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.

Three SVARA-niks sit at a white table with their Talmuds and dictionaries out, facing the camera. Between them, two SVARA faculty, wearing fairy wings, lean over and point to a spot in their Talmuds.

The Lineage of Pushing Toward Bolder Reads

January 21, 2022

by Elaina Marshalek

At SVARA, we know that we are players. That means it is our role to take the skills of the…

The Torah of Care

January 14, 2022

by Ayana Morse

It’s not uncommon in meetings on Team SVARA for someone to say at some point, “There are no Talmud emergencies.”…

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

January 7, 2022

by Laynie Soloman

This fall, SVARA welcomed Devin Samuels as our Scholar-in-Residence, who taught “Svara Off the Page: A Toolkit for Refining Our…

A group of SVARA-niks are sitting in a bet midrash, whose walls are lined with bookshelves. One SVARA-nik is standing and smiling proudly, while the rest of the group look on,.

Call Me By Your Baraita

December 17, 2021

by Bronwen Mullin

Who knew that reciting a baraita—one of the bits of text in the Talmud from the Tannaim, the Rabbis of…

Two SVARA-niks high-five over a table in the bet midrash.

Turn In It

December 10, 2021

by Jhos Singer

בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ. וּבָהּ תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בָהּ, וּמִנַּהּ לֹא תָזוּעַ, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ…

The window of someone's home, taken outside and at night. The window is decorated with several chanukah messages - a light up dreidel, a lit up message saying happy chanukah, an outline of a menorah, and at the bottom, on the windowsill, a menorah, its candles burning.

The Talmudic Craft of Shaping Ourselves

December 3, 2021

by Benay Lappe, Laynie Soloman

Chanukah is one of our faves here at SVARA. And that’s, at least in part, because of the way the…

In the foreground, a hand holds a beeswax, golden havdala candle, which is lit. In the background, which is blurred, four SVARA-niks stand around the candle.

Torah for Sleepless Nights

November 19, 2021

by Hayley Goldstein

Sometimes, I have sleepless nights. Not because I am out partying (I wish) or because I’m up writing papers or…

Two SVARA-niks lean over a table covered in silver bowls. They are picking things out of the bowls.

The Lost Talmud, Part Two

November 12, 2021

by Benay Lappe

I was born at the tail end of the generation that can tell you exactly where they were when they…

Two SVARA-niks high-five with both hands over a table covered in Talmuds and other books.

Hadran Alakh, Indeed!

November 5, 2021

by Ren Finkel

Mishnah Collective will be making a triumphant return to Mishnah Avot Chapter 6 in just a couple of weeks. This…

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

October 29, 2021

by Laynie Soloman

*This Torah has been shaped & uncovered in chevruta with R’ Mónica, and grows out of a piece we wrote…

Benay, Laynie, and Monica huddle and lean over a table, studying Talmud together.

The Secrets of Friendship and Torah

October 22, 2021

by Mónica Gomery

I sat down to learn in chevruta last week, on a day when everything was irking me. I was in…

Many SVARA-niks are sitting at tables in the bet midrash. All of them are clapping, except for one in the middle, who is smiling proudly.

Hardcore, Queer, & Radically Inclusive

October 15, 2021

by Jhos Singer

(I’m dedicating my HOTS teaching to my beloved Julie Batz, on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of our kiddushin,…