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Hot Off the Shtender

Hot Off the Shtender is a weekly blog that explores texts and reflections from the bet midrash. Lovingly referred to as “HOTS,” this is a SVARA resource you won’t want to miss.

A SVARA-nik is seated outside with a masechet propped up on a bright green shtender. They look down at a dictionary in front of them, placing one hand on its pages. Bright green trees can be seen overhead and all around - a warm glow of sunshine surrounds the scene.

Torah in the Field

It’s Elul. The Rabbis and mystics have so much to say about what this final month of the Jewish year…
Rabbi Benay Lappe and Rabbi Maggid Jhos Singer walk together through concentric circles of stones. There is a warm golden light pouring through the leaves of trees above them, and a bird flies directly over them.

The Yentl Moment

Photo by Cheshire Issacs I would like to dedicate my learning here to R. Benay Lappe, R. Margaret Holub, R.…
A Jastrow dictionary is laid open on a table filled with colorful SVARA learning materials. A person is seated at the table, wearing a brown sweater, with only their hands visible. They're holding a pen in one hand and turning the page with the other.

Hello Gertie!

Summer is creeping in here in Northern California. My life is in the process of shifting from urban Berkeley to…