A Locus of Davening and Spirituality

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For Rabbi Mira Rivera, the beit midrash at JTS was a mystical place. “It was as much a place of davening and spirituality as our davening space was. The rustle of pages when there’s just one person there, the hum of two people talking, the cacophony of many more—it was a place that glowed with learning.”

Rabbi Rivera, associate rabbi at Romemu and a mentor for the Ammud Jews of Color Torah Academy, has always felt grateful for the opportunity JTS gave her to dive deeply into Torah. As a student, she would often visit the beit midrash to deepen the academic learning she experienced in the classroom, working with her chavruta or with mentors, some of whom “were both teachers and learners in the beit midrash, with such generosity of spirit.”

Rabbi Rivera made a gift to the Crossroads Campaign to express her love for the beit midrash and to ensure that all it represents to her is available for future generations of students. “It’s a place for people to learn how to learn, a place of internalization. A place for insights, for a free-flowing exchange of ideas. May they experience all the perfumes of that place.”

READ MORE STORIES OF ALUMNI GIVING SEE ALL ALUMNI WHO MADE SIGNIFICANT GIFTS TO THE CROSSROADS CAMPAIGN