Rabbi Mira Rivera (she/siya/ella) is the first Filipina-American woman to be ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Jewish Studies. Born in Michigan to immigrant parents from the Philippines, she grew up dancing and developed a love for the arts and a discipline for learning.
Deeply rooted in meditation and community organizing, she brings an introspective approach to her practice, while emphasizing relationship-building, collective power, and responsibility. Her experience of being an outsider in Jewish spaces brought her to the first cohort of the Jewish Women of Color (JWOC) Resilience Circle and Bend the Arc’s Selah Cohort 15 for JOCs (“Jews of Color”).
Since November 2022, she has been the first Rabbi-in-Residence at The LUNAR Collective, a Gen-Z founded organization by and for Asian American Jews. In February 2023 she joined the JCC Harlem as their Rabbi-in-Residence with the mission of community outreach and growing an in-person Beloved Community that is truly welcoming to those who have been on the margins. She leads an in-person Friday night service once a month followed by a collective Shabbat dinner. In the year there are Sukkot and Hanukkah celebrations, an annual Passover workshop for families, and individualized study/service preparation for becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah at JCC Harlem. High Holiday services have become joyous gatherings that she co-leads with young prayer leaders from the different boroughs. Since 2024 she has continued the legacy of Congregation Mount Sinai through Beloved Community@JCC Harlem.
Rabbi Mira has been striving for the uplift of those who are on the margins in New York City. She completed chaplaincy residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, reached out to isolated adults through Dorot, St. Mary’s pantry program and Romemu. In December 2022, Rabbi Mira received The Rabbinical Excellence Award from Harlem’s District 9. This award acknowledged her steady hand with Harlem Havruta and friends of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in building an accessible sukkah in West Harlem since 2017. In May 2023 she was honored with the Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights “for ensuring that the gifts, voices, and experiences of Jews of Color are seen, heard, and known by all in the wider Jewish community.” She was named by New York Jewish Week in 2023 as one of “36 to Watch” for contributions in the arts, religion, culture, business, politics, and philanthropy. She is currently a fellow in the Rabbinic Leadership Institute Cohort 8 of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and North America. This rigorous three-year rabbinic study and leadership training supports rabbis to develop as thoughtful spiritual and community leaders in North America and Israel.
From 2018 to 2022, Rabbi Mira served Kehillat Romemu in New York City as Associate Rabbi and Board Certified Chaplain. She was originially invited to join the clergy team as a Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellow. During the pandemic, she co-created a Community Kitchen, led daily Morning Minyan, and revived the Social Action Committee. For that work during those difficult times, community members recognized her with the Jade Netanya Ullman Spirit Award in 2021. In those same years, she co-created what would become Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy. She has since mentored rabbinical students and provided spiritual guidance to those who identify as Jews of Color and allies around the world. Her weekly parasha study which started in person in 2019 at NYU Bronfman Center moved virtually without abating during the pandemic. Currently she teaches two regular study circles on zoom for Beit Midrash NYC: Torah Thursdays JOC/BIPOC Circle and Torah Thursdays Everyone.
Rabbi Mira advocates with National Council of Jewish Women through Rabbis for Repro Advisory Board. She is a chaplain volunteer from JCC Harlem visiting inmates at Rikers Island Department of Corrections in partnership with the New York Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform.
How did Mira Rivera land in New York? Like many with a dream to dance, Mira Rivera first arrived in New York with backpack - and guitar - after seeing the Martha Graham Dance Company perform in San Diego, California. She received the Helene Rubenstein scholarship in New York and Florence, Italy, danced for the Martha Graham Ensemble under the mentorship of Yuriko Kikuchi of blessed memory, and continued to perform in Martha Graham Dance Company’s revivals from the 1930s. Under Yuriko’s guidance, she performed in “The King and I” productions with Actors’ Equity. She also studied under ballet master Gabriela Taub Darvash z”l. As a performing artist and teacher, Mira reached hundreds of New York City public school children through National Dance Institute and the Irene Diamond Summer Institute. She received a B.F.A. in Film in 1993 through Tisch School of the Arts of New York University and graduated with the Founders Day Award in recognition of consistent and outstanding scholarship. She is one of a blessed few to find their way into the rabbinate through dance.
https://mmjccm.org/jcc-stories/rabbi-mira-jcc-harlem-welcome
https://www.weareasianjews.org/ritual
https://www.facebook.com/HarlemHavruta/
https://truah.org/2023-gala-honorees/
https://www.jta.org/2023/05/16/ny/mira-rivera-58-pathbreaking-rabbi
https://www.hartman.org.il/program/rabbinic-leadership-initiative/