Mikveh

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Oct 9, 2024, 11:35 PM

Women, know your mikveh rights this Yom Kippur

Recently, several women asked me whether a single woman is permitted to immerse in the mikveh (ritual bath) and whether the attendant has the right to prevent her from doing so. Yes, a woman may immerse under any circumstances,...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Oct 8, 2024, 6:20 PM

How do we become purified?

We learn in the Mishna,Yoma 8:9: With regard to one who says: I will sin and then I will repent, I will sin and I will repent, Heaven does not provide him the opportunity to repent, and he will remain...

Jul 18, 2024, 5:19 PM

The mission statement of mankind

Not all those who wander are lost School's out, summer’s started, and everyone is going somewhere for the holidays. Though it might seem that our destination choices are random, Jewish spirituality teaches us that our itineraries are carefully crafted by...

Este Abramowitz

Apr 2, 2024, 2:23 PM

Celebration: Beating our Broken Drum

Ancient Mikvah in Migdal, Israel (Photo Credit: Magdala Archeological Park)

When our mitzvah observance becomes more about perfection than acceptance, we must wake up and hear Miriam’s emphatic cry to our people as they left Egypt.

Shani Weinmann Kay

Jan 7, 2024, 11:41 AM

Mikveh in Miluim

On October 7th, life changed for us all on a global scale and in so many ways. We were suffering loss, uncertainty, and for many of us, the immediate draft to reserve duty, or miluim. For me, it meant...

Haviva Ner-David

Sep 21, 2023, 4:59 AM

Mikveh Musings for a New Year

Photo courtesy of Tanya Habjouqa

This is a busy time of year for a mikveh rabbi. I run Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul, on Kibbutz Hannaton, where I create and officiate individualized mikveh ceremonies, and meet with groups from across Israel...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Aug 13, 2023, 1:07 AM

Just Trusting Him

In his classical work Chovot HaLevavot, Rabbeinu Bachaya Ibn Pakuda (1050-1120) concludes his section on Bitachon (“trust” in G-d) by noting that the ten synonyms for bitachon represent ten levels of trust in G-d. In this essay we will seek out the slight nuances between the...

Jun 5, 2023, 8:19 AM

When History Repeats Itself

When reading “Shadows We Carry,” Meryl Ain’s newly released sequel to “The Takeaway Men,” I was reminded how often history repeats itself and how much the past influences our lives. Some of the themes from this new work of...

Esther Feinstein

Mar 30, 2023, 7:43 PM

Absent at the Wheel

Love your fellow as yourself. It’s a nice Torah quote, but easier to remember in the cozy confines of one's own home. Helping for real takes the oomph of effort and a jumping leap of faith! Breaking out like a jack-in-the-box...

Feb 24, 2023, 4:44 PM

What are you doing to save democracy?

Once upon a time, you may have recognised our kibbutz by its name because of our magnificent education center, or perhaps you may have heard of its pluralistic ideology and the many male and female rabbis we have, representing...

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