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March 2009
News to you in this issue:
- Jewish Milestones Turns the BIG 5 -- OH!
- Deeply Immersed: Mikveh Marathon
- Our Resource Library: A Borrower & Lender Be
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Photo by Rudi Halbright
Jewish Milestones is 5 years old!
Jewish Milestones Staff from left to right: Deb Fink, Julie Batz, Jenni Mangel and Rachel Brodie.
Newest staff member, Business Manager, Jen Childs joined
us full time on March 2nd. We're delighted to have her aboard.
JM Board President & CEO of UPSTART Bay Area, Toby Rubin writes:
"Five years... from a new idea to a groundbreaking organization in so short a time... unless you're the staff of Jewish Milestones! The many accolades Jewish Milestones has received for bringing meaningful and accessible Jewish ritual to all who seek it are so well deserved. May these five years provide a strong foundation for the continued growth of this organization and may all who are reading this make donations to Jewish Milestones as builders and guarantors of its vibrant future!"
| It's our Birthday!
We're usually pretty good about avoiding gratuitous use of the word
milestones in reference to
our own achievements but January 2009 marked FIVE years since Jewish Milestones
(nee The Ritualist)
was born and we're celebrating it
as a MAJOR Milestone!
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Deeply Immersed
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Mikveh Marathon:
3 Events in 24 Hours
Immersion in "living" water--mikveh--for ritual purposes is an ancient
Jewish practice. Customary uses of mikveh include: brides before
marriage, non-Jews as part of the conversion process and married women
who observe a specific group of rules governing their sexual relations.
There are many non-traditional uses as well, ancient and modern,
including immersions for marking transitions in life passages related
to loss/grief, illness/healing, as well as very personal reasons for
celebration and renewal.
Mayyim Hayyim, the Boston-area community mikveh that was boldly
envisioned by celebrated author Anita Diamant and developed by an
extraordinary group of people including Executive Director Aliza Kline, has been the
driving force behind the revival of interest in the uses of mikveh
today among liberal Jews.
Click on these links to learn more about:
Mikveh (general) Mayyim Hayyim
Bay Area mikvaot (plural of mikveh)
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Mikveh Guides-in- Training:
(Right to left)
Judy Massarano, Yiskah
Rosenfeld, Andrew Ramer, Rabbi Dorothy Richman, Emily Shapiro Katz &
SF Mikvah representative Betsy Eckstein are among the 17 members of the
cohort.
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1 /SUNDAY 2.22.09
Mikveh Guide Training
The Mayyim Hayyim model that we are using in the Bay Area depends on mikveh "guides." Ritual immersions are facilitated by the presence of a guide who is trained to function as both a mikveh educator and a ritual facilitator, but above all, the guide is taught to be responsive to the needs of the person immersing and to use these skills judiciously. The curriculum has been used very successfully with five cohorts of guides at Mayyim Hayyim and is now being piloted with a cohort in the Bay Area. The first part of the three part training began on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at the JCC in San Francisco with special guest presenters, Anita Diamant and Carrie Bornstein, Mayyim Hayyim's Mikveh Center Director. |
Right to left: Carrie Bornstein, Anita
Diamant, Karen Kushner and Rabbi Menachem Creditor
of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley.
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2 /MONDAY 2.23.09
Mikveh Workshop for Clergy
Carrie Bornstein, Mayyim Hayyim Mikveh Director presenting at a workshop for Bay Area Jewish clergy convened by Karen Kushner,
Executive Director of the Jewish Welcome Network and held at Sherith Israel in San Francisco.
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Reflections from
Howard Steiermann-
San Francisco resident, ritual facilitator and active lay leader at Congregation Sha'ar Zahav-shared some thoughts about his experience
of the workshop: |
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3 /MONDAY 2.23.09
Mikveh Workshop for
Ritual Facilitators
On a rainy afternoon in February I was too late to stop at Nabolom's bakery (who knew that they close at 2 PM on Mondays?!). I didn't even stop to enjoy my favorite spinach-and-mushroom pizza, since I was heading to a dinner meeting and, as it was raining, I passed on the opportunity to window-shop along Berkeley's 4th Street. Instead, I headed to a workshop on traditional and innovative uses of mikveh-ritual immersion-to deepen and enhance lifecycle rituals. Who would've thought that I'd have gotten so much out of a four-hour session on mikveh? (Yeah, yeah, one of the things I learned is that e is as acceptable as a: mikveh and mikvah.) I also learned that mikveh can be translated as gathering, as in gathering of water. Or in gathering together Jews, which is one of the things that Jewish Milestones does so well!
As I have only recently become connected with Jewish Milestones, I had no idea what to expect from the session. I didn't even know which term to use in explaining to my friends what I was attending. Was it a seminar? Class? Training? Educational opportunity? I guess I'd say it was all that, and so much more. I get the feeling that any time one has Jewish Milestones staff involved with a gathering, it will take on a spiritual component. Think of Julie leading a niggun (wordless melody), guitar in hand. Think of Rachel's grounded thoughtfulness. Add in Deb and Jenni's organizational skills, and the time spent together will be nurturing, warm and wise.
And then, like gilding a lily, or perhaps I can say like hiddur mitzvah, to make the experience even more beautiful, Anita Diamant, author and major force in articulating ways of living a Jewish life for liberal Jews today, as well as Carrie Bornstein, Mayyim Hayyim Mikveh Center Director, were with us, sharing their wisdom and experience.
Much of the session revolved around learning about Mayyim Hayyim, the community mikveh near Boston, MA that Diamant helped found. It has become a national model for making an age-old ritual relevant and contemporary to a wide spectrum of Jews. So, what was it that made it such an awesome experience for me? Can I say, everything? From the starting niggun to the learning, to schmoozing over delicious kosher food, to the breakout sessions and then the closing hand-washing ritual. Not to mention being in Netivot Shalom's beautiful new building.
I enjoyed seeing a friend of over twenty years, a couple of more recent acquaintances, as well as meeting two dozen Jews who are, each in their own ways, deeply connected to Jewish ritual practice. Naturally, I learned some technical mikveh-specific things, such as: adding living water to the water already in the mikveh (an act technically referred to as kissing!) allows each immersing person to create their own individual living body of water.
Mayyim Hayyim's seven principles and seven kavanot (preparatory meditations before immersing) are rooted in Jewish tradition, yet speak to today's diverse Jewish community. Their kavanot are "offered in the hope that your immersion will provide you a sense of shleimut - wholeness and peace."
That's exactly how my East Bay trip ended. Although I didn't get to enjoy pizza or a little stroll, I felt whole and at peace. Thanks to Jewish Milestones.
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Our Resource Library: A Borrower and a Lender Be...
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Thanks to our generous supporters, the collection is always growing!
If you have extra or unused copies of Jewish books, CDs, ritual objects such as prayer shawls, or kippot (yarmulkas) you can donate them to Jewish Milestones knowing that they will be well-used and much appreciated, plus you'll get a tax write-off.
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You CAN take it
with you...
Check out our collection of ritual objects that can be borrowed for your ceremony!
The Jewish Milestones Lending Library's new brochure features highlights from our collection of informational and inspirational materials that includes a Torah scroll and portable ark, chuppah (wedding canopy), and kippot (traditional head coverings also called yarmulkas). To read more about the Jewish Milestones Ritual Resources Lending Library, click here.
To obtain a copy of the brochure, for more information about our loan policies, to make a donation to our collection, or to reserve a ritual item, please contact Jewish Milestones: 510-559-3636 x3 or admin@JewishMilestones.org |
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Bottom Line
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Embossed velvet Torah mantle made by textile artist Nancy Katz featuring the Jewish Milestones logo designed by
graphic artist Lisa Sibony. |
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If you're excited by the work we do, please consider becoming a supporterof our organization. There are many ways to help us as we grow: · SPREAD THE WORDTell others about the services we offer... (click here to learn more).
And did you know that our highly personalized referral service is free of charge? It is thanks to the support of our generous benefactors.· VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME Come spend it with us! We've got a wide range of projects and an awesome staff. · EXPAND OUR LIBRARY Help us build our ritual resource library by donating doubles or unused copies of books, CDs, etc. · DONATE MONEY Mail a check or use a credit card online...
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