The Brandeis Orthodox Organization hosted a celebratory event last Thursday in the Beit Midrash, located in the basement of Shapiro Residence Hall, to showcase renovations completed over the summer.

The Beit Midrash is an area for Judaic study, specializing in the practice of havruta, or learning in pairs, according to the Brandeis Beit Midrash Research Project's website.

These renovations, according to Beit Midrash Coordinator Yael Marks '14 in an interview with the Justice, will attract more students to the Beit Midrash to study Judaism, Jewish life and the Torah.

According to BOO President Daniel Kasdan '13, the tables and chairs were replaced, in addition to the flooring, which is no longer carpet.

Kasdan said this will make cleaning and maintaining the area easier.

In addition, Kasdan said the walls were painted over and the bookshelves were replaced with shelves similar to the ones used in the library, making them sturdier than before.

Kasdan said that the changes will improve the atmosphere of the Beit Midrash and make it more inviting than it had been in the past.

"I guess you could call the Beit Midrash dilapidated last year," said Kasdan. "The shelves were falling over. The tables were in a mess. The chairs—when they were existent—were dirty and disgusting. The floor had stains all over it. The lighting was not working. The paint on the walls was cracked. It was a total mess, but thanks to these renovations, [the Beit Midrash] is looking a lot better right now."

According to Marks, the idea to renovate the Beit Midrash originated from previous BOO President Jacob Agi '12.

However, according to Kasdan, Agi's term had ended before any action was taken, so he and Marks continued Agi's initiative.

Kasdan approached Executive Director of Hillel at Brandeis Larry Sternberg in this spring about renovating the Beit Midrash, according to Sternberg.

Sternberg said he then contacted Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Collins to examine the Beit Midrash, leading to a plan to begin renovations in early summer.

The renovations took place over the summer so that the Beit Midrash would be ready for students' return in the fall, said Sternberg.

Sternberg, Marks and Kasdan each praised the renovations and said that the updates would encourage more attendance and use of the Beit Midrash.

"The University [has] done a great job in making sure Brandeis' Beit Midrash is open, bright and accessible to everybody," said Sternberg, who also noted BOO members' contribution, preparing the area for both renovation and the return of students in the fall.

"I think by giving the BOO community a more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing place to study, it promotes an atmosphere of studying Torah," said Kasdan.

"It promotes an atmosphere of wanting to come in there and just sit for a while," he continued. "Because of the way it had been before, people had been turned off by the physical deficiencies of the room, but now it's much more pleasant to be in there."

—Andrew Wingens contributed reporting.