Talmud

Chair: Rav Zelig Prag
[email protected]

Our mission and goals in the Talmud Department are:

  • To familiarize our students with the historic and conceptual foundations of Torah she’be’al peh. 
  • To help them appreciate, enjoy and respect the processes that are used to develop the Talmud and the Torah it is derived from.
  • To teach them the skills necessary to delve into a topic in Talmud.
  • To internalize the Halakhic, religious and moral values embedded in the Talmud.
  • To introduce our students to the different commentaries of rishonim and acharonim.

Syllabus
Over the course of eight semesters, the students learn eight different tractates. This gives them a broad knowledge of major halakhic topics that deals with issues of social responsibility, care for other people’s property, as well as an in depth analyses of daily ritual obligations and Shabbat and holidays.

There are two tracks of study offered to our students:

  • In the Bet Medrash track students learn more hours per week (eight periods a week). They are exposed to tractates like Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, Sanhedrin, Kiddushin and some of Seder Moed. While learning these more rigorous tractates we develop the ability of the students to conceptualize what is being learned.
    • Freshmen Year: We familiarize the students with the text and develop their reading and comprehension skills and focus on understanding Rashi and some Tosafot.
    • Sophomore Year: We strengthen their reading and comprehension skills of the Talmud and focus on reading and comprehension skills in Rashi and some Tosafot.
    • Junior Year: We cover more material and we expect them to prepare, on their own, Talmud topics and we raise their level of understanding Gemara Rashi and Tosafor and introduce them to acharonim like the Maharsha and Penei Yehoshua and the Brisker analysis style.
    • Senior Year: There is a heavy emphasis on independent preparation of the Talmud, Rashi and Tosafot. They are also being introduced to various commentaries like Rambam and Kesef Mishne and they are expected to develop the skill of how to find the Rambam, understand the conclusions that he derives and analyze how he arrives at those conclusions.
  • In the non-Bet Medrash track, students learn mainly topics that are more relatable in their daily lives specifically Berachot, Pesachim, honoring their parents, and other topics in Seder Moed and they study Talmud five or six periods a week.
    • Freshmen Year: We familiarize the students with the text and develop their reading and comprehension skills.
    • Sophomore Year: We strengthen their reading and comprehension skills and add Rashi as well.
    • Junior Year: We cover more material and we expect them to prepare, on their own, Talmud topics and they are introduced to more Tosafot and other commentaries.
    • Senior Year: We choose topics that can be applied to their current and future lives.

Goals After High School:

  • We guide and encourage the students to continue their Jewish education in Israel and apply the skill and knowledge that they developed in High School in the higher level institutions that they attend there.
  • Encourage the students to continue their learning while in college and to participate in classes that are being offered in their communities and workplace.
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