Benay Lappe

“My ultimate dream is to have a SVARA in every city and campus in America. It will be a place where every Jew will discover a Judaism that is smarter and more sophisticated than anything they ever imagined. It will include better pedagogy than their favorite and most challenging graduate courses, a Jewish community around the table as diverse as the world around them, a chevruta who will become their soul-mate, and a teacher who will love them and care deeply that they learn well because it really matters—because they are being handed the keys to the Jewish future and they know it.”

Rabbi Benay Lappe is the Founder and Head of SVARA, a “traditionally radical yeshiva.” As Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Lappe oversees all aspects of SVARA’s administration as well as the training of SVARA’s educators and the teaching of the diverse students SVARA welcomes. Through the creation of SVARA, thousands of Jewish learners who were historically excluded from Talmud study have found their place in and love for Jewish spirituality and practice. It is important to note that Jews from across the spectrum of Jewish life participate in SVARA study sessions. These sessions include a once per week Beit Midrash, a full-time mechina program (for beginning learners), summertime retreats, and sessions that Rabbi Lappe runs across the country. Although the population of learners skews toward millennials, people of all ages participate in these programs. The initial population of SVARA participants was primarily made up of LGBT students. However, Rabbi Lappe’s spreading reputation as a remarkable teacher and leader has drawn in students of mixed ages and backgrounds. She has successfully integrated all of these populations in her various study programs through her naturally inclusive style of teaching.

Rabbi Lappe is also a Senior Fellow and the Director of Education at the Institute for the Next Jewish Future, a position she has held since 2010. At the Institute, she teaches, develops curriculum, and oversees the faculty and staff Beit Midrash. She has also been a Senior Fellow at CLAL – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership since 1999 (and was the first Spielberg Fellow from 1998-1999). Through CLAL, Rabbi Lappe has led classes around the country, authored articles for both CLAL online and print publications, and supervised the rabbinical internship program. Finally, from 2002-2014, Rabbi Lappe was Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics Department Chair at Hebrew Seminary in Skokie, Illinois.

In addition to these positions, Rabbi Lappe has been a scholar and master educator at seminaries, synagogues, schools, and other Jewish institutions in the U.S. and Israel, including Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, JCC Manhattan, The Curriculum Initiative, the University of Judaism, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Milken Community High School, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, and the Saul Lieberman Institute for Talmudic Research in Jerusalem. She has delivered TEDx and ELI Talks and was named one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis” by The Forward in 2014, the same year SVARA was chosen for SLINGSHOT’s list of most innovative Jewish organizations. She has also published numerous articles and curricula on Jewish text study and Jewish leadership.

Rabbi Lappe received her B.A. in Italian Literature (1981) and an M.A. in Education (1982) from the University of Illinois. She received an additional M.A. in Hebrew Letters from the University of Judaism (1993). She was ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997.