By Chaya What do the mikveh, Orthodox Jews, and sex addiction have to do with one another? As an Orthodox woman, and a member of S-Anon, I can safely say that they are deeply intertwined. S-Anon, modeled on 12-step fellowships like Al-Anon, is a support program for spouses, partners, and others affected by another person’s sex […]
Continue Readingby DeDe Jacobs-Komisar I’m going to be honest – before I found this place I was totally ambivalent about the mikveh. Growing up Orthodox, we teenage girls were taught to venerate the mikveh as a mysterious, holy, beautiful thing. We toured mikva’ot on school and camp field trips, where mikveh ladies would show us how […]
Continue ReadingThis post is part of a series of blog posts about niddah entitled Sacred Bodies, Sacred Time. Read more here – and submit your own post. by Naomi Malka I was a Hebrew school geek. I went to our Conservative shul’s Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday program. In high school, I volunteered in the Hebrew school office. I went to Hebrew […]
Continue ReadingLast December at LimmudBoston, Lisa Berman, Mayyim Hayyim’s Director of Education, moderated a panel discussion entitled “Sacred Bodies, Sacred Time” about the observance of niddah, monthly immersion. According to the laws of niddah, women immerse in the mikveh after menstruation or after giving birth. They refrain from relations with their partners from the beginning of […]
Continue ReadingEditor’s Note: The author of this article prefers to remain anonymous. I never imagined that I would observe regular mikveh practice. I didn’t grow up Orthodox, nor do I identify as such now. I didn’t have female role models in my life who were using the mikveh, no one encouraged me to take on the […]
Continue Readingby Rabbi Pamela Jay Gottfried I was delighted when Rabbi Joe Brodie, the Dean of Student Life and father figure to many of us at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), agreed to officiate at my wedding. I was also anxious. Like my future spouse, Joe was fairly traditional about ritual observance, and I was embarrassed […]
Continue ReadingBy Rachel Renz, Mayyim Hayyim Intern Water is a motif found throughout Tanach (the Bible), and its placement in the Torah can provide insight into its placement in Jewish practice. Where does water appear in the Bible? Its placement is varied. Looking at a few salient instances in the narratives of Noach, Eliezer and Rivka, and […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, Clinical Director at the Medical Center for Female Sexuality Often, we hear women talking about the positive impact of using the mikveh. They may talk about it being a meaningful religious or life-stage experience, or they may talk about the positive […]
Continue Readingby Anonymous This is uncomfortable to admit, but I feel a tremendous relief when my period starts. It’s not because I’m worried about an unplanned, or, honestly, unwanted pregnancy. It’s because I know sex is off the horizon until I immerse. A few years ago my husband and I decided to take on the mitzvah […]
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 ReadingWe were so excited about the new opening of Jerusalem Pita in Brookline. We ventured out of our apartment in Cambridge with our 2.5 year old and 2 week old to taste what everyone was talking about. While the dining experience was nothing to write home about, the real experience of the evening came from […]
Continue ReadingWomen go to the mikveh for many reasons. For most, it is seen as a monthly ritual to purify oneself in living waters, mayyim hayyim, after menstruation and preparation for physical reunification with a spouse. I think many women look at the mikveh as a monthly chore, another appointment to fit in to an already […]
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