SVARA Is One of Those Spaces
Last week, we gathered in joyful community for Shaping Tradition, a first-of-its-kind virtual celebration to reflect upon twenty years of…
Hot Off the Shtender
Like Yehoshua, We Were Salty and Sassy
by Jhos Singer
I recently had a meeting in downtown San Francisco. I got off BART (aka the subway) and was greeted by…
Where Is Mitzvah-Land?
“Welcome to mitzvah-land.” I first heard this phrase in 2017, standing in the back of the bet midrash at Queer…
Let the Waves
This past January, in celebration of ten years of friendship, one of my closest friends and I decided to take…
Long Live the Fairies
by Maggie Kraus
The artwork displayed in the image above was created by Molly Costello (left) and Adam Benedict (right). This piece is…
Crip Wisdom and the Torah of the Bees
by Elliot Kukla
In the 1980s, bees had a bad reputation. When I was a kid, my friends and I would shoo bees…
And You Will Live By Them
This HOTS is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Dr. Richard Ruth, z”l This spring our SVARA shiur has been…
Remembering Our Gevurah: How We Learn with G!D
Photo: A memorial to the fighters of the Bund and Tzukunft in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, located in the Warsaw…
How We Thrive: Torah from the Trans Halakha Project
On March 26, 2023 / 4 Nissan 5783, over 300 folks gathered for a day of learning with the Trans…
An (Im)Perfect Step
by Jhos Singer
Here we go. True confession. I was a serious marching band nerd. There. Done. I’ve said it. In a time…
World Building In the Bet Midrash
Do you have a movie that you rewatch again and again just for the pleasure of it? You know how…
Finding Echoes of Real People in Our Queer Rabbi Ancestors
Content warning for discussion of death, grief, and mourning. When I was a kid, my favorite pastime every Saturday was…