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Our Fellows

SVARA Fellows are the incredible folks who have completed (or are working towards completing) SVARA’s Teaching Kollel, a two-year learning and teacher education program designed to train a cadre of gifted, experienced, queer and trans educators. SVARA Fellows are an invaluable part of our community and we can’t wait for you to meet them!

SAM sits in the bet midrash, looking to the right.

SAM Luckey

mixed pronouns
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi SAM was ordained at Hebrew College in 2020, then returned to their hometown of Oakland, California, to work at Kehilla Community Synagogue as Rabbinic Program and Community Builder. They teach talmud with 700 Benches Beit Midrash, keep up with the daf…
A black-and-white photo of Ortal high-fiving someone in the bet midrash.

Ortal Ullman

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Ortal Ullman loves asking questions so much that they made a whole career out of it. As an organizer, trainer, and coach, they’ve spent the last decade using questions to try to get to the root of things — so when they…
Natalie sits in front of a bookshelf.

Natalie Boskin

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Natalie Boskin fell in love with the Talmud when they first cracked open a mesechet at the 2017 Queer Talmud Camp and has been a dedicated SVARA learner ever since. Natalie is passionate about cultivating tools that allow us to remain present…
Ma'ayan leans on a beige couch.

Ma’ayan Seligsohn

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Ma’ayan Seligsohn loves to garden, write poetry and teach gemara. On good days (and bad!) Ma’ayan, together with their partner R’ Ezra, and three children, can be found doing family stuff like dance parties, hiking, and bedtime routines.  
Kiki stands in front of a field of lavender flowers.

Kiki Lipsett

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Kiki Lipsett is an educator, musician, performer, and prayer leader in California’s Bay Area, on unceded Ohlone Land. She grew up at the intersection of music and Judaism, and her work over the past decade has revolved around music, performance, social justice,…
Julia stands in front of trees, grass, and buildings in the distance.

Julia Spiegel

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Julia Spiegel is originally from Skokie, and is currently a rabbinical student at Hebrew College. In 2017, Julia and RP Whitmore-Bard co-founded Queer and Trans Rosh Chodesh (QTRC) in Boulder, Colorado — a queer rosh chodesh group for young(ish) adults. In addition…
Erie stands in front of a green bush.

Betzalel Rosser

they/she/he
SVARA Fellow
Betzalel Rosser is an anarchist folk/punk/country musician living on the shores of the Salish Sea in so-called Seattle. They love Talmud for the same reason they love folk music – both are oral traditions containing tall tales, horrifying prejudice, and wisdom, all blended…
Chava is seated in a room that glows brightly with sunshine. They have short curly hair and are a white person wearing a cream colored wool sweater.

Chava Shapiro

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Chava Shapiro is a queer Jew dwelling on the lands of Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui peoples. They are invigorated by the way that Talmud acts as a conduit of ancestral conversations that span space and time. As an artist and writer…
Ari stands in front of a leafy background.

Emet

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Emet is an independent scholar, artist, and queer liturgist based on Lenape land. Their work looks at participatory rituals and affect. They can talk non-stop about the powerful work of learning in chevruta, memes, the book they half-read last year, and their…
Alex stands in front of green plants.

Alex Bailey Dillon

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Alex Bailey Dillon is a globetrotting Diaspora Jew currently based on Massachuset land in Somerville, MA. Since being welcomed into Judaism by a small, DIY community in their college town of Edinburgh, Scotland, Alex has lived in Chicago, the Bay Area, New…

Sarit Cantor

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Sarit Cantor is a community builder, artist, ritual leader, grief tender, prison abolitionist, off-the-derech femme. They are approaching the Teaching Kollel with a commitment to weave justice work with the work of the sacred. They see the Talmud as a direct connection…
Noah stands in front of a mosaic background. He is wearing a navy hoodie with stars on it.

Noah Rubin-Blose

he/him
SVARA Fellow
Noah Rubin-Blose is a rabbinical student at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Rooted in Durham, NC, the homelands of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, he serves as student rabbi of the Makom community. He is a dreamer and listener, maker of queer…
Lev stands in front of a green, leafy background. He is wearing a red pattered sweater.

Lev Taylor

he/him
SVARA Fellow
Lev Taylor is a 3rd year rabbinic student at Leo Baeck College. Prior to training for the rabbinate, he worked in the charity and education sectors. He has been involved in the anarcho-Diasporist group, Jewdas. He lives in London with comrades who include…
Eliana sits in a bet midrash. Her arms rest on a table, and she is looking off too the left. She is wearing a brown shirt.

Eliana Mastrangelo

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Eliana Mastrangelo is a compassionate and skilled community organizer, teacher and trainer. She is studying to be a rabbi at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Previously, she was a Lead Organizer at Together Colorado, a multi-faith, multi-racial organization committed to placing…
A group of SVARA-niks are standing in a room. In the foreground, Binya is holding a silver cup. Their face is turned towards the cup, though their eyes are closed. They are wearing a floral tank top and a white-and-purple shawl.

Binya Kóatz

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Binya Kóatz is a sefardi / ashki / moroccan / argentinean / ukranian / french trans jewish torah-lover, who runs a queer Yeshiva (Shel Maala), performs stand up comedy (@binya_donethat) and sings and dances with her foremothers. she revels in languages, and…
Sara looks off to the left, hand in the air. She is wearing a blue shirt and baseball cap.

Sara Lynn Newberger

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Sara Lynn Newberger (BS, University of Illinois; MA, Brandeis University, Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service and Education; Jerusalem Fellow) Sara Lynn remembers receiving her first chumash in 3rd grade – and thus was born a love of studying Torah. Born in…
Noah sits on the floor, legs outstretched. He is looking and leaning to the left, one arm resting against his chest.

Noah Westreich

he/him
SVARA Fellow
Noah Westreich is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Prior to studying for the rabbinate, he worked and lived in Washington, DC and Jackson, MS, where he served the Jewish communities of those regions. In DC, he also…
Frankie is reading from a Talmud that is resting against a table and on their lap. They are looking off to the left. Behind them is a red wood wall.

Frankie Sandmel

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Frankie Sandmel is an educator, community organizer and rabbinical student in Boston, MA. They are originally from the Chicago area where they learned to love teaching, Talmud, and teaching Talmud while working and studying at SVARA and the Jewish Enrichment Center. Now…
Earnest leans into his arm, which rests on a table. They have a finger pointing at a spot in the Talmud, and they are looking at their chevruta.

Earnest Arky Solomon

he/they
SVARA Fellow
Earnest Arky Solomon is a trans Jewish educator in the Boston area. He is in the incoming Director of Congregational Learning at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA. Earnest is passionate about Jewish storytelling, talmud study, and mentorship. Earnest received an M.A.…
Micah sits at a table, looking off to the left and smiling.

Micah Buck

he/they
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Micah Buck serves as Keshet’s Director of Education and Training. Before Keshet, Micah had the position of Coordinator of Community Chaplaincy with the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of St. Louis, where he provided personalized support, connection, and meaningful programming for…
Gray sits at a table, Talmud sitting open on their lap. They are looking to the right and pointing at something.

Gray Myrseth

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Gray Myrseth works as School Director at Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland. Gray was ordained by Hebrew College of Newton, MA in June 2017 and has worked as a Jewish educator and congregational leader, an LGBTQ inclusion trainer and consultant, and…
Dev sits at a table, smiling and looking at their chevruta. They have their hand in a Talmud.

Dev Noily

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Dev Noily serves as Senior Rabbi at Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland, California. Founded in 1984, Kehilla integrates Jewish spiritual practice and progressive activism in deep community. Dev is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, and has also…
Zissel, engaged in conversation, looks at the person seated across from them. They are indoors, wearing a sleeveless black top and glasses.

Zissel Piazza

they/them
SVARA Fellow
Elya (Zissel זיסל) Piazza drags as a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley researching and writing queer readings of Jewish texts and culture. They are also a rabbinical student at RRC. Zissel teaches Yiddish and Talmud in both academic and community settings, and…
Hayley is looking off camera and speaking to someone. She is sitting behind a shtender and wearing a mustard cardigan.

Hayley Goldstein

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Hayley Goldstein received her smicha and MA in Jewish studies from Hebrew College Rabbinical School in 2019. As an Cohort One Fellow of the SVARA Teaching Kollel, she is passionate about facilitating encounters with Jewish texts for all ages, and enjoys…

noa

they/she
SVARA Fellow
noa (they/she) is a community facilitator, trauma worker, ritual leader, writer, street medic, atypical femme of mixed jewish lineages currently living on traditional and unceded Kanien’kehá:ka and Anishinabeg territory. noa’s approach to the Teaching Kollel is bound up in a commitment to honour…

Amir Starr Weg

he/him
Learning Manager
Amir Weg moved to Chicago in 2009 after a brief stint hanging out in the Kosher Halal Co-op at Oberlin College. In Summer 2011 he participated in The Adamah Fellowship, a three-month Jewish ecology and leadership program, which nurtured his love of…
Rabbi Becky is visible from the shoulders up. He is wearing a pink v-neck t-shirt, and is smiling with his head tilted slightly to the right. He is standing in front of a blurred bushy background, with some flowers visible.

Becky Silverstein

he/him
SVARA Faculty
Rabbi Becky Silverstein believes in the power of community, Torah, and silliness in transforming the world. He strives to build a Jewish community and world that encourages and allows everyone to live a life that reflects their inherent divinity / dignity. Becky…

Elaina Marshalek

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Elaina Marshalek loves to color code her daf (page of Talmud) in full rainbow. She is hungry to help uncover the Torah and wisdom that y’all SVARA-niks carry. Elaina was born, raised, schooled, and still resides in the Bay Area, Ohlone territory.…

Bronwen Mullin

she/her
Faculty
Rabbi Bronwen Mullin (ord. 2017, MA Midrash JTS, BA in Theater and Religious Studies, Sarah Lawrence College) is a graduate of the very first Teaching Kollel of SVARA and has been honored to serve on the faculty ever since. When not at…
Jess is outside and looks at the camera. They have short hair, glasses, and a dark blue shirt. There are a few trees and shrubs in the background of the image.

Jess Belasco

they/them
Director of Disability Justice Torah Circle
Jess Belasco is a radical torah teacher, organizer, and community convener primarily focused on disabled and queer Jewish communities. They were ordained as a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where they focused on midrash, TaNaKh, and pastoral care, and were a…
Kendra stands in front of an orange wall and smiles at the camera. They are wearing a gray sweater and blue denim jacket.

Kendra Saperstein

they/them
Rabbinic Intern
Kendra Saperstein is a connector of people and seeks to be a truth-teller and generous human. Through their love of our people, Kendra works to strengthen the relationships of Jews of Color across the Midwest and beyond, by weaving the past, present…
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.

Jhos Singer

he/him
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Maggid Jhos Singer is a professional Jewish educator, writer, and speaker. He is an out transman, a parent of three, devoted spouse, craft cocktail mixologist, neophyte straight razor shaving nerd, and a skillful home chef. He relishes engaging in Jewish text…

Julie Batz

she/her
Faculty
Julie Batz is passionate about delving into Judaism’s texts and traditions in accessible and meaningful ways with all who are curious to explore! This has been the through-line of her work as a Jewish educator, congregational leader, ritual facilitator, and Talmud teacher.…

Lauren Tuchman

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman is a sought after speaker, spiritual leader and educator. Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018, she is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. She provides consulting…

Olivia Devorah Tucker

they/them
Program Coordinator
Olivia Devorah Tucker fell in love with Talmud when the local Moishe House asked them to lead a Unicorn themed Shabbat. They couldn’t resist the deep dive into Judaism’s supernatural creatures and have never resurfaced – the books on Jewish myth, magic,…
Arielle looks off to the left and smiles. She is wearing a blue sweater.

Arielle Tonkin

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Arielle Tonkin is a queer mixed Moroccan and Ashkenazi Jewish artist, educator, and spiritual director based in so-called Berkeley, CA on Ohlone land. Arielle works to dismantle white supremacy through arts & culture work and Jewish and interfaith education work. Arielle weaves…
Annie, wearing a black sweater, is in front of a brown bookshelf.

Annie Sommer Kaufman

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Annie Sommer Kaufman teaches sewing, Talmud, and Yiddish; sewing at RefugeeOne, where she manages the sewing studio, Talmud at The Lace Midrash, which grew out of her training as a SVARA learner and teacher, and Yiddish at Chicago’s YIVO and Workers’ Circle.…
Xava looks toward the camera. She is indoors, wearing a fuchsia head scarf and red cardigan.

Xava De Cordova

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Xava de Cordova is a disabled, Sefardi, Mizraxi trans woman and co-host of the world’s first Queer Talmud podcast, “Xai, how are you?” She is a long-time SVARA-style Talmud learner who got her start as a teacher by creating Beit Midrash…
Maayan is smiling in front of a painting of red and green leaves.

Maayan Belding-Zidon

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Maayan Belding-Zidon is a rabbinical student at Schechter in Jerusalem. Born and raised on the lands of the Wappinger people in Hyde Park, NY, she has degrees in Modern Middle East Studies (Yale 2013), Talmud and community management (Machon Schechter 2020), and…
Lonnie, sitting at a table, is smiling at someone.

Lonnie Kleinman

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Lonnie Kleinman is a rising fifth year student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Originally from Tohomo O’odham land, aka Tucson, AZ, Lonnie is a queer, fat femme. Before moving to Philadelphia, on Lenape Land, Lonnie organized Jewish communities throughout the Southern United States…

Koach Baruch (KB) Frazier

he/they
SVARA Fellow
Rabbi Dr Koach Baruch (KB) Frazier is a transformer, heartbeat of movements, healer, musician, founder of the Black Trans Torah Club and co-founder of the Tzedek Lab, and co-founder of Black Folks Beith Midrash. A collaborative leader, rooted in tradition, curiosity and…

Jorge Sánchez

he/him
SVARA Fellow
Jorge Sánchez was born in Hialeah, a suburb of Miami, Florida, on Tequesta land. He has spent most of his adult life writing poetry and teaching English, helping students own the transformative potential of reading and writing. Jorge discovered the beauty of…
Esther is standing outside in front of trees. She is wearing a green plaid shirt and glasses with dark frames.

Esther Mack

she/her
SVARA Fellow
Esther Mack loves studying books of all kinds. Although she didn’t know it at the time, she first fell in love with talmud by applying hermeneutics to the Harry Potter books. Many years later, Esther reconnected with the magic of gemara when…
daph looks at the camera. They are indoors, wearing a dark gray shirt.

daph ben david

they/them
SVARA Fellow
daph ben david is an anarchist diasporic Jew of Eastern European and Arab lineage, born and raised on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka and Anishnaabe territory, so-called Montreal, Quebec. Working as a substitute teacher in the public education system, and an educator with Jewish teens,…