Mikvah Chana - Livingston, NJ

03/20/2025

The “Power of Purpose”

800 women gather together in a sign of solidarity to support each other, Israel and raise needed funds for Mikvah Chana in Livingston, N.J.

Just hours after the Jewish world cried on Feb. 26 watching as baby Kfir, little Ariel and their mother Shiri Bibas—all of whom had been murdered after being taken hostage by terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023—were laid to rest in Israel, hundreds and hundreds of women packed LifeTown in Livingston, N.J., for a celebration of Jewish womenhood, pride and unity.

This year’s annual Mikvah Chana Women’s Gala fundraiser was attended by 800 women and high school girls, making it a sell-out crowd for the event that Rachel Kraus, managing director of DoAble, in conversation with actress and pro-Israel social media influencer Noa Tishby, who Kraus called, “the slayer of untruths.”

In response, Tishby, a native of Israel, said, “If you think I’m tough, if you think I’m a slayer or opinionated, I’m a labradoodle puppy next to my mom” who grew up on a kibbutz and lost her first husband during the Six-Day War in 1967 when she was just 25.
“Jewish continuity goes by the mother to the daughter … I’m so blessed to have my mother,” Tishby said. “I grew up very secular, very Zionist, very family-oriented,” but without any religious upbringing.

For an hour, Tishby recounted her life from Israel where she was an actress to moving to Hollywood and learning what Judaism is all about. She recalled the day her family called to wish her chag sameach, “happy holiday.” Tishby didn’t realize that it was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.

That moment was the catalyst for a life change as she began to learn about Jewish history, Jewish culture and Jewish religion—and embraced it all. She discovered the “place of women in, that culture, the place of earth in that culture, the place of Israel in that culture.”

Though she doesn’t remember when she began to light Shabbat candles each week, it is a ritual in her home. “I love the candles, I love Shabbat … my son is growing up in a house where there is always Shabbat.”

A social-media warrior for Israel, Tishby said that she “sadly” wasn’t surprised by the Oct. 7 attack, given the attempts to delegitimize Israel around the world over the last 30 years and the rise of the “jihadist insanity.”

What was shocking, she said, was that Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 “worked. That the [Israel Defense Forces] were too late … that it was the most-successful pogrom.”
“When Oct. 7 happened, every single Jew had flashbacks of Jewish children hiding in closets” during the Holocaust, Tishby said. “No Jew is ever going to be the same after that day.”
Power of unity

Kraus said that it was important that evening to be surrounded by so many Jewish women at an event that shows the “power of purpose, the power of gathering and power of possibility.”
Among those in attendance were Helen and Morgan Engel, a mother and daughter from the local area who have come to previous years’ Mikvah Chana event. “I love coming to this event and seeing Jewish women. It’s such a niche event,” said Morgan Engel, noting that Tishby was a particular draw. “I’ve been following her since Oct. 7 and when I hear she was going to be here, I knew it was important to be here and feel a sense of community and solidarity for Israel.”
Susan Alexander was also inspired to come to hear from Tishby who, she said, “doesn’t hold back. … I. thought it was great. The anecdotes were interesting and funny and entertaining and just inspirational.”
And being among so many Jewish women “is just so empowering,” Alexander said.

While much of the talk of the night was about Israel, Chevy Kaplitt, who oversees Mikvah Chana, opened the event and related a unique story that reflects the important role a mikvah plays in Jewish life.

As she recounted, a young Sephardi bride of Iranian descent came to use the mikvah before her wedding. As is the tradition among Sephardi Jews—Jews from the Middle East and North Africa—the bride was accompanied by female family members, including her elderly grandmother. As the grandmother got to talking, Kaplitt learned that she had never had the opportunity to go to a mikvah as a young woman in Iran. Kaplitt asked the older woman if she’d like to go, just once. The grandmother quickly agreed, awed by the opportunity, and mitzvah, that she thought had passed her by.
Said Kaplitt, “The mikvah is like G-d’s embrace. It is forever open.”

03/06/2025

03/07/2024

It was a true night of lights and laughter as more than 600 women gathered on Feb. 28 to celebrate friendship and help support a vital Jewish communal space, Mikvah Chana in Livingston.

This year’s annual event, which is open to women and high school girls and held at LifeTown, featured Aleeza Ben Shalom, aka the shadchan, or matchmaker, from the Netflix series “Jewish Matchmaking.” Ben Shalom shared her journey from living in the Philadelphia suburbs to Israel and then on to star of a streaming reality series. She also brought home the importance of observing the Jewish laws of family purity, aka mikvah.

She recounted how one day she was supposed to go to the mikvah, a ritual bath, but there was a snowstorm and some two feet of snow had piled up on the roads. When she called the mikvah attendant to set up an appointment, the woman told her there was no way to get there.

Ben Shalom was undaunted. She had a jeep and would get them both to the mikvah building, which she did with some help along the way from a plow driver and several other women who also wanted to use the mikvah that evening.

As she told the audience, when something is important to you, you find a way to make it happen. She then offered to take any woman who had not yet been to Mikvah Chana on a private tour. Several women in the took her up on her offer.

For much of the talk, Ben Shalom had the audience smiling and chuckling as she recounted her matchmaking attempts. There were, however, a few moments of seriousness at the beginning when she spoke about life right now in Israel and asked every woman in the audience with a cell phone—pretty much everyone in attendance—to turn on their flashlight and say, “We stand with Israel.” She promised to take the video and share it in Israel to give people there strength and know that the Jewish community in Livingston is supporting them.

Appropos of the evening’s guest speaker, the Feb. 28 event also served as the launch of “Shidduch Club,” a new community effort to make matches for Jewish singles with connections.

To learn more about Mikvah Chana, visit mikvahchana.com.

02/20/2024

10 days until the Mikvah Chana Event 2024 with Aleeza Ben Shalom! Register today for the event or purchase raffle tickets for the fabulous prizes! www.mikvahchana.com/event

Dara Orbach Toba Grossbaum Mara Schneider Simon Barbara Lauer Listhaus Celine Bensimon Leeds Chavi Rosenblum Esty Lazar-Grossbaum Yonna Bliner Rosenberg Jodi Mordekai Chevy Kaplitt

03/09/2023

Mikvah Chana Recap!

Mikvah Chana Annual Gala: An Empowering Evening

On February 28th, over 500 Jewish women gathered in the ballroom of the Westminster Hotel in Livingston for the annual Mikvah Chana Women’s Annual Gala fundraiser. Attendees began the night with drinks and appetizers while previewing raffle prizes that included sports memorabilia, jewelry, hotel stays, and home goods including everything from cookbooks to children’s games.
​The evening’s headliner was Myriam Sandler, creator of Mothercould, who has become a celebrity among parents since founding her kids’ activity and family lifestyle community, which now boasts over a million followers. Born in Venezuela and raised in Miami, Myriam connects with parents, educators, and caregivers around the world by sharing short video tutorials of sensory and food recipes, simple play solutions, and parenting hacks.
Myriam spoke about how Mothercould was started when her oldest daughter was around one year old and refused to eat any solids. She realized that her daughter had an aversion to new textures and decided to incorporate sensory play into her routine. She added food coloring and ducks to some water, and her daughter was thrilled. From there, her sensory play activities with household items began to explode - play dough, slime, edible spaghetti - exploring every texture she could think of. Within six months, her daughter was eating quinoa, salmon, and broccoli; it was, as Myriam’s husband called it, “her Mothercould moment.” When she found that her doctor didn’t understand her and that the other mothers in her area weren’t going through the same things she was, she found an incredible community online of other women who wanted to share their ideas and experiences with one another. Mothercould can now be found on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. Myriam, now a mother of three, has also launched Mothercould In Your Pocket, a resource of printable recipes and guided tutorials of activities. When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, Myriam said, “Be true to yourself. Trust your path. Trust that your struggles will lead you to something better. People will love you for who you are - show up as you.”
​The evening’s theme was “Empowering Yourself: Believe You Could,” and several other women also took the stage to talk about their own personal journeys. Julie Hersch and her daughter, Rebecca Guralnik, both discussed their paths of Jewish religious observance. Rebecca spoke about how going to college provided a turning point in her religious observance. “This was the first time that I realized that my Judaism had always been handed to me,” she recalled, as she discussed making the conscious decision to choose a Jewish lifestyle that spoke to her. When it came time for Rebecca to get married, she asked her mom to connect her with the local mikvah - a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion for married Jewish women. Neither Julie nor Rebecca had any experience with a mikvah until they were welcomed to Mikvah Chana together in the days before Rebecca’s wedding. “It was so spiritual, full of love and happy tears,” says Rebecca. “Mikvah Chana will always have a special place in our hearts.”
The audience also heard from Shevy Vigler, who is the co-director of Chabad Israel Center of the Upper East Side. Shevy, a mother of eight, spoke about a harrowing medical ordeal following the delivery of her triplets. Shevy said that she learned a valuable lesson from this experience. “Blessings often come into our lives through great difficulty, and even though our gift wasn’t wrapped in the way we anticipated or - quite frankly - even wanted, inside were three magnificent and precious miracle diamonds.” Shevy’s message was that often the blessings are only apparent in retrospect.
As always, the evening provided thought-provoking inspiration for all. “The beauty of the night is being in a room of women from all walks of Jewish life,” said Dina Wiesen of Livingston. “It is an inspiring evening and a powerful reminder of what we can do when we unite.”

03/03/2023

Mikvah Chana Event- What a fabulous night! Thank you MOTHERCOULD and Vigler for inspiring us!

02/22/2023

Meet our AMAZING speakers!!!! One week until the Mikvah Chana Event!!! Register at www.mikvahchana.com/event

02/14/2023

Shop our AMAZING Mikvah Raffle and support Mikvah Chana!! www.mikvahchana.com/event

02/14/2023

Please join us for the Mikvah Chana Women's Annual Gala 2023 with Myriam Sandler of MOTHERCOULD and Shevy Vigler! www.mikvahchana.com/event