Rabbi Mira Rivera is the first Filipina-American woman to receive rabbinic ordination at The Jewish Theological Seminary. She is Rabbi-in-Residence nationally with The LUNAR Collective, a Gen-Z founded organization by and for Asian American Jews.  She also serves as Rabbi-In-Residence at JCC Harlem with a mission of growing an in-person Shabbat community of learners, daveners, and organizers that is truly welcoming to those who have been on the margins.  Among numerous accolades, Rabbi Rivera was named by the New York Jewish Week in 2023 as one of “36 to Watch” for contributions in the arts, religion, culture, business, politics, and philanthropy.  She was a recipient of the 2023 Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award from T’ruah.

Rabbi Rivera is a Board Certified Chaplain and a member of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains.

Additional Resources: 

Chai Chats with Rabbi Mira Rivera 

"The Torah of Jews of Color"--Rabbi Mira Rivera and her daughter Arielle Korman on Judaism Unbound Podcast

The Jewish-Asian Film Project of The Lunar Collective

What Is a Microaggression?

Racism in the Jewish Community: The Uncomfortable Truth, Ilana Kaufman ELI Talk

The Largest Study Ever of Jews of Color. What Did It Find?

What Makes This Jew Different Than All Other Jews? Race, Difference and Safety in Jewish Spaces, MaNishtana ELI Talk

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Rabbi Katja Vehlow was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and is Director of Jewish Life at Fordham University. She trained as a chaplain at Moses Maimonides Medical Center in New York. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of South Carolina. A native German speaker, she is planning a forthcoming German-language podcast on the weekly Torah portion with a focus on pastoral care.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Bikur Cholim Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. 

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

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We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.