedicated group of fourteen people came together from Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, Raleigh, New Orleans, Atlanta Baltimore, […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Lisa Port White One of my favorite tasks as a guide at Mayyim Hayyim is to witness conversion immersions and be the first to welcome someone into Judaism. I like it so much that I often scan the calendar and sign up when I know there is going to be a conversion. Last […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Rabbi Claudia Kreiman Every year, I am honored to sponsor a few candidates for conversion. As a rabbi, accompanying a person on their path into Judaism is one of the most profound experiences I encounter. I learn from candidates, from their questions and struggles. Their perspectives and experiences enrich my own and open […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Aliza Kline This year, for my sabbatical in Israel, my family and I deliberately chose not to live in Jerusalem. My husband Bradley and I have both lived there for at least two years and we hoped for a different kind of Israel experience. We also were just exhausted by the constant meshugas […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Trish Soha חנה בת אברהם ושרה, Chana Bat Avraham v’Sarah I had imagined my conversion mikveh immersion at least three times a day for the year or so between my Pathways to Judaism class’ tour at Mayyim Hayyim and the actual event—that’s over a thousand imagined dunkings, if you’re counting – and none […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Lisa Berman Oh to be a 12 year old girl these days. No, not because of all the Justin Bieber look-alikes in their classes, though surely that doesn’t hurt. And yes, being a 5th, 6th, or 7th grade girl is still rife with challenges – academic, social, sports, bullying, peer pressure, etc. Add […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Anita Diamant There’s a new mikveh in Raleigh! I was in North Carolina a few weeks ago and Rabbi Jenny Solomon gave us a tour – “us” being me, my husband Jim, who is a Mayyim Hayyim mikveh guide, and my daughter Emilia, who was a Mayyim Hayyim intern long before we opened […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Miriam Anzovin “Would’st thou,”—so the helmsman answered, “Learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers Comprehend its mystery!” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Secret of the Sea Last summer, right after the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, I swam in the ocean for the first […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Todd Kates On July 26, 2011, the 6th anniversary of his adoption by me from a Russian orphanage, my son officially converted to Judaism at Mayyim Hayyim. On October 1, 2011, he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in front of 145 family and friends. It was probably one of the most profound moments since […]
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