Chavruta

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For the Israeli gays association, see Havruta (organization).
Chavrutas (study partners) sit opposite each other or side by side in the beis medrash of Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret

Chavruta, also spelled chavrusa or havruta (Aramaic: חַבְרוּתָא, lit. "friendship" or "companionship"), is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a pair of students analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method in yeshivas and kollels, where students often engage regular study partners of similar knowledge and ability, and is also practiced by men and boys outside the yeshiva setting, in work, home and vacation settings. The traditional phrase is to learn b'chavruta (בְחַבְרוּתָא, "in chavruta"; i.e., in partnership); the word has come by metonymy to refer to the study partner as an individual, though it would more logically describe the pair.

Unlike a teacher-student relationship, in which the student memorizes and repeats the material back in tests, chavruta-style learning puts each student in the position of analyzing the text, organizing his thoughts into logical arguments, explaining his reasoning to his partner, hearing out his partner's reasoning, and questioning and sharpening each other's ideas, often arriving at entirely new insights into the meaning of the text.[1][2]

While chavruta-style learning is traditionally practiced by men and boys, it has become popular in women's yeshivas that study Talmudic texts. In the 2000s it was extended to telephone and internet hookups in which partners study Talmud as well as other traditional Jewish texts.

Contents

Definition [edit]

"O chavruta o mituta" (Either companionship or death)

Rava[3]

Chavruta is an Aramaic word meaning "friendship"[1] or "companionship".[4] The Rabbis of the Mishnah and Gemara use the cognate term chaver (חבר, "friend" or "companion") to refer to the one with whom a person studies Torah.[5][6] In contemporary usage, chavruta is defined as a "study partner".[5][7][8]

In Orthodox Judaism, a chavruta always refers to two students learning one on one. When three or more students learn together, they are called a chaburah (Hebrew: חַבוּרָה‎, group).[9] Reform Judaism has expanded the idea of chavruta to include two, three, four or even five individuals studying together.[2][10] It has also extended the material being studied beyond traditional texts, to modern scholarship and poetry.[2] The Reform and Conservative movements have also altered the idea of chaburah (or chavurah) from its Orthodox meaning of groups that meet only for Torah study. In Reform and Conservative terminology, a chavurah is a group of individuals or families which is part study or prayer group, part social club.[11]

Origin [edit]

"Just as a knife can be sharpened only on the side of another, so a disciple of a sage improves only through his chaver"

Rabbi Hama b. Hanina[12]

"Your chaver will make it [i.e., Torah study] solid in your hand. And do not rely on your own understanding"

Rabbi Nehorai[13]

Based on statements in the Mishnah and Gemara, chavruta learning was a key feature of yeshivas in the eras of the Tannaim (Rabbis of the Mishnaic period, 10-220 CE) and Amoraim (Rabbis of the Talmudic period, 200 to 500 CE). The Rabbis repeatedly urged their students to acquire a study partner; for example, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachya enjoined students to "Make for yourself a Rav and acquire for yourself a chaver",[14] and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta told his son Rabbi Abba that he was ignorant because he did not study with someone else.[15] The choice of chavrutas seems to have been based on friendship or social proximity; thus, chavrutas fulfilled a social as well as an educational need.[6]

While an individual may choose to study Talmud alone, it is strongly discouraged. In the Talmud, R. Yosi b. R. Hanina is quoted as saying that "scholars who sit alone to study the Torah ... become stupid" (Berakhot 63b).[5][16]

Chavruta-style learning is particularly suited to Talmud study, as the latter is a text filled with conflicting opinions and seemingly contradictory statements on principles of Jewish law. Besides tracking the back-and-forth debates, a student of Talmud must be able to analyze each opinion and present hypotheses to reconcile it in light of the others.[17] The chavruta relationship gives each student a platform to clarify and explain his position to a partner; then the two go on to question, defend, convince, amend, fine-tune, and even arrive at new conclusions through rigorous intellectual collaboration.[18][19]

Educational benefits [edit]

"With bar Lakisha, whenever I would say something, he would pose 24 difficulties and I would give him 24 solutions, and as a result [of the give-and-take] the subject became clear"

Rabbi Yochanan on his chavruta with Reish Lakish (Bava Metzia 84a)[20]

Unlike conventional classroom learning, in which a teacher lectures to the student and the student memorizes and repeats the information back in tests, and unlike an academic academy, where students do independent research,[21] chavruta learning challenges the student to analyze and verbally explain the material, point out the errors in his partner's reasoning, and question and sharpen each other's ideas, often arriving at entirely new insights into the meaning of the text.[1][2][22]

A chavruta helps the student stay awake, keep his mind focused on the learning, sharpen his reasoning powers, develop his thoughts into words, and organize his thoughts into logical arguments.[23] This type of learning also imparts precision and clarity into ideas that would otherwise remain vague.[24] Having to listen to, analyze and respond to another's opinion inculcates respect for others. It is considered poor manners to interrupt one's chavruta.[25] The chavruta relationship also strengthens the student's personal commitment to his studies, as he is loathe to disappoint or cancel on his chavruta.[26]

Practice [edit]

Chavruta learning takes place in the formalized structure of the yeshiva or kollel, as well as in Talmudic study that an individual does at any time of day. Although a man skilled in learning could study certain topics on his own, the chavruta relationship is preferred to help him crystallize his thoughts.[27]

In the yeshiva setting, students prepare for and review the shiur (lecture) with their chavrutas during morning, afternoon, and evening study sessions known as sedarim.[4] On average, a yeshiva student spends ten hours per day learning in chavruta.[28] Since having the right chavruta makes all the difference between having a good year and a bad year, class rebbis may switch chavrutas eight or nine times in a class of 20 boys until the partnerships work for both sides.[28] If a chavruta gets stuck on a difficult point or needs further clarification, they can turn to the rabbis, lecturers, or a sho'el u'mashiv (literally, "ask and answer", a rabbi who is intimately familiar with the Talmudic text being studied) who are available to them in the study hall during sedarim. In women's yeshiva programs, teachers are on hand to guide the chavrutas.[29]

Chavruta learning tends to be loud and animated, as the study partners read the Talmudic text and the commentaries aloud to each other and then analyze, question, debate, and defend their points of view to arrive at a mutual understanding of the text. In the heat of discussion, they may wave their hands or even shout at each other.[30] Depending on the size of the yeshiva, dozens or even hundreds of chavrutas can be heard discussing and debating each other's opinions.[31][32] One of the skills of chavruta learning is the ability to block out all other discussions in the study hall and focus on one's study partner alone.[4]

Choosing a chavruta [edit]

Pairing up study partners has been compared to making a shidduch (marriage match), as the skills, interests, temperament and schedule of each person must be taken into consideration.[22][33][34] Good friends do not necessarily make good chavrutas. If the chavrutas spend too much time chatting or joking with each other at the expense of their study time, they are advised to find different study partners.[28]

In the yeshiva world, the brightest students are highly desirable as chavrutas.[35] However, there are pros and cons to learning with chavrutas who are stronger, weaker, or equal in knowledge and ability to the student. A stronger chavruta will correct and fill in the student's knowledge and help him improve his learning techniques, acting more like a teacher. With a chavruta who is equal in knowledge and ability, the student is forced to prove his point with logic rather than by right of seniority, which improves his ability to think logically, analyze other people's opinions objectively, and accept criticism. With a weaker chavruta, who often worries over and questions each step, the student is forced to understand the material thoroughly, refine and organize his thoughts in a logical structure, present his viewpoint clearly, and be ready to justify each and every point. The stronger chavruta helps the student acquire a great deal of information, but the weaker chavruta helps the student learn how to learn. Yeshiva students are usually advised to have one of each of these three types of chavrutas in order to develop on all three levels.[23]

Tumult day in Beth Medrash Govoha.

Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey is known for its "tumult day" at the beginning of each z'man (semester), when thousands of students mingle outdoors with the goal of choosing a chavruta for the new term.[36] A similar "tumult day" takes place among the hundreds of students at the main Brisk yeshiva in Jerusalem,[37] and at the Mir in Jerusalem.[36]

Chavrutas often develop into lasting friendships. The shared commitment to scholarship and intellectual growth creates a close bond between study partners[38][22] that has been said to be closer than that of many married couples.[39]

Women's chavrutas [edit]

Women's yeshivas that include Talmud study on the curriculum often schedule chavruta study sessions for their students.[40] In Orthodox women's seminaries, students are paired with study partners of equal or greater strength to learn Halakha, Chumash, Jewish philosophy, or any other topic in Judaism. Although the latter set-up is often called "chavruta learning", it is not the same thing as what Orthodox men do and is better called "one-on-one study".[41] In recent years, telephone study partnerships for women have been promoted as a kiruv (Jewish outreach) tool in Israel[42] and as an option for busy homemakers.[43]

Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, reportedly had a regular half-hour chavruta with his wife, during which they studied Orach Chaim.[44]

Telephone and online chavrutas [edit]

Torah Umesorah, through its Partners in Torah program, was the first to move chavruta-style learning out of the yeshiva and synagogue and into telephone study sessions in 1997.[45] During the 2000s, many free internet services began matching up study partners around the world using videoconferencing and Skype hook-ups.

Telephone chavrutas [edit]

  • Partners in Torah — founded in 1991 as a one-on-one learning program for Jewish day school parents, the program transitioned into telephone study partnerships known as "TelePartners" in 1997.[46][47] As of 2011, Partners in Torah facilitated 13,000 weekly telephone study partnerships for both men and women on all Jewish subjects[48]
  • JNet — founded in 2006, this project of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch pairs men and women with Chabad volunteers for Jewish learning[49][50]

Online chavrutas [edit]

  • Chavrusamatch — launched by a Baltimore Torah educator in 2012, this service matches both men and women with local or global study partners online, via telephone, or video chat[51][52]
  • D.A.F. Online Chavrusa Database — provides online postings of people looking for a chavruta, a teacher, or a student[53]
  • International Chevruta Exchange – connects learning partners via online videoconferencing or teleconferencing, along with a mentor who can answer questions on the material being studied[54]
  • Israeli Chavruta Initiative — a project of Yeshivat Hesder Nahar-Deiah of Nahariya[55]
  • Online Chavrusa — connects study partners via Skype[56]
  • The Virtual Chavruta — provides tutors via videoconferencing[57]
  • TorahMates — a project of Oorah, provides chavrutas at home, by phone, and online, and also provides the learning materials free of charge[58]
  • WebYeshiva — founded in 2007, this service offers online yeshiva and chavruta learning[59][60]

Limmud Chavruta Project [edit]

Founded in the United Kingdom in 1996 and launched globally in 2009, the Limmud Chavruta Project produces an annual study guide for chavruta-style learning. The study guides, which include source texts on topics such as "Responsibility", "Creativity", "Time", and "Money", are issued in conjunction with the British-Jewish educational charity's annual conference.[61]

Other uses [edit]

Zionist ideal [edit]

Zionist ideologue A. D. Gordon used the term chavruta to refer to a communal society, such as the moshav, kibbutz, or worker's association, which acts as a self-educational link to the larger social-educational process. In Zionist thought, the chavruta is "a central tool in the struggle for the revival of the Jewish people, the revival of the individual, and the centrality of the idea of 'labor'. It is the highest expression of the Jewish person's extraordinary effort to recreate him or herself through 'labor', to be reconnected to nature, and to plant the many-branched tree of his or her nation in the land from which it was uprooted".[62]

Chavrusa magazine [edit]

Chavrusa is the name of the magazine of the Rabbinic Alumni of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, published since the late 1950s.[63]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Liebersohn, Aharon (2006). World Wide Agora. p. 155. ISBN 978-965-90756-1-4. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Bringing the People Together". Reb Jeff. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  3. ^ Ta'anit 23a.
  4. ^ a b c Forta, Arye (1989). Judaism. Heineman Educational. p. 89. ISBN 0-435-30321-X. 
  5. ^ a b c Sinclair, Dr. Julian (5 November 2008). "Chavruta". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Hezser, Catherine (1997). The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine. Mohr Siebeck. p. 351. ISBN 978-3-16-146797-4. 
  7. ^ Benor, Sarah (2012). Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism. Rutgers University Press. p. 70. ISBN 0813553911.  Unknown parameter |http://books.google.co.il/books?id= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Goldberger, Moshe (2004). September 11 and You. Targum Press. p. 67. ISBN 1568713185. 
  9. ^ "Adult Education Catalogue/Spring 2003". East Denver Orthodox Synagogue. 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  10. ^ Moskowitz, Rabbi Michael L. (May/June 2011). "Turn It Again – The Joy of Shabbat Tish". Scribe 24 (5 & 6). 
  11. ^ Polsky, Howard W. (2003). How I Am a Jew: Adventures Into My Jewish-American Identity. University Press of America. p. 191. ISBN 0761824235. 
  12. ^ Genesis Rabbah 69:2.
  13. ^ Avot 4:14.
  14. ^ Avot 1:6.
  15. ^ Yerushalmi Nedarim 11:1, 41c.
  16. ^ "Babylonian Talmud Brachot 63b". American Jewish World Service. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  17. ^ Rosenblum, Jonathan (11 November 2011). "Think Again: Talmud Study and the Liberal Arts". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  18. ^ Becker, Mordechai (2005). "Gateway to Judaism: The What, How, And Why of Jewish Life". Mesorah Publications, Ltd. pp. 418, 422–423. ISBN 1422600300.  Text "Mordechai Becker" ignored (help)
  19. ^ Langfitt, Frank (25 September 2003). "Study Form Ancient, But Lessons Modern". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  20. ^ "R’ Yochanan and Reish Lakish". Mussarleadership.org. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  21. ^ Bouskila, Rabbi Daniel (5 June 2003). "Learning Together". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  22. ^ a b c Schwartzbaum, Avraham (1989). The Bamboo Cradle: A Jewish father's story. Feldheim Publishers. p. 193. ISBN 0-87306-459-3.  Second, revised edition
  23. ^ a b Zobin, Zvi (1996). Breakthrough to Learning Gemora: A concise, analytical guide. Kest-Lebovits. pp. 104–106. 
  24. ^ "Chavrusa System of Learning". Kollel Toronto. 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  25. ^ ""The wise man does not speak before one who is wiser than him and does not break into the words of another" (Avot 5:7)". Ohrnet (Ohr Somayach) 13 (39): 2. 15 July 2006. 
  26. ^ Mirvis, Rabbi Ephraim (10 May 2012). "Two Heads are Better Than One". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 9 April 2013. 
  27. ^ Helmreich, William B. (2000). The World of the Yeshiva: An intimate portrait of Orthodox Jewry. Ktav Publishing House. pp. 110–111. ISBN 0-88125-642-0. 
  28. ^ a b c Helmreich, The World of the Yeshiva, p. 112.
  29. ^ "Stern College's June Learning Program Exposes Students to Intense, In-Depth Learning". Yeshiva University. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  30. ^ Neusner, Jacob; Avery-Peck, Alan J. (2001). The Blackwell Reader in Judaism. Blackwell Publishers. p. 422. ISBN 0-631-20738-4. 
  31. ^ Finkel, Avraham Yaakov (1999). Ein Yaakov: The ethical and inspirational teachings of the Talmud. Jason Aronson. p. xxix. ISBN 0-7657-6082-7. 
  32. ^ Bianco, Anthony (1997). The Reichmanns: Family, faith, fortune, and the empire of Olympia & York. Times Books. p. 203. ISBN 0-8129-2140-2. 
  33. ^ "Chavrusa across the country, or: A Siyum once in three and a half years". Toldos Yeshurun. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  34. ^ "The Chavrusa Shidduch World". Demosthenes Needs a Locke. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  35. ^ Reinman, Yaakov Yosef; Salomon, Matisyohu (2002). With Hearts Full of Faith: Insights into trust and emunah: A selection of addresses. Mesorah Publications, Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 1-57819-583-7. 
  36. ^ a b "Video & Photos: Chavrusa Tumult at BMG". Yeshiva World News. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  37. ^ Bernstein, Dovid (22 October 2009). "Photos: Chavrusah Tumult in Brisk". matzav.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  38. ^ Weiss, Abner (2005). Connecting to God: Ancient Kabbalah and modern psychology. Bell Tower. p. 124. ISBN 1-4000-8334-6. 
  39. ^ Levin, Michael Graubart (1986). Journey to Tradition: The odyssey of a born-again Jew. Ktav Publishing House. p. 33. ISBN 0-88125-093-7. 
  40. ^ Evan Kaplan, Dana (2009). Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and renewal. Columbia University Press. pp. 243–244. ISBN 0-231-13728-1. 
  41. ^ "Ladies' Chavruta Learning". Lubavitch Centre of Leeds. 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  42. ^ Rosenblum, Jonathan (27 December 2006). "A Torah Revolution in Need of Troops". Mishpacha. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  43. ^ Younger, Tova (22 July 2009). "Chavrusa, Anyone?". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  44. ^ Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, Volumes 7–10. Yeshiva Rabbi Jacob Joseph School. 1984. p. 25. 
  45. ^ Selig, Sam (27 July 1999). "Focus on Issues: Interested in studying Torah? It's just a telephone call away". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  46. ^ "Partners In Torah Has Year Of Unprecedented Growth". PRWeb. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013. 
  47. ^ Shubow, Justin (30 June 2000). "Far-Flung Seekers Find Study-Mates Over the Phone Wires: From Ketchikan to Colorado Springs, 'TelePartners' Transmits Torah to Thirsty Jews". The Forward. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  48. ^ "About Partners in Torah". Partners in Torah. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  49. ^ Margolis, N. (24 Elul 5767). "Long Distance Partners". shturem.org. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  50. ^ "Telephone Torah". CrownHeights.info. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  51. ^ Koretzky, Rabbi Ari (31 July 2012). "Chavrusamatch.com To Be Launched Tomorrow". matzav.com. Retrieved 3 April 2013. 
  52. ^ "About". Chavrusamatch.com. 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013. 
  53. ^ "D.A.F.'s Online Chavrusa Database". Kollel Iyun HaDaf. 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013. 
  54. ^ "About". Torah Without Borders. Retrieved 3 April 2013. 
  55. ^ "About". Yeshivat Hesder Nahar-Deiah Nahariya. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  56. ^ "About Us". Online Chavrusa. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  57. ^ "TorahTutors.org Introduces One-on-One, Text-Based Torah Study Tutoring Web Site". PR Web. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  58. ^ "Why Torah Mates". Oorah. Retrieved 10 April 2013. 
  59. ^ "About Us". WebYeshiva. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 
  60. ^ Bailey, Michael; Redden, Guy (2011). Mediating Faiths: Religion and socio-cultural change in the twenty-first century. Ashgate. p. 67. ISBN 0-7546-6786-3. 
  61. ^ "The Limmud Chavruta Project". Limmud.org. 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013. 
  62. ^ Amir, Yehoyada. "Towards a 'Life of Expansion': Education as religious deed in A. D. Gordon's philosophy" in Abiding Challenges: Research perspectives on Jewish education: Studies in memory of Mordechai Bar-Lev. Freund Publishing House, Ltd, 1999, pp. 49–50. ISBN 965-294-137-9
  63. ^ "Search: Chavrusa Magazine". YU Torah Online. Retrieved 26 June 2011. 

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