Fall 2022

Thursdays, October 13 – December 22 | 2:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET | Zoom link

Text: Masechet Bava Metzia 85b, taught by Mónica

Elements

Text to prep in chevruta
Secondary readings
Personal reflection activities

Weekly shiur and chevruta learning is our regular touchpoint as a community, in which we dig into our practice of studying Talmud in SVARA’s method.. This fall, Cohort 4 will explore a sugya that describes different rabbinic pedagogies, asks questions about the Option 3 future of Torah, and unpacks the power of both learning and teaching. We’ll focus heavily on Aramaic grammar, along with core competencies from the “Gemirna Rubric” throughout our shiur. One of our goals this zman is for all of you to grow more comfortable and familiar navigating Grammar for Gemara by R’ Yitzhak Frank. We hope that learning this text will serve your growing library of sugyot for teaching!

In order to deepen our teaching practices in the Pedagogy Year, additional readings have been assigned roughly every other week to highlight topics including: critical and liberatory pedagogy, Talmud pedagogy and transformative education. Reflection and planning assignments will be occasionally assigned throughout the semester, as we grow in our learning and teaching practices.

Preparation

The chevruta relationship is an essential component of the Jewish sacred practice of text study. Chevruta learning is required prior to each shiur. The expectation is that approximately 1.5 – 2 hours of chevruta time will be required to complete each assignment (along with any additional adventures y’all want to take, like exploring comments from Rashi, diving into parallel texts, chasing down codes, etc.!). Each chevruta in the pair is responsible for their own learning and their partner’s learning. Recitation and articulation of material by one chevruta while the other listens and checks is an important part of the chevruta process. Good chevrutas do not move on until their partners “get it” and each chevruta is responsible for making sure that their partner does, in fact, “get it”—to the point of ownership.

Folks are expected to come to shiur having a) reviewed and internalized the material from all previous sessions (chazarah), and b) prepared the assignment for the current shiur to the best of their ability—all b’chevruta.

Weekly Breakdown/Assignments

Shiur 1, Oct. 13

Talmud Improv + Practicum Planning

After today’s class:

Fill out a Who/What/Where/When/Why for your practicum, found on the portal under “Planning Your Bet Midrash”

- Then meet with your mentor to discuss and plan your practicum
Send your Who/What/Where/When/Why by Oct 20 to your mentor and Laynie!

Shiur 2, Oct. 20

ריש לקיש הוה מציין מערתא דרבנן כי מטא למערתיה דר’ חייא איעלמא מיניה חלש דעתיה

Shiur 3, Oct. 27

אמר רבש”ע לא פלפלתי תורה כמותו יצתה בת קול ואמרה לו תורה כמותו פלפלת תורה כמותו לא ריבצת

Also due this week:

Chapters 1 & 14 from Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks (found in your reader)
Chapter 4 from Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks (found in your reader)

Shiur 4, Nov. 3

כי הוו מינצו ר’ חנינא ור’ חייא אמר ליה ר’ חנינא לר’ חייא בהדי דידי קא מינצית ח”ו אי משתכחא תורה מישראל מהדרנא לה מפילפולי

Shiur 5, Nov. 10

אמר ליה ר’ חייא לר’ חנינא בהדי דידי קא מינצית דעבדי לתורה דלא תשתכח מישראל

Also due this week:

Chapter 1 from Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy: Social Justice in Higher Education, by Beth Berila (found in your reader)

Shiur 6, Nov. 17

מאי עבידנא אזלינא ושדינא כיתנא וגדילנא נישבי וציידנא טבי ומאכילנא בשרייהו ליתמי ואריכנא מגילתא

Shiur 7, Dec. 1

וכתבנא חמשה חומשי וסליקנא למתא ומקרינא חמשה ינוקי בחמשה חומשי ומתנינא שיתא ינוקי שיתא סדרי

Also due this week:

“Talmud That Works Your Heart: New Approaches to Reading” by Sarra Lev (found in your reader)

Shiur 8, Dec. 8

ואמרנא להו עד דהדרנא ואתינא אקרו אהדדי ואתנו אהדדי ועבדי לה לתורה דלא תשתכח מישראל

Shiur 9, Dec. 15

היינו דאמר רבי כמה גדולים מעשי חייא אמר ליה ר’ ישמעאל בר’ יוסי אפי’ ממר אמר ליה אין אפי’ מאבא אמר ליה ח”ו לא תהא כזאת בישראל

Also due this week:

“Transformation and Empowerment: Teaching Talmud to Adult Beginner Learners” by Mónica Gomery (found in your reader)

Shiur 10, Dec. 22 – Siyum!

Full chazarah!