Learn to Leyn 2026

Have you ever wanted to read the Torah? To make it your own and to be able to chant it using the ancient melodies of our ancestors? To get nerdy about it with a bunch of lovely queers? Mich Sampson leads this friendly, chilled introductory course in leyning [chanting] the Torah.

Part 1 (5 x 75 minute sessions)
This covers the what, why, and how of chanting the Torah. We’ll learn some
basic principles and some of the most important melodies in our tradition.
We’ll be using the Western Ashkenazi Shabbat trope [collection of tunes],
most commonly used in the UK. We’ll be on Zoom, and we’ll use a mixture
of whole class teaching, work in small groups, and (gentle!) individual,
optional homework.

Tutorials
We’ll take a week’s breakbreak to celebrate Pesach, to consolidate our
learning and have paired tutorials for more tailored learning.

Part 2 (5 x 75 minute sessions)
We’ll take ownership of a piece of Torah and learn how to chant it!
To do this we’ll also learn and practise more of the melodies we need, and at
the end of the course we’ll celebrate our learning by chanting our Torah
portion to each other.

Thursdays 7.30pm - 8.45pm on ZOOM

PART 1: 26 Feb, 5 Mar, 12 Mar, 19 Mar, 26 Mar

Break for Pesach and paired tutorials

PART 2: 16 Apr, 23 Apr, 30 Apr, 7 May, 14 May

There is a careful progression of learning through the course, so it’s important to keep up with the material if you miss a session. All sessions will be recorded.

Please select a payment option, based on what you can afford to pay. Queer Yeshiva is a charity supported almost entirely by revenue of ticket sales to courses and events. In short, the more you are able to pay the more events we can afford to run.

However, we are also dedicated to offering Jewish learning that is affordable to everyone, so if you are unable to afford any of the below options please email logistics@yeshiva.lgbt and we will try to find an option that works for you.

Here's a rough guide to which tier you should choose:

Solidarity - I have enough expendable income to go on holiday multiple times a year, or have access to family wealth/savings that allows me to do so. I don't need to save up or use credit in order to by new essentials such as a pair of good-quality shoes.

Standard - Paying this price means I might not be able to do something else fun I wanted to do, but it won't affect my ability to afford food, rent, or other bills.

Supported/Scholarship - Paying more than this amount would mean I'm not able to afford necessities.

If you are a student, though you may have limited income, please consider your wider financial position when choosing an option (e.g. parental support, grants for study offered by your University).