Learn With Us
At SVARA, everyone—queer, straight, trans, alef-bet beginners, experienced talmudists, secular, religious, Jews, non-Jews—everyone learns together in a mixed-level bet midrash. And no matter where you dive in, you’ll gain a sense of empowerment to shape a tradition that has always been yours.
Traditionally Radical
The way we learn Talmud is what makes SVARA special. We bring a traditionally radical lens to queer-normative spaces, paired with a commitment to empowering and joyful pedagogy. This approach is one of the most powerful ways our tradition can help create a different kind of person— an empathic, loving, courageous, and critical-thinking learner.
The Meaning of Svara
The word svara is a 2,000-year-old Jewish concept invented by the Rabbis of the Talmud, to refer to one’s moral intuition informed by Jewish learning. The Rabbis considered svara a legitimate—and sacred—means of figuring out how we should live our lives, in addition to the means they already had—the Torah.
Community Norms
SVARA envisions a future in which liberatory expressions of Judaism equip individuals and communities to realize a just and healed world. As a learning community, we hold ourselves to a set of cultural norms to help shape a bet midrash experience that enables each person to be fully present, supported, and nurtured.
Our Community
SVARA-niks are learning across the country (and in more than eight countries worldwide). Our learners hold identities across age, gender, sexuality, race, and ability. We’re nurturing an intergenerational community of learners whose ages span eight decades, accessible to folks with a diversity of foundational knowledge.
