Zilberman Method

Last updated

The Zilberman Method is a system of teaching the Torah to young students, pioneered by Jerusalem rabbi Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman, that emphasizes rote learning of the text, while leaving the more advanced study of Talmud to older students. [1] [2] Schools employing the method are colloquially referred to as Zilberman Schools.

Contents

Theory

The Zilberman Method draws upon traditional teaching methods as outlined by Chazal and championed by The Maharal and the Vilna Gaon. The Mishnah and the Talmud set forth halakhic guidelines for teaching Torah to children. These guidelines include the ages at which texts should be studied: "Five years old [is the age to begin studying] Scripture; a ten year-old [learns] the Mishnah; a thirteen year-old for the mitzvot ([obligation of the] commandments); a fifteen year-old [for the study] of Talmud..."; [3] the times of study (including Shabbat for children; Hachazan roeh heichan tinokot korin – the chazzan observes [on Shabbat] where [in the text] the children are reading) [4] and the manner of teaching (safi lei k'tura –stuffing the children like oxen; [5] ligmar inish v'hadar lisbor –read the text and then explain it. [6]

The Zilberman method has children focus exclusively on Tanakh and Mishnah in their younger years, ensuring that they know large portions of both areas by heart before they begin learning Gemara (Talmud). Indeed, graduates of such schools tend to have impressive fluency in these areas. Two key elements in Zilberman's methodology, however, must be singled out: chazarah (review) and student participation.

In the Zilberman-styled school, a new text of Chumash (Scripture) is introduced in the following manner. On Monday and Tuesday, the teacher chants the text with the tropp (ta'amei ha'mikra) and the students immediately imitate him. This is repeated several times until the students are able to read the text independently. Then the teacher introduces the translation/explanation of the text and invites students to participate in the process. New words typically need to be translated only once; subsequently, students are encouraged to call out the translation on their own. All translations are strictly literal. If the translation does not automatically yield a comprehensible meaning, the students are invited to try to find one. The class spends the rest of the week reviewing the material. Each pasuk is reviewed with the tropp at least twenty-four times. [7] Adjustments are made for each grade level.

Examples

In Shabbat 63a it states, "A man should recite, and only later expound." This is in contrast to standard procedure in the Torah world, where intense scrutiny of the text at a relatively young age is favoured over the covering and committing to memory of vast amounts of material. Zilberman also instituted that school sessions be continued on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, albeit at a reduced schedule. [8]

Other practices

Rabbi Zilberman kept the practice of donning his tefilin all day, and so encouraged his students. [9] In normative practice, the tefilin are removed after Shacharit. Zilberman was one of the first rabbis to promote the usage of tekhelet, and encouraged his students and family to make use of the dye in their tzitzit. [10] He encouraged his students to get married young, because it states in Pirkei Avot "An 18 year-old [enters] the chuppah (wedding canopy)".

History

Proponents of the Zilberman Method argue that it is not a new innovation, but rather a return to an ancient form of Torah study elucidated in the Mishna and Talmud, and favoured by both the Maharal and the Vilna Gaon.

Zilberman found the existing Jerusalem heder s' curriculum not suitable for his own children, so he began to teach them at home according to his method. [9] In the beginning of the 1980s, after years of limited success with incorporating his teaching style in existing institutions, Zilberman founded, with the help of his sons, a school in the northern part of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. [8] The school, Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu – also known as "Zilberman's Cheder" – adopted its founder's method, and became an inspiration for many of his students, who later branched out all over Israel founding schools with the same teaching approach. [8]

Zilberman's life work was favored by rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and the Tchebiner Rav. [8]

Schools using the Zilberman Method

In addition to Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, numerous other schools throughout Israel adhere to Zilberman Method principles, including Talmud Torah Yishrei Lev and the Zichru schools.

Related Research Articles

Mishnah First major written collection of the Oral Torah

The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic.

Talmud Central text of Rabbinic Judaism

The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews.

Rabbinic literature Jewish literature attributed to rabbis

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term Sifrut Chazal. This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmudim, Midrash, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. The terms meforshim and parshanim (commentaries/commentators) almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of rabbinic glosses on Biblical and Talmudic texts.

Torah study Studying the Torah, Talmud or other rabbinic literature

Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is ideally done for the purpose of the mitzvah ("commandment") of Torah study itself.

Pirkei Avot Tractate of the Mishnah

Pirkei Avot, which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewish tradition. It is part of didactic Jewish ethical literature. Because of its contents, the name is sometimes given as Ethics of the Fathers. Pirkei Avot consists of the Mishnaic tractate of Avot, the second-to-last tractate in the order of Nezikin in the Mishnah, plus one additional chapter. Avot is unique in that it is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing solely with ethical and moral principles; there is relatively little halakha (laws) in Pirkei Avot.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah, but nonetheless are regarded by Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and given at the same time. This holistic Jewish code of conduct encompasses a wide swathe of rituals, worship practices, God–man and interpersonal relationships, from dietary laws to Sabbath and festival observance to marital relations, agricultural practices, and civil claims and damages.

Aggadah Non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature

Aggadah is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporates folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice in various spheres, from business to medicine.

Yitro Seventeenth portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading

Yitro, Yithro, Yisroi, Yisrau, or Yisro is the seventeenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of Jethro's organizational counsel to Moses and God's revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem

Kol Torah is a yeshiva in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Jewish education Overview of education in the Jewish world

Jewish education is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Known as the "people of the book", Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah study, from the early days of studying the Tanakh.

Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a tanna of the fourth generation. He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Of the many Rabbi Yose's in the Talmud, Yose Ben Halafta is the one who is simply referred to as Rabbi Yose.

Matot Portion of Torah

Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos is the 42nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the Book of Numbers. It comprises Numbers 30:2–32:42. It discusses laws of vows, the destruction of Midianite towns, and negotiations of the Reubanites and Gadites to settle land outside of Israel.

Yeshivat Torat Yosef - Hamivtar is a men's yeshiva located in Efrat in the West Bank. The Roshei Yeshiva are Rabbi Yonatan Rosensweig and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. The institution is primarily focused on post college-aged students and is part of the Ohr Torah Stone educational institutions founded by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Rabbi Chaim Brovender.

Shem Mishmuel is a nine-volume collection of homiletical teachings on the Torah and Jewish holidays delivered by Rabbi Shmuel Bornsztain, the second Sochatchover Rebbe, between the years 1910-1926. A major work in Hasidic thought, it synthesizes the Hasidism of Pshischa and Kotzk in the style of Sochatchov, and is frequently cited in Torah shiurim (lectures) and articles to this day.

Shabbat (Talmud) Talmudic tractate about the Jewish Sabbath

Shabbat is the first tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate deals with the laws and practices regarding observing the Jewish Sabbath. The tractate focuses primarily on the categories and types of activities prohibited on the Sabbath according to interpretations of many verses in the Torah, notably Exodus 20:9–10 and Deut. 5:13–14.

The House of Hillel and House of Shammai were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai who founded them. These two schools had vigorous debates on matters of ritual practice, ethics, and theology which were critical for the shaping of the Oral Law and Judaism as it is today.

Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, commonly referred to as "Zilberman's," is a Haredi, Lithuanian educational facility located between the Jewish and Muslim quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.

<i>Sifrei Kodesh</i> Collective term for all Jewish religious literature

Sifrei Kodesh, commonly referred to as sefarim, or in its singular form, sefer, are books of Jewish religious literature and are viewed by religious Jews as sacred. These are generally works of Torah literature, i.e. Tanakh and all works that expound on it, including the Mishnah, Midrash, Talmud, and all works of halakha, Musar, Hasidism, Kabbalah, or machshavah. Historically, sifrei kodesh were generally written in Hebrew with some in Judeo-Aramaic or Arabic, although in recent years, thousands of titles in other languages, most notably English, were published. An alternative spelling for 'sefarim' is seforim.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Judaism:

Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and educator, pioneer of the Zilberman Method of Torah study. He founded Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, part of a community that follows the path of the Vilna Gaon.

References

  1. ↑ GOTTLIEB, DOVID. "The Zilberman Method" . Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Rabbi Gershon, Tannenbaum. "The Zilberman Method: Innovation In Torah Education" . Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Misnah, Avot 5:21
  4. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 11a. See Rashi, Ran
  5. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 50a
  6. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 63a
  7. ↑ Gottlieb, Dovid (March 8, 2010). "The Zilberman Method". OU.org. Jewish Action.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Rav Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman: The Zilberman Derech -Charting a New-Old Path", The Jewish Eye
  9. 1 2 Hadar, Alon (23 August 2007) "Goodbye to All That", Haaretz. "They wore tefillin [phylacteries] all the time."
  10. ↑ Meyers Epstein, Varda (3 January 2014) "Tekhelet: A Choice or an Imperative?", The Jewish Press
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.