A Year-End Letter
By Dr. Paula Brody, Founding Board Member When Anita Diamant first spoke to me about her […]
Continue ReadingArt Gallery and Education Center
The Transcendent Powers of Mikveh
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 ReadingBringing the Waters Together: Mikveh Construction & Maintenance Training
Written 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 ReadingA Pluralistic Approach to Studying an Ancient Concept
Written 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 ReadingLearning in Partnership
Written 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 ReadingTalking Mikveh in Jerusalem
Written 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 ReadingBat Mitzvah Mania
Written 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 ReadingMayyim Hayyim's First Born
Written 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 ReadingThe Secret of the Sea
Written 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 ReadingEnsuring the Future
Written by Madeline Mayer While sitting in my Fundraising and Philanthropy class last week, someone remarked vehemently, “I think that more people should give anonymous gifts. I think that it is self-serving when there are several buildings all with one family’s last name.” Now, as a Brandeis student, I admit that I often am frustrated […]
Continue ReadingThe Universal Language
Written by Miriam Anzovin, Administrative Assistant at Mayyim Hayyim When a new visitor to Mayyim Hayyim walks through the door, they are often surprised (but pleasantly so) to discover that an art gallery resides here, in addition to our mikva’ot and education center. Having art on the walls is an integral characteristic of Mayyim Hayyim […]
Continue ReadingThe Days of Awe
Written by Lisa Berman, Education Center Director at Mayyim Hayyim I know this is not a popular sentiment, and I’m a little nervous to even admit it here— but, I hate fall. I am a summer girl through and through. I love the beach (in summer, folks; when you can swim and the sand is […]
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