Curriculum Outline

SVARA’s Teaching Kollel will train queer and trans rabbis, educators, activists, and community leaders in SVARA’s unique approach to teaching Talmud and convening bet midrash communities. Individual fellows will gain the following skills & competencies in the four core areas of gamirna, savirna, pedagogy, and tachlis.

gamirna | confidence & competence in the practice of learning

Fellows will:

• deepen their practice of Talmud study in SVARA’s method; 
• increase their exposure to rabbinic literature through a queer and critical lens; 
• and become more empowered independent learners of Talmud and commentaries.

savirna | embodiment of a traditionally radical approach to the Talmud & tradition

Fellows will:

• emerge with a new lens through which to view the Talmud and tradition that is sensitive to the radical, bold, and creative nature of the Jewish tradition and the Talmud that models it, 
• recognize the centrality of moral intuition (svara) in the past and future development of the Jewish tradition; 
• see themselves and their students as active “players” in the evolution of the Jewish tradition.

pedagogy | cultivation of a teacher identity that is rooted in the practices and approaches that nurture authenticity, empowerment, and transformation

Fellows will:

• be able to visibilize their own learning processes thoughtfully and skillfully to learners through authentic co-learning, 
• embrace the liberatory potential of upending conventional educational power dynamics in the bet midrash, shifting the focal point from teacher to learner,
• facilitate learning from a place of love and humility

tachlis | tools for executing SVARA-method learning communities

Fellows will:

• gain the necessary skills to nurture and implement SVARA-method bet midrash-centered communities