Queer Talmud Camp
For five days each summer, queer and trans learners from across the country and around the world gather to immerse themselves in the joyful, challenging, transformative practice of Talmud study.
This year’s camp welcomed more than 80 learners to Petaluma, California for an unforgettable journey through the Talmud. We spent our days studying in chevruta, learning from extraordinary faculty, singing, laughing, asking difficult questions, and discovering new possibilities in Torah and in ourselves. Again and again, participants shared that camp rekindled their love of learning, strengthened their confidence as students of Talmud, and reminded them that they belong at the center of our tradition.
About Queer Talmud Camp (QTC)
Below, you’ll find all of the tachlis information about camp as we start dreaming towards QTC 2027.
Queer Talmud Camp (QTC) is SVARA’s flagship summer program: a five-day, in-person retreat for folks to engage deeply with the spiritual practice of Talmud study. Participants engage in rigorous, accessible, yeshiva-style learning grounded in the belief that our tradition needs the insight of those on the margins.
We understand the ancient Rabbis as radical thinkers responding creatively to rupture and collapse, and we approach Talmud study as a spiritual practice that sharpens our moral imagination, deepens our compassion, and prepares us to shape the unrecognizable Jewish future. We learn Talmud to acquire the transformative tools of the Rabbis, and to cultivate the qualities of resilience, empathy, and moral courage, all in service of building a more liberatory tradition.
Learning at SVARA is joyful and deeply meaningful—and it is also serious, demanding work. Especially for learners with less Hebrew, participation requires patience, persistence, and trust that rigorous effort is part of what makes this learning transformative.
Whether you are encountering Talmud for the first time or returning with experience, you will be supported to build skills and trust your voice in a communal learning environment that values questions as much as answers.
For many participants, QTC becomes a turning point—a place to uncover a pathway toward leadership in the Jewish future. As learners grow their capacity to study, teach, and interpret Torah, the tradition itself expands, making room for more truth, more people, and more possibility.
The prerequisites for Queer Talmud Camp include the ability to recognize and sound out the letters of the alef-bet (Hebrew alphabet), an openness to immersive, collaborative study in chevruta (paired learning), and a commitment to working hard in a rigorous—and joyful!—learning environment. Our teaching team is eager to support and scaffold the learning during our time together, and this space is best suited for folks who are excited to dive in deeply.
We are so grateful for our 2026 Sponsors:
