Chavrusa, also spelledchavruta orḥavruta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:חַבְרוּתָא,romanized: ḥāḇruṯā, lit. "fellowship";pl.:חַבְרָוָותָא,ḥāḇrāwāṯā), is a traditionalrabbinic approach toTalmudic study in which a small group of students (usually 2–5) analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method inyeshivas andkollels, where students often engage regular study partners of similar knowledge and ability, and is also practiced by those outside the yeshiva setting, in work, home, and vacation settings. The traditional phrase is to learnb'chavrusa (בְחַבְרוּתָאbəḥāḇruṯā "in partnership"); the word has come bymetonymy 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, chavrusa-style learning puts each student in the position of analyzing the text, organizing their thoughts into logical arguments, explaining their reasoning to their partner, hearing out their 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]
Chavrusa is anAramaic word meaning "friendship"[1] or "companionship".[4] The Rabbis of theMishnah andGemara use the cognate termchaver (חבר, "friend" or "companion" in Hebrew) to refer to the one with whom a personstudies Torah.[5][6] In contemporary usage,chavrusa is defined as a "study partnership".[5][7][8]
Achavrusa usually refers to two students learning one on one. When three or more students learn together, they are called achavura (Hebrew:חַבוּרָה, group; alsochabura).[9] It some communities, the idea ofchavrusa can include two, three, four or even five individuals studying together.[2][10] The Reform andConservative movements have extended the idea ofchavura to modern scholarship and poetry[2] (note that achavura (Ashkenazic pronunciation:chevra) can also refer to a group of individuals or families which is part study or prayer group, part social club[11]).A (more formal) study group in a Yeshiva is sometimes referred to as a "Kibbutz" – see for exampleSunderland Talmudical College § The Kibbutz – especially in older usage, preceding the use of that term for anagricultural community.
"Just as a knife can be sharpened only on the side of another, so a disciple of a sage improves only through hischaver"
"Yourchaver will make it [i.e., Torah study] solid in your hand. And do not rely on your own understanding"
Based on statements in the Mishnah and Gemara,chavrusa learning was a key feature of yeshivas in the eras of theTannaim (Rabbis of the Mishnaic period, 10-220 CE) andAmoraim (Rabbis of the Talmudic period, 200 to 500 CE). The Rabbis repeatedly urged their students to acquire a study partner; for example, RabbiYehoshua Ben Perachia enjoined students to "Make for yourself a Rav and acquire for yourself achaver",[14] and RabbiYose ben Chalafta told his son Rabbi Abba that he was ignorant because he did not study with someone else.[15] The choice ofchavrusas seems to have been based on friendship or social proximity; thus,chavrusas 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,Jose bar Hanina is quoted as saying that "scholars who sit alone to study the Torah . . . become stupid" (Berakhot, 63b).[5][16] Nevertheless, there is evidence that learning in pairs was not always a universal norm in yeshivas, for example in the famousVolozhin Yeshiva of 19th century Lithuania, there is evidence that individual study rather than studying in pairs was the norm.[17]
Chavrusa-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.[18] Thechavrusa relationship gives each student a platform to clarify and explain their 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.[19][20]
"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"
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 seminary, where students do independent research,[22]chavrusa 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]
Achavrusa 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'schavrusa.[25] Thechavrusa relationship also strengthens the student's personal commitment to his studies, as he is loath to disappoint or cancel on hischavrusa.[26]Some early research has shown that the use of this study modality within a traditionalYeshivaeducation can aid students later succeed inlaw school -- although it remains an open question as to whether that relationship is causal or merely correlative.[27]
Chavrusa 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, thechavrusa relationship is preferred to help them crystallize their thoughts.[28]
In the yeshiva setting, students prepare for and review theshiur (lecture) with theirchavrusas during morning, afternoon, and evening study sessions known assedarim.[29] On average, a yeshiva student spends ten hours per day learning inchavrusa.[30] Since having the rightchavrusa makes all the difference between having a good year and a bad year, class rabbis may switchchavrusas eight or nine times in a class of 20 boys until the partnerships work for both sides.[30] If achavrusa gets stuck on a difficult point or needs further clarification, they can turn to the rabbis, lecturers, or asho'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 duringsedarim. In women's yeshiva programs, teachers are on hand to guide thechavrusas.[31]
Chavrusa 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.[32] Depending on the size of the yeshiva, dozens or even hundreds ofchavrusas can be heard discussing and debating each other's opinions.[33][34] One of the skills ofchavrusa learning is the ability to block out all other discussions in the study hall and focus on one's study partner alone.[29]
Pairing up study partners has been compared to making ashidduch (marriage match), as the skills, interests, temperament and schedule of each person must be taken into consideration.[35][36][37] Good friends do not necessarily make goodchavrusas. If thechavrusas 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.[30]
In the yeshiva world, the brightest students are highly desirable aschavrusas.[38] However, there are pros and cons to learning withchavrusas who are stronger, weaker, or equal in knowledge and ability to the student. A strongerchavrusa will correct and fill in the student's knowledge and help them improve their learning techniques, acting more like a teacher. With achavrusa who is equal in knowledge and ability, the student is forced to prove their point with logic rather than by right of seniority, which improves their ability to think logically, analyze other people's opinions objectively, and accept criticism. With a weakerchavrusa, who often worries over and questions each step, the student is forced to understand the material thoroughly, refine and organize their thoughts in a logical structure, present their viewpoint clearly, and be ready to justify each and every point. The strongerchavrusa helps the student acquire a great deal of information, but the weakerchavrusa helps the student learnhow to learn. Yeshiva students are usually advised to have one of each of these three types ofchavrusas in order to develop on all three levels.[23]
Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey is known for its "tumult day" at the beginning of eachz'man (semester), when thousands of students mingle outdoors with the goal of choosing achavrusa for the new term.[39] A similar "tumult day" takes place among the hundreds of students at the mainBrisk yeshiva in Jerusalem,[40] and at theMir in Jerusalem.[39]
Chavrusas often develop into lasting friendships. The shared commitment to scholarship and intellectual growth creates a close bond between study partners[35][41] that has been said to be closer than that of many married couples.[42]
Women's yeshivas that include Talmud study on the curriculum often schedule chavrusa study sessions for their students.[43] In Orthodox women's seminaries, students are paired with study partners of equal or greater strength to learnHalakha,Chumash,Jewish philosophy, or any other topic in Judaism.[44]
In recent years, telephone study partnerships for women have been promoted as akiruv (Orthodox Judaism outreach) tool in Israel[45] and as an option for busy homemakers.[46]
Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld,Chief Rabbi ofMandatory Palestine, reportedly had a regular half-hour chavrusa with his wife, during which they studiedOrach Chayim.[47]
In 1997, Partners in Torah was the first organization to movechavrusa-style learning out of the yeshiva and synagogue and into telephone study sessions.[48] During the 2000s, many freeInternet services began matching up study partners around the world usingvideoconferencing andSkype hook-ups.
Founded in theUnited Kingdom in 1996 and launched globally in 2009, theLimmud Chavruta Project produces an annual study guide forchavrusa-style learning. The study guides, which include source texts on topics such as "Responsibility", "Creativity", "Time", and "Money", are issued in conjunction with theBritish-Jewish educational charity's annual conference.[64]
Zionist ideologueA. D. Gordon used the termchavrusa to refer to acommunal society, such as themoshav,kibbutz, or worker's association, which acts as a self-educational link to the larger social-educational process. In Zionist thought, thechavrusa 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".[65]
Chavrusa is the name of the magazine of the Rabbinic Alumni of theRabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, published since the late 1950s.[66]
Havruta magazine is a publication of thePardes Institute of Jewish Studies.
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