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

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 study, hiking, and facilitating spiritual experiences for his flock, students, and friends. With his wife, the lovely Julie Batz (see cohort 2) he spent over two decades in service as a congregational leader. Some might call him a rabbi, but his official title is Maggid, having been ordained as such by Rabbi Gershon Winker in 2002. Currently, he serves the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco where he is the Rosh Yeshiva for QueerCore Talmud and Original Ink—SVARA-method batei midrash exploring Talmud and Torah. For good measure, he earned his MA in Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley some years ago. His work can be found in Torah Queeries, Balancing on the Mechitza, and at SVARA and ELItalks. 

Blog posts by Jhos Singer

Bless This Mess

I have been teaching in SVARA’s Mishnah Collective for the past few years. Every month, we inform our coordinator of…

The Real Miracle of Hanukkah

Hanukkah is here, wagging its annoying tail and jumping its big old muddy self up on folks like me who…

Note to Self: Choose Life

This is the last Hot Off The Shtender of 5783. Rosh Hashana allegedly marks the birthday of the world, but…

An (Im)Perfect Step

Here we go. True confession. I was a serious marching band nerd. There. Done. I’ve said it. In a time…

Healing, Heroes, and Holding Hands

Julie (my practically-perfect-in-every-way spouse) and I have, over the past few years, gobbled up a series of action-y adventure type…

He Chopped Up the Damn Boat

At SVARA, we talk a lot about what it means to sniff out a crash. Rabbi Benay Lappe (whom I’ve…

Holy Mirrors

I went on a whirlwind road trip recently to Los Angeles. Long story abbreviated: 50 years ago, in a universe…

Honoring the Pain We Carry

They say that aging is not for the faint of heart, and I can attest to that. With 63 in-the-body…

Torah on a Tightrope

My colleague, mentor, teacher, and most of all my friend, Rachel Brodie, died suddenly and unexpectedly in April. Rachel profoundly…

Finding Our Way

I grew up on a scrappy strip of Southern California beach. As a kid in the 1960s, I spent hours…

Turn In It

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

Trans Bodies and Talmud

I’ve been studying with SVARA for a long time—25.806% of my life, to be precise—and for much of that time…

Finding Our Truths

(I am dedicating this learning to my teachers, friends, and supporters: Rabbi Benay Lappe, and Bonnie Kahn Martin—may their legacies…