Infusion: Integrating Jewish Values in a General Studies Classroom

Havruta (pl., havrutot or havrutaot), originally an Aramaic term, is traditionally used to describe two people studying classical Jewish texts together. Havruta as a form of study has been appropriated in many modern contexts such as adult Jewish learning, community day schools, Hillel gatherings and Jewish professional development programs, in which participants may study a wide range of texts. In pairs or sometimes in groups of three or four, learners sit with one another, read each text together and discuss its meaning, and ideally explore core questions that the texts raise about life more broadly.

Beit midrash (pl., batai midrash) literally means “study house”, and refers to a place where Jews study Jewish texts, often in havruta. These days, “beit midrash” often refers to the room itself where study takes place, although it can also refer to a particular program in which people study Jewish texts. There has been a proliferation of modern batai midrash in which people gather to study a range of texts dealing with particular topics. The Beit Midrash Research Project at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education has helped establish a number of batai midrash (such as the DeLeT Beit Midrash), and has documented what happens in these settings in order to develop scholarship about these kinds of learning environments.

Webcases are multimedia depictions and descriptions of pedagogy that help make the complexities of teaching and learning public and available for others to discuss and learn from. Often, webcases are organized around a central question having to do with teaching, student learning and/or a particular subject matter. The videos and artifacts in a webcase provide insight into that larger question, and enable the viewer to get "inside" a particular classroom and learn from the teacher and her/his students. Webcases are not intended to present a full curriculum, but to highlight particular aspects of a given classroom. Find other examples of webcases of K-12 general studies classrooms on the NCREST site.