We’re living through a time of tremendous collapse, but we know our tradition can be a source of power, clarity, and empathy.
Learners come to SVARA to find meaning in complexity and strength in their own voice.
Our yeshiva cultivates courageous students who draw upon the depths of Jewish wisdom and their svara in equal measure to nurture a just world.
With support and radically empathetic mentorship from our faculty, SVARA students journey through deep, connective, transformative Talmud study.
Meet our Faculty
Rabbi Benay Lappe
Founder and Rosh Yeshiva
Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997, Benay Lappe founded SVARA in 2003. Benay is an award-winning educator specializing in the application of queer theory to Talmud study.
Laynie Soloman
Associate Rosh Yeshiva
A passionate teacher of Jewish text and thought, Laynie believes deeply in the power of Talmud study as a healing and liberatory spiritual practice. Laynie is a Schusterman Fellow and received the Covenant Foundation’s 2020 Pomegranate Prize for Emerging Jewish Educators.
Julie Batz
Faculty
Julie Batz has enjoyed the dynamic and sacred work of being a Jewish educator, congregational leader, ritual facilitator, and Talmud teacher. She holds an M.S. in Organization Development and served as a congregational leader for over 20 years in the Bay Area.
Natalie Boskin
Faculty Fellow
Natalie is passionate about weaving historical criticism with rabbinic interpretive traditions to participate in diasporic Jewish thought and life. They strive to unlock pathways towards a liberatory Jewish future by naming and dreaming beyond the systems of domination that have shaped and shine through Torah, while refusing to abandon her.
Ari L. Monts / Emet
Faculty Fellow
A Brooklyn-based writer/scholar/zine maker/ritualist/ba’al tefilah/organizer/Jewish educator, Ari’s work engages with participatory rituals and affect, rigorous playfulness, pleasure, participation, and access.
Rabbi Bronwen Mullin
Faculty
In addition to teaching at SVARA, Bronwen serves as the Cantor of Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Delaware. Rabbi Bronwen has also held teaching positions at JTS, The Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, The Academy of Jewish Religion in New York, Art Kibbutz New York, the Romemu Yeshiva, the JCC of Manhattan, and the 14th Street Y.
Kendra Watkins
Faculty Fellow
Kendra Watkins is a learner, teacher and pray-er inspired by what is possible when we bring our whole selves to Jewish text and practice. Outside of the bet midrash, Kendra has supported congregations in deepening their commitments to pursuing racial justice, and facilitated ritual and spiritual practice in movement spaces.
Amir Starr Weg
Faculty
Amir has been studying at SVARA since 2013 and served as the yeshiva’s Fellow in 2016. He has completed the Urban Adamah Fellowship and continues to build community and learning spaces in Chicago.