This Woman's Work

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Written by Adrienne Query-Fiss Shalom Bayit, a “peaceful home,” is one of the key philosophies of an observant Jewish household. For a married couple, it’s a dance of give-and-take, an ideal relationship not just to one’s spouse, but to the acts themselves of compromise and reconciliation. True shalom bayit is about reconciling two selves, two […]

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An Unexpected Experience at the Mikveh

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Written by Deena Blau I was fortunate to learn about Anita Diamant’s dream of a modern mikveh long before it came to fruition.  Her enthusiasm was infectious and I awaited our new mikveh with curiosity and excitement. When Mayyim Hayyim opened its doors in May of 2004, I had my first opportunity to actually see […]

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The Days of Awe

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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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Judaism's Dark Day

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Written by Elisheva Baskin Tisha b’Av, the ninth day in the Hebrew calendar month of Av, is Judaism’s “dark day.” Ironically, it comes in mid- to end of the summer, when the days are long and the sun shines bright. This makes the matter of fasting, not drinking liquids, and not bathing as especially difficult […]

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Shavu'ot: Witnessing a Conversion, Remembering Ruth

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As a mikveh guide who volunteers regularly, I see the holidays in a way that I hadn’t before—while I have always known they mark time’s passage, celebrations, and events, when people come to the mikveh to immerse for a holiday, I see how some people carry tradition with them by taking time out of their […]

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Hair

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The Mikveh Monologues (© 2005 Mayyim Hayyim) was created in 2004-2005 by internationally acclaimed author Anita Diamant and director Janet Buchwald. The play is based on interviews with men, women and children who marked a personal life transition by immersing in a mikveh. I had decided to immerse as part of my cleaning for Passover, as […]

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