Posts by Laynie Soloman

Four people are gathered around a table in the bet midrash. Two of them are seated in chevruta and two are standing next to them. Everyone is focused on the text in front of them, and it appears that there is deliberation and deep attention being paid to the text.

When a Text Needs to Crash

A group of SVARA-niks stand in a circle with havdalah candles burning. The person in the center of the frame reads a blessing as others look on.

Becoming Halakhically Ungovernable

Jhos Singer sits in the bet midrash. There is a volume of Talmud in front of him and he glances towards someone standing outside of the frame. Jhos is wearing a checkered button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

The Power of Our Minhag

Someone's hand, holding a pen, points to a line in the Talmud. The Talmud is lit up by a lamp, so that part of the page is illuminated and part of it is in shadow. The person's long, wavy brown hair is visible on the left of the photo.

Halakha Beyond the Binary

Rabbi Becky, wearing a brown sweater and a lighter brown kippah, leans over a Talmud, writing notes.

Halakha as Communal Practice: Launching the Teshuva-Writing Collective

A group of SVARA-niks are learning around a table in the bet midrash. At the back, Laynie stands in front of a whiteboard covered in ideas.

Celebrating a Gemara-versary

Two chevruta sit on a bench outside under an awning, the sun shining on their faces. They are smiling and high-fiving.

Retraining Our Guts

A SVARA-nik sits at a table outside, leaning over their Talmud. They are holding a pen in their right hands to take notes with, and another book in the left hand.

Revealing and Transforming Torah

Learning K’Neged Kulam

Transformative World-Building Through Halakha

Two lSVARA-niks sit at a wooden table outdoors in the distance. They are framed by green branches and bushes.

Breathing into the Rubble

Four SVARA-niks sit at a table, in front of a large group of windows. They are all engrossed in their Talmuds.

Dedicating Our Learning to a New Malkhut

Two SVARA-niks sit at a table in the bet midrash. One, on the left, has their palms up.

Is the Talmud Really What We Say It Is?

A SVARA-nik, standing and wearing fairy wings, hands a sitting SVARA-nik a Talmud. They are both smiling.

It’s Not What You Know, It’s How You Know It

A group of SVARA-niks are sitting in the bet midrash, surrounded by wood-paneled walls and windows. Two SVARA-niks, in the foreground, are high-fiving, as many others look on.

Delighting in Our Learning

Two SVARA-niks - one sitting and one standing - hug each other.

Towards Halakhic Euphoria

Two SVARA-niks high-five across a table, as another pair of SVARA-niks look on in the background.

Reclaiming Pleasure for Ourselves and the Divine

Rabbis Becky Silverstein and Micah Buck-Yael are sitting at a table and hugging each other.

Investing in Queer & Trans Torah

Two SVARA-niks stand outside, in front of grass and trees. They are hugging deeply.

Open Our Hearts Through Torah

Rabbi Monica, smiling, hands a SVARA tote bag to someone outside the frame. The tote bag reads, "The Revolution Will Not Be Translated."

Practicing Freedom in the Bet Midrash