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 black-and-white photo of a table in the bet midrash, with lots of SVARA-niks learning. In the front, Benay and Ari Lev Fornari are learning together and smiling.

The Radical Act of Becoming a Talmud Person

November 6, 2020

by Benay Lappe

I want to tell you why I’m in the Talmud business. And I want to tell you today because, perhaps…

A group of SVARA-niks stand in a circle around a burning havdalah candle. In the foreground, a SVARA-nik is wearing fairy wings on their back.

CRASH HOTS

Don’t Worry, (or Go Ahead and Worry but Still) Be Happy—a Talmudic prescription for turbulent times

October 30, 2020

by Jhos Singer

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov used to say, “Friends do not despair, for a difficult time has come upon us joy…

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

October 23, 2020

by Laynie Soloman

I am re-learning how to feel good. As joy and pain move through my life without ceremony, I—along with so…

A SVARA-nik, sitting over their Talmud, high-fives their chevruta, whose back is to the camera.

We’re All OK

October 16, 2020

by Ayana Morse

I have, over the past weeks and months, made an increasing number of minor mistakes, and contributed rambling, nonsensical ideas…

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

Investing in Queer & Trans Torah

October 9, 2020

by Laynie Soloman, Becky Silverstein

We have heard from y’all time and time again that the most powerful, connected moments of learning happen when we…

An outdoor memorial for Breonna Taylor, arranged in a circle. There are flowers, a large portrait of Breonna, and various smaller artpieces, including a Black Power fist.

Olam Hadash: Towards a Jewish Theology of Abolition

October 2, 2020

by Ari Lev Fornari

This piece is an excerpt from R’ Ari Lev’s Yom Kippur sermon at Kol Tzedek Last week a grand jury…

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

Open Our Hearts Through Torah

September 25, 2020

by Laynie Soloman

In the bet midrash, in meetings, and in conversations with SVARA-niks and community members week after week, I hear a…

Two SVARA-niks are sitting on a table outdoors. They are smiling and high-fiving each other. There are trees in the background.

Steeping the Divine Into the Space Between Comrades

September 11, 2020

by Noah Westreich

I can conjure up many different memories that have to do with the High Holidays. I remember being a kid…

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

September 4, 2020

by Laynie Soloman

Throughout this pandemic, in my learning, in my teaching, and beyond, I keep returning over and over to the same…

A chevruta pair are sitting at a table. One chevruta is focused on something to the left, while the other is looking at their chevruta.

I Saw Him and I Stood on His Grave: Expanding Our Tradition’s Justice Map

August 28, 2020

by Benay Lappe

The Talmud’s goal is to teach us how to tell more liberatory stories, and to help us become the people…

A large group of SVARA-niks are in the bet midrash. They are standing and pointing at the ceiling, smiles on their faces.

Did You See My Alps? And Other Questions We’re Asked in Heaven

August 21, 2020

by Benay Lappe

Every year around this time, as Elul approaches, I begin to think about the weeks and months ahead, and how…

A screenshot of a Zoom window, with 17 people visible.

The Book of You & The Book of the World

August 14, 2020

by Becky Silverstein, Julie Batz

At Queer Talmud Camp this year, campers had access to a virtual portal which included all the information they’d need…