Live and asynchronous sessions online
Mikveh Guides transform the ordinary into the holy. Seven Steps is the essential online course for training the Mikveh Guide of today and tomorrow. Drawing from rabbinic sources, current psychology and the experiences of contemporary mikveh attendants, this 8-week training offers the knowledge and skills to facilitate immersions with dignity, respect, and modesty. Learn best practices for making guests feel welcomed, safe, and supported, and gain skills for becoming a mikveh ambassador in your local community.
The Rising Tide Network is thrilled to offer a new training cohort by and for trans and nonbinary Jews. In this affinity space, participants are welcomed to bring their whole selves to learn and connect. Together with other trans and nonbinary folks, participants will explore this ancient tradition and prepare to facilitate mikveh rituals for the full diversity of our Jewish communities. This course includes new learning content specifically curated by and for trans and nonbinary Jews to explore the fruitful intersections of our identities, our bodies, and our relationships with mikveh.
Being a Mikveh Guide means showing up for another person as they mark a meaningful transition in life, guiding them through an ancient Jewish ritual reimagined for modern use. As a Mikveh Guide, you are a witness to profound moments of healing and celebration. You are helping to create a sacred space where the full diversity of the Jewish people can find meaning, comfort and spirituality. Mikveh Guides help make mikveh accessible to Jews of all denominations, ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities.
Registration is offered on a sliding scale of $36 – $395, and financial aid is available with a sliding scale that begins at $0.
If you are not trans or nonbinary, or the timing of this cohort does not work for you, please sign up for our e-newsletter for updates on our next global cohort of Seven Steps Online Mikveh Guide Training open to all in early 2025.
Thank you to SVARA Trans Halacha Project, Eshel, and Keshet for your support and contributions to this meaningful offering.
Click here to learn more about the course.
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Meet the Facilitators
Eli Lurie Sobel (they/he) is a writer and educator with a background in gender and sexuality studies. They are the Greater Boston Education & Training Manager at Keshet, where they help equip Jewish organizations to build spaces of belonging for LGBTQ+ community members. Eli enjoys facilitating conversations about the intersections of queerness and Judaism and has taught classes about queer Judaism at multiple Boston-area institutions, including Tufts University. He lives in Somerville, MA and enjoys cooking, knitting, and scavenging the Somerville streets for secondhand treasures.
Lara Haft Yom-Tov lives in London, where they are a Rabbi at New North London Synagogue working with young adults in the Masorti movement. Originally from Piscataway Land (Rockville, MD), Lara loves connecting ancestral Jewish texts to contemporary political movements, exploring themes of world-building, land justice, and self-determination in Jewish law. Lara has worked as a Jewish educator for the past eight years, learning Torah with elementary schoolers, elders, and everyone in between.
Rabbi Jamie Weisbach was ordained in 2023 from Yeshivat Hadar, as part of their inaugural cohort of rabbis from the Advanced Kollel, and currently serves as Senior Jewish Educator at the Rita Levine Rabin Hunter College Hillel. Prior to ordination, he also studied at the Yeshivat Hadar Year Fellowship and the SVARA Full-Time Program. He is also an Educator for SVARA’s Trans Halakhah Project where he writes about trans identity and halakhah (Jewish law). A proud Chicago native, who spent four years studying theater and religion in rural Maine at Bowdoin College, he currently lives in upper Manhattan with his husband Amram; their two cats, and an ever-growing collection of books. Outside of Hillel, he loves to host vegan Shabbat dinners in his home and honing his skills as an amateur bartender.
Alyx Bernstein (she/her), born and raised in London (and a proud adopted New Yorker), is an educator with a deep love of Jewish life and law. She currently works as a Program Associate at The Jewish Education Project, where she supports and enriches Jewish educators and education across the United States. Alyx is a graduate of Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and has taught at Keshet, SVARA, and Shel Ma’ala. Her writings on Jewish life, building safe education spaces, and trans halakha can be found in New Voices, the anthology Salt and Honey, and Tablet. Previously, Alyx has worked at SVARA. She is a member of Keshet’s Board of Directors and an alumna and facilitator of their teen shabbatonim. She is a recipient of Keshet’s Hachamat Lev Award and was honored by The Jewish Week for her work towards trans inclusion in the Jewish community. Outside of her work and study, Alyx enjoys a good epic novel, comedy TV shows, Star Trek, cooking, and iced coffee.
Registration for this program is now closed. Click here to view our Events page to see upcoming programs.