#mikva

by Rachel Silverman I walked into Mayyim Hayyim apprehensive and excited. I had read an article and explored the website, but it was not until entering the building that I finally understood what all the fuss was about. I was welcomed by a gate saying, “Come in Peace,” followed by a beautiful path through a …

by Anonymous For many years after Mayyim Hayyim opened, I tried to figure out how and when I’d experience my own first mikveh story. Moments came and went. I thought, maybe when I turn 50? Menopause? Last kid graduates from high school? Youngest graduates from college? How about becoming a grandma? Somehow, I was never …

by Al Reitz It was fall the first time I asked my mom if I looked handsome, about halfway through my process of becoming Jewish. It’s hard to forget a moment like that—something shifts. I had my chin up high, my button-down shirt layered under a leather jacket. I wasn’t sold on the word quite …

by Rabbi Salem Pearce Two weeks ago, I immersed at Mayyim Hayyim with almost a dozen people. The calendar full of appointments, one after the other, we took over the mikveh that early Friday morning. I immersed with my classmates, all of us candidates for rabbinical ordination from Hebrew College. We were to receive smicha …

by Rebekah Erev In 2000, a group of radical queers in Olympia, Washington welcomed me into a chavurah (group of friends) of artists, musicians, and organizers. We had all experienced feeling exclud…

by Lisa Berman, Mikveh and Education Director “Supervising and supporting Volunteer Mikveh Guides.” This is what is says in my job description. Sounds pretty straightforward. And, we have 85 active Mikveh Guides: 85 unique individuals who were trained 4 months to 14 years ago (with ongoing continuing education and weekly suggestions and tips to reinforce …