About Us
This project was born out of Rosh Yeshiva Ren Finkel’s need for a local, antizionist spiritual home that centered around study. After years of being forced to minimize their grief and anger in supposedly progressive Jewish institutions, they sought to create a space truly grounded in revolutionary politics. Anyone and everyone committed to anticapitalism & antiracism is invited to learn with us! While we have specific goals that center antizionism, we know that the best learning comes out of principled and loving disagreement. Please reach out to us if you’ve got any questions or concerns about if this space is for you—it probably is!
The transformative power of translation is the key to a long-lasting Judaism in which we are all a part of growing & nurturing Jewish tradition. We primarily offer SVARA-style learning, in which all you need is your Alef Bet to learn Jewish texts in their original Hebrew & Armaic. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the Hebrew Alphabet, we often also frequently run Alef Bet classes!)
We are irreverently dedicated to our ancestors—the halakhic sticklers and ungovernable heretics alike. In our Beit Midrash, there is no such thing as too observant or not observant enough. We believe that our ancestors’ wisdom can offer us the tools to grieve and grow, and that rigorous spiritual practices help us build a more liberated world.
About Our Namesake
“Beis Lakish” is an ode to the Talmudic sage Shimon ben Lakish, often referred to as Reish Lakish. The students of famed rabbis Hillel and Shammai were known as “Beit Hillel” and “Beit Shammai”, respectively, and in that vein we understand this yeshiva to be in Reish Lakish’s lineage.
Shimon was born east of the Jordan River around 200 CE, and lived to be about 75 years old. He started out as a bandit & gladiator, whose immense stature and strength was second only to his wit and wisdom. Each story in Talmud about our dear Shimon is wilder than the last—he sold himself to gladiator slavers, only to trick and kill them before they could kill him. He sat on the ground without need for a pillow, his belly was so voluminous and comfortable. He was imperfect, hot headed, and rough around the edges; at the same time, he was a keen teacher about both the power and limitations of teshuva. We understand his fiery chevrutah relationship with Rabbi Yochanan as explicitly queer, a classic (and tragic) bear & twink love story.
You can learn more about our namesake here.
Contact us
There’s no wrong reason to reach out—we can’t wait to connect with you!