Editor’s Thoughts: The Dark Corner of the Beit Midrash
We express gratitude before you, God, our God and the God of our fathers, that you have established our portion with those who dwell in the beit midrash, and have not established our portion...
Category: Issue 8.1: The Beit Midrash
Mikdash to Midrash
“This Sefer Torah should not leave your mouth, and you should delve into it day and night, in order that you will observe all that is written in it, so that you will be...
The Ancient Beit Midrash and the Modern Academy: An Exploration of Origins and Methodology
If you were to visit a Geonic yeshiva during the months of Elul and Adar you would find a situation not too dissimilar from a modern beit midrash. There would be students hearing a...
Bein Adam le-Havrutato? Arguments and Insults in Halakhic Literature
Over the course of Elul the yeshiva put a strong emphasis on Hilkhot bein adam le-haveiro. There were various shiurim quoting numerous sources from gemara, Rishonim, and others, about the importance of mutual respect...
The First Beit Midrash: The Yeshivah of Shem and Eber
The first historically known beit midrash probably began during the era of the Second Temple. The Pharisees, unlike the Sadducees, emphasized that Torah learning, and not only temple service, was a vital aspect of...
If Men Were Angels
1. “The Torah was not given to the ministering angels” On February 6, 1788, James Madison, the “father of the American constitution,” published Federalist No. 51, in which he outlined his plan for limiting...
Havruta or Death: An Analysis of Havruta Learning in Light of Hegel’s Lord and Bondsman Dialectic
I Talmud Torah and its practice in the Beit Midrash may count as the ultimate mitsvah,[1] but as a means of avodat Hashem it focuses on rigorous intellectual activity. The traditional Jewish method for...
Kedushat Beit Midrash and Beit Keneset: An Enlightening Comparison
When asked to picture a Jewish study hall in your mind’s eye, what mental images arise? Do you imagine a soaring edifice of majestic beauty? Is its interior a breathtaking and brilliant room with...
Reflections on Havruta Learning
When[i] one walks into a beit midrash, s/he is greeted by the thunderous and discordant sound of countless pairs of people fiercely arguing with one another, each offering up their own idea for how to...
