Yeshiva facts for kids
A yeshiva (pronounced yeh-SHEE-vah) is a special Jewish school. It's a place where Jewish students, usually boys and men, focus on studying important Jewish texts. The main things they learn are the Talmud (a big collection of Jewish laws and discussions) and halacha (Jewish law). They also study the Torah and Jewish philosophy.
Learning often happens in two ways:
- Through daily shiurim, which are like lectures or classes given by a rabbi.
- By studying in pairs called chavrusas. A chavrusa is like a study buddy. This way of learning is a unique part of yeshiva life.
In places like the United States and Israel, yeshiva education has different names depending on the age group.
- In the U.S., young kids go to a cheder. After their bar mitzvah, they might go to a mesivta. Older students, like those in college, study in a beit midrash or yeshiva gedola (which means 'large yeshiva').
- In Israel, elementary students go to a Talmud Torah or cheder. Teenagers after bar mitzvah learn in a yeshiva ketana (meaning 'small yeshiva'). High school students go to a yeshiva gedola.
- A kollel is a yeshiva specifically for married men. Sometimes, students in a kollel get a small payment to help them study full-time.
Historically, yeshivas were only for men. Today, many non-Orthodox yeshivas welcome women. Orthodox Jewish women and girls have their own schools, called midrasha or "seminary." These schools have different structures and subjects compared to traditional yeshivas for boys and men.
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What's in a Name?
The word yeshiva comes from a Hebrew word meaning "sitting." It first referred to a learning session. Over time, it came to mean the school itself. Other names for these schools include metivta, beth midrash, or rabbinical academy.
A Look Back in Time
Early Beginnings
Jewish learning has always been important. Ancient Jewish texts mention that towns needed ten men dedicated to prayer and study. Also, courts of law often had many students learning from the judges. People would even take time off work each year to study.
The Geonic Period
From the 3rd to the 13th century, important yeshivas were led by scholars called Gaonim. These leaders were like principals, spiritual guides, and top judges. There were three main yeshivas during this time: in Jerusalem, Sura, and Pumbedita. Jewish communities would choose one of these yeshivas to follow for guidance on Jewish law.
These yeshivas were the highest places for Jewish learning. They also helped manage Jewish communities by appointing local leaders. People supported the yeshivas with donations and yearly contributions. Eventually, these great yeshivas were dispersed due to various events, like the Mongol invasions. After that, Jewish religious education became more local, often happening in synagogues.
From Old Times to the 19th Century
After the Geonic period, more yeshivas opened in Europe and North Africa. Traditionally, every town's rabbi would teach a few students in the local study hall, usually next to the synagogue. The community helped pay for the students' living costs. After a few years, students who received semikha (rabbinical ordination) would become rabbis or join other jobs.
Lithuanian Yeshivas
In the 18th century, a leader named Chaim Volozhin changed how Torah was studied. He felt that the old way wasn't enough for students who wanted to learn more deeply. With his teacher's support, he started a yeshiva in Valozhyn, which is now in Belarus. This school, the Volozhin yeshiva, became very famous. It closed later in 1892 because the Russian government wanted secular subjects to be taught.
After Volozhin, many other yeshivas opened, like those in Slabodka, Panevėžys, Mir, and Telz. Many of today's important yeshivas in the U.S. and Israel are continuations of these schools.
In the 19th century, the Mussar movement started. It encouraged yeshiva students to study Jewish ethical works. Leaders of this movement wanted students to focus on personal growth and good character traits, especially as new ideas like the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) challenged traditional Judaism. Yeshivas began to include time for mussar study and talks. A special teacher, called a mashgiach ruchani, helped students with their spiritual development.
Hasidic Yeshivas
The Hasidic world also developed its own yeshivas in Eastern Europe. These schools focused on the Talmud, but also included the study of Hasidic philosophy. Examples include the Chabad Lubavitch yeshiva system, Tomchei Temimim, founded in Russia in 1897, and the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva in Poland, started in 1930.
In many Hasidic yeshivas, studying Hasidic texts is a secondary activity. It helps inspire a deep connection to God. However, in groups like Chabad and Breslov, studying their Hasidic texts daily is a main focus.
Sephardic Yeshivas
Large yeshivas were not as common in North Africa and the Middle East in earlier times. Education often happened informally in synagogues. In the 19th century, some schools started to combine Jewish studies with other subjects like science. Early formal yeshivas in the European style included Midrash Bet Zilkha in Iraq (1870s) and Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem (1914). The Bet El yeshiva, founded in 1737 in Jerusalem, was for advanced study of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).
Sephardic Jewish communities have traditionally placed more importance on studying Kabbalah than European Jewish communities. After Jewish people from Arab and Muslim countries moved to Israel, some Sephardic yeshivas started including more accessible Kabbalistic texts in their lessons.
From the 19th Century to Today
World War II and the Holocaust destroyed many yeshivas in Europe. However, many scholars and students who survived rebuilt yeshivas in Western countries. The Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, now the largest yeshiva in the world, was re-established in 1944.
Today, the largest and most important yeshivas are in Israel and the U.S., but they exist in many other countries too. Many modern yeshivas are continuations of the European ones and often keep the same names.
Modern Orthodox Yeshivas
In the U.S., the first Orthodox yeshiva was Etz Chaim in New York (1886). It grew into Yeshiva University in 1945. Many Hasidic groups also have their main yeshivas in America.
In Israel, yeshivas have existed since ancient times. Modern ones like Mercaz Harav (1924) were founded by important rabbis. Today, a large part of Israel's Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population attends yeshivas or seminaries. Many young men continue studying full-time in a kollel even after they get married.
Modern Orthodox students often spend a year or two in a yeshiva in Israel after high school. Many then go to Yeshiva University, where they combine academic studies with Torah learning.
How a Yeshiva Works
Yeshiva study is different from typical university study.
- The year is divided into three terms called zmanim.
- The day is structured into study sessions called seders.
- Lessons are given in a shiur (lecture) with specific texts.
- Students prepare for and review shiurim with their chavruta (study partner).
- All this learning happens in a large common room called the bet midrash or "zal."
The head of the yeshiva is called the rosh yeshiva. Other senior rabbis are called "Ram." The mashgiach helps students with their spiritual growth. A sho'el u'meishiv is available to help students with difficult parts of their Talmud studies. Students are called talmidim.
The School Year
The yeshiva year has three main periods, or zmanim:
- Elul zman: Six weeks long, from the start of the Hebrew month of Elul until the end of Yom Kippur. It's the shortest but most intense period, before the High Holidays.
- Winter zman: Five months long, from after Sukkot until about two weeks before Passover.
- Summer zman: About three months long, from after Passover until Rosh Chodesh Av or Tisha B'Av.
Learning with a Chavruta
Studying with a chavruta is a key part of yeshiva life. Instead of just listening to a teacher, students work together. They read the texts aloud, analyze them, question each other's ideas, and debate to understand the meaning. This helps students focus, think sharply, put their thoughts into words, and understand different viewpoints.
Chavruta learning can be very lively, with partners discussing and even shouting their points. In a large yeshiva, you might hear dozens or hundreds of pairs debating at once! Students learn to block out other sounds to focus on their own discussion.
Different Types of Yeshivas
Here are some types of yeshivas:
- Yeshiva Ketana or Talmud Torah: These are for younger students, often focusing only on Jewish studies.
- Yeshiva High School (also called Mesivta or Mechina): These schools combine intensive Jewish religious education with a regular high school education.
- Mechina: For Israeli high school graduates who want to study for a year before joining the army.
- Beth midrash: For high school graduates, where students can study for one year or many, depending on their future plans.
- Yeshivat Hesder: In Israel, these yeshivas have an arrangement with the Israel Defense Forces. Students serve in the army for a period (about 16 months) and spend the rest of their five years in compulsory study at the yeshiva.
- Kollel: A yeshiva for married men, often located in the same building as a yeshiva for younger students.
- Baal Teshuva yeshivot: These schools are for people who are newly becoming Orthodox.
Schools for post-high school women are usually called "seminaries" or midrashas in Israel. These institutions provide girls with a Torah education, focusing more on practical Jewish law and the study of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rather than the Talmud.
Languages Used
In many Lithuanian and Hasidic yeshivas around the world, classes are taught in Yiddish. However, some, like Kol Torah in Jerusalem, teach in Modern Hebrew. Sephardi, Modern Orthodox, and baal teshuvah yeshivas use Modern Hebrew or the local language (like English in the U.S.). Students usually study with each other in the language they know best.
College Credit
Some yeshivas allow students to attend college. There are often arrangements where students can get college credit for their yeshiva studies. For example, Yeshiva University in New York gives a year's worth of credit for yeshiva studies. Some Haredi yeshivas also have similar programs.
Some American yeshivas even grant degrees like a Bachelor of Talmudic Law (after 4 years) or a Master of Rabbinic Studies (after 6 years). These degrees are recognized and can help students go on to graduate school, like law school.
What Do They Study?
In an Orthodox yeshiva, the main focus is on studying rabbinic literature. This mostly means the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law). They also often study Mussar (ethics) and Hasidic philosophy. Some yeshivas also formally study classical Jewish philosophy or Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).
Non-Orthodox institutions combine traditional and modern ways of studying. Their curriculum also includes Jewish subjects like Talmud, Tanakh, Midrash, halacha, and philosophy. However, they might put less emphasis on Talmud and Jewish law, and more on other areas like sociology or modern Jewish philosophy.
Studying the Talmud
In a typical Orthodox yeshiva, the main focus is on studying and analyzing the Talmud, also called Gemara. Students usually work on two different Talmud streams at once:
- Iyyun: This is in-depth study, focusing on specific parts of the Talmud that deal with Jewish law. Students learn analytical skills and use classical commentaries.
- Bekiu't: This aims to build general knowledge of the Talmud. In some Hasidic yeshivas, this is called girsa and might include memorization.
Yeshiva students usually start studying the Talmud in elementary school, beginning with the Mishnah (the basic cases). In middle school, they start with gemara (the analytical part). By high school, some can work with Tosafot (a complex commentary).
The main texts used to understand the Talmud are the commentary by Rashi and the Tosafot. These three together (Talmud, Rashi, Tosafot) are considered the foundation for all further study. More advanced students also study other commentators from later generations.
Students also learn how the Talmudic discussions connect to codified law, especially the Mishneh Torah (by Maimonides) and the Shulchan Aruch (a code of Jewish law). They look at how different commentators interpret the law and how it applies in practice.
Jewish Law (Halacha)
Students dedicate time to studying practical halacha, focusing on how Jewish law applies in real life. For Ashkenazi yeshivas, the most common text is the Mishnah Berurah. Sephardic yeshivas often study the Shulchan Aruch itself. Chabad yeshivas focus on the Shulchan Aruch HaRav.
Students who are training for Semikha (rabbinical ordination) spend most of their time on halacha. They study in depth the areas where rabbis are often asked questions, such as Kashrut (kosher laws), Shabbat (Sabbath laws), and Niddah (family purity laws). This study involves detailed analysis of the halacha from its sources in the Talmud to its final presentation in the Shulchan Aruch.
Ethics, Mysticism, and Philosophy
Haredi yeshivas usually have a study session dedicated to mussar (ethics and character development). A very important book studied is the Mesillat Yesharim ("Path of the Just"). These sessions help students understand themselves, internalize Jewish spiritual goals, and develop good character traits.
Hasidic yeshivas study mystical and spiritual works of Hasidic philosophy (Chassidus). These texts explain Jewish mysticism in a way that helps students feel a deep connection to God and bring spirituality into their daily lives. For example, Chabad yeshivas study the Tanya and other works by their leaders every day.
Sephardic yeshivas often include the study of selected Kabbalistic texts. These are standard mystical texts, as well as works by important Sephardic rabbis.
In Hesder, Religious Zionist, and Modern Orthodox yeshivas, Machshavah (Jewish philosophy or thought) is taught formally. Lessons cover major topics in Jewish thought using important philosophical works. These works often draw from the Talmudic-Aggadah (non-legal parts of the Talmud) and the Tanakh. Hesder yeshivas also spend time on the writings of Abraham Isaac Kook, a famous rabbi who combined mysticism, interpretation, and philosophy.
Torah and Bible Study
Intensive study of Chumash (the Five Books of Moses) with the commentary of Rashi is very important in all elementary grades. In Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas, this is often done with Yiddish translations. The rest of the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible, including Prophets and Writings) is usually taught through high school, but less intensely.
After high school, yeshiva students usually review the upcoming parashah (weekly Torah portion) on their own. They read it twice in Hebrew and once in Targum Onkelos (an Aramaic translation), along with Rashi's commentary. They might also study other commentaries. The Rosh Yeshiva often gives a weekly lecture on the parashah, exploring a specific question or theme with an ethical teaching.
In Hesder, Religious Zionist, and Modern Orthodox yeshivas, the study of Chumash and Nach (Prophets and Writings) continues alongside Talmud study. These schools offer formal classes in many books of the Prophets and Writings. They analyze the texts and their structure using various commentaries and Midrashim (ancient rabbinic interpretations).
Images for kids
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A depiction of Sura
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Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, now a national monument
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The Breslov Yeshiva in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem.
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Bobov Kollel in Jerusalem
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JTS building in Manhattan
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Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
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Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn
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Talmud Torah, Russia, 1937
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Yeshiva High School, Tel Aviv, 1938
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"Cheder"-class in Talmud, Tel Aviv, 1946.
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Bet Midrash, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
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The first page of tractate Rosh Hashanah in the Babylonian Talmud.
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Chavrusas learning beki'ut, recording their summary of each sugya alongside its Mishnah
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Chumash with Yiddish translation
See Also
- Bais Yaakov
- Jewish day school
- List of yeshivas
- List of rabbinical schools
- Mesivta
- Religious school
- Yeshivish
