MACoM Rings in Tenth Anniversary

A few miles away from the mikvah they were celebrating, over a hundred volunteers, community members, and other guests gathered at Temple Sinai in celebration of MACoM’s (Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah) first full decade of operation, organized by event chairs Leah Blum and Lisa Greenberg. After some brief hors d’oeuvres, guests filtered into the sanctuary to hear from speakers with deep ties to the mikvah, many since before its founding.

“When MACoM opened its doors 10 years ago, it did so with a bold vision,” said Blum, “to create a sacred space honoring a 2,000-year-old Jewish ritual, made meaningful and accessible for today. A space that is strictly kosher and radically inclusive — a place where anyone Jewish, regardless of identity, background, or affiliation, is welcome.”

After Greenberg highlighted the level and diversity of mikvah use — 1,080 immersions for conversion, 259 pre-wedding immersions, and 1,928 immersions for personal reasons — Blum applauded the mikvah guides.

She shared from her personal experience as a mikvah guide, earlier in the night, discussing a woman who had come from Texas to convert.

“She was older and she asked if she could sing the ‘Shema’ and the sound resonated and reverberated around the walls and the water, it literally brought me to tears,” said Blum.

Another mikvah guide, Darlene Levy, shared the story of a longtime married couple, where the husband was already Jewish, and the wife had come to MACoM to finish her conversion.

“When they come out, they always have a glow,” said Levy, “and I said ‘so you’re glowing,’ and he said to her ‘you’re finally Jewish,’ and that was just touching.”

Throughout the evening, moving videos of lives MACoM has touched played in between the speeches, including of a young man who converted and went on to become a mikvah guide and of a woman who went through a fertility segulah, immersing after a woman who was in her ninth month of pregnancy, and then went on during her own pregnancy to help provide that opportunity for someone else. The highlight of these was Gad and Guy, a gay Israeli couple who wanted a conversion ritual for their adopted son, who were astounded by the openness and beauty of the mikvah — jokingly comparing it at one point to a spa — and extremely grateful for the opportunity to immerse with their child.

Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah, the unofficial “Chief Plumbing Officer” —who oversees MACoM’s kosher status — gave a d’var torah, and also tributed the late Rabbi Alvin Sugarman, who was instrumental in MACoM’s early days.

Another highlight was Lindy Radow, the first immerse, who after a decade of learning was ready to finalize her conversion process

“But there was one problem: there wasn’t an inclusive, accessible mikvah within 400 miles. Not one,” said Radow. “So, with a group of passionate community members, we set out to change that. I joined the effort as a founding board member, driven by the hope that people like me, people seeking connection, identity, and a spiritual home — would have a place to complete their Jewish journeys right here in Atlanta. And when MACoM finally opened its doors, I had the extraordinary privilege of becoming the very first person to convert in its waters.”

“I often say we are a ‘fully kosher, meet-you-where-you-are, choose-your-own-adventure mikvah.’ And that truly is the essence of what we do,” said Michelle Day, executive director at MACoM. “You can have your own experience. If you want a witness, to make sure you have three kosher dunks, as we say, then we provide that. We give you the space. That’s what I love about MACoM, because it takes the preconceived notions that people have about what a mikvah is, and it really just puts them away, and it becomes a really safe and sacred and beautiful place.”

Day also highlighted the personal story of a girl whose father converted to Judaism.

“A few days later, she asked if she could come back and immerse, not to convert, but simply to express something she was feeling. She spent nearly half-an-hour in the mikvah room, choosing several gratitude rituals and kavanot completely on her own,” said Day, revealing later in her speech that the girl was her daughter. “For me, that moment captured exactly what MACoM is: A place where belonging flows forward to the next generation. A place where rituals are shaped by gratitude, pride, healing, and hope.”

“Tonight, as we celebrate MACoM’s first 10 years, we look ahead with hope and gratitude,” said Radow. “May thousands more find healing, joy, and spiritual renewal in these living waters. May MACoM continue to quench the spiritual thirst of all who enter its doors”