By Elaina Marshalek, Director of Programs Now that our holy and reflective month of Elul has begun, I have my sights set on Yom Kippur: the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the peak of holiness and transformation. At SVARA, in this month of preparation before entering the High Holy Days, we are focusing on “teshuva,” the Rabbis’ […]

By Rabbi Mónica Gomery, SVARA Faculty A few weeks ago, as the sun set and the stars appeared in the darkening sky, I headed out to synagogue. The lights in the sanctuary were low, and I slid off my shoes and sat on the ground. It was Tisha B’av. There was so much to mourn. […]

By Rabbi Becky Silverstein, SVARA Faculty A few months ago, we added reciting the Shema to our toddler’s bedtime routine. Edie had experienced a language explosion and, one night, while we were singing Hashkiveinu, it occurred to me that she might be able to repeat back the words of the Shema. And so we went […]

By Laynie Soloman, Associate Rosh Yeshiva Content warning: this piece mentions a Talmudic text that deals with the theme of sexual violence. One morning during the early days of Mishnah Collective, I sat down to begin prepping the text for a session I was teaching. My process for preparing a text to learn with folks […]

By Rabbi Bronwen Mullin, SVARA Faculty This Saturday night, Jews around the world will observe the holiday of Tisha B’Av, which is a strange holiday for us SVARA-niks. On this day we mourn the historic destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The customs of the holiday include fasting, the recitation of liturgical dirges known as […]

By Jhos Singer, SVARA Fellow They say that aging is not for the faint of heart, and I can attest to that. With 63 in-the-body earth years safely tucked under my belt, I admit that the cumulative effect of gravity, radiation, nutrition, and the random luck of my unique genetic tendencies have come clattering down […]

By Elaina Marshalek, Director of Programs If you’ve ever learned with SVARA, you’ve learned that each and every word we stumble upon deserves a close, loving, curious look. I associate this practice with learning with you in the bet midrash, bringing the fullness of ourselves to the fullness of words. Interestingly enough, this practice also […]

A conversation with Ren Finkel, Emergent Programs Coordinator Last week, new and returning SVARA-niks gathered to celebrate the re-launch of Mishnah Collective. What began two years ago as an informal drop-in SVARA space has become characterized by bountiful learning, juicy text exploration, and a particular kind of chevruta love. As the earliest days of the […]

by Ayana Morse, Executive Director This is quite a moment in time. As we find ourselves living with a judicial system that is reversing, contesting, and upending a wide range of human rights, I’ve been reflecting upon the many paths I have traversed outside the bounds of harmful systems and the people whose moral and […]

by Laynie Soloman, Associate Rosh Yeshiva Though it’s a bit over oversimplified, many folks often characterize our tradition as “legalistic.” As a Talmud-lover, I get it. Throughout my years of learning and teaching Talmud, I’ve fallen in love with the intricacies of the gemara, and how the Rabbis—and therefore we, too—create worlds through legal thinking. […]