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Benay Lappe

b. 1960

Rabbi, Talmudist and publicist on Talmud

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About Benay Lappe

Born 1960. Benay Lappe is a writer.

Benay Lappe (Hebrew: בִּנֵיי לַפֶּה/בנאי לאפה) is a rabbi and a teacher of Talmud in the United States. In 2016, Lappe was awarded the Covenant Award for innovation in Jewish education by the Covenant Foundation.

Biography Lappe was born on April 13, 1960, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. She earned a BA in Italian literature and a MA in education from the University of Illinois, an MA in Hebrew letters from the University of Judaism, and an MA in rabbinic literature, as well as a semicha (rabbinic ordination) from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Lappe is a professor at the University of Illinois, Temple University, American Jewish University, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the Graduate Theological Union's Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley. She is professor of Talmud at the Hebrew Seminary in Skokie, Illinois, and serves as the President and Rosh Yeshiva of SVARA (Hebrew:סְבָרָא), a yeshiva she founded in Chicago in 2003. SVARA emphasizes radical empathy and innovation within Talmudic study and aims to empower learners to actively engage with and contribute to Jewish tradition.

Lappe was recognized on The Forward 50 2020 "list of American Jews who did remarkable things in this remarkable year".

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Education
Jewish Theological Seminary of America, M.A., University of Illinois, University of Judaism

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Benay Lappe's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Benay Lappe?

rabbi, Talmudist and publicist on Talmud

When was Benay Lappe born?

Benay Lappe was born on 13 April 1960.

What is Benay Lappe's occupation?

Benay Lappe is a writer.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Benay Lappe

· Wikidata: Q61749157

· DBpedia: Benay Lappe

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Benay Lappe. https://biography.guide/benay-lappe/

MLA: "Benay Lappe." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/benay-lappe/.

Chicago: "Benay Lappe." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/benay-lappe/.

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