Editing Yeshiva

{{short description|Jewish educational institution for Torah study}}
{{About|the Jewish educational system|other uses|Yeshiva (disambiguation)}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|religion}} 
[[File:Mirs 14.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mir Yeshiva (Jerusalem)|Mir Yeshiva]] in [[Jerusalem]], one of two largest yeshivot in the world]] 
[[File:BaisMedrashInterior.jpg|thumb|right|A typical [[beth midrash|''bet midrash'']], [[Yeshivas Ner Yisroel]] in [[Baltimore]]]]
[[File:Carteret beis medrash.jpg|right|thumb|Chavrusas in study at [[Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret]]]]
[[File:OrYisrael8885.JPG|right|thumb|Morning ''seder'' at [[Petah Tikva#Schools and religious institutions|Or-Yisrael]], a yeshiva founded by the [[Chazon Ish]]]]
[[File:Yeshivat Har EtzionRML4RALRP.jpg|thumb|Shiur by Rav [[Mosheh Lichtenstein]] in memory of Rav [[Aharon Lichtenstein]] at [[Yeshivat Har Etzion]], a [[Hesder]] yeshiva]]
[[File:RoyLindmanRabbinicalSchoolJerusalem.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinical]] students in ''[[Shiur (Torah)|shiur]]'' in [[Jerusalem]]]]
[[File:הרב יצחק שורץ במסירת שיעור כללי.jpg|thumb|right|''Shiur klali'' at [[Slabodka yeshiva (Bnei Brak)|Slabodka Yeshiva]]]]
A '''yeshiva''' ({{IPAc-en|j|ə|ˈ|ʃ|iː|v|ə}}; {{langx|he|{{wikt-lang|he|ישיבה}}||sitting}}; pl. {{lang|he|ישיבות}}, {{transliteration|he|yeshivot}} or {{transliteration|he|yeshivos}}) is a traditional [[Jewish education|Jewish]] [[educational institution]] focused on the study of [[Rabbinic literature]], primarily the [[Talmud]] and [[halacha]] (Jewish law), while [[Torah]] and [[Jewish philosophy]] are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily ''[[Shiur (Torah)|shiurim]]'' (lectures or classes) as well as in study pairs called ''[[chavrusa]]s'' ([[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] for 'friendship' or 'companionship').<ref name="Forta">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NhdoWlrzcg4C&q=chavruta&pg=PA89 |title=Judaism |last=Forta |first=Arye |page=89 |publisher=Heinemann Educational |year=1989 |isbn=0-435-30321-X}}</ref> ''[[Chavrusa]]''-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.

In the [[United States]] and [[Israel]], different levels of yeshiva education have different names. In the U.S., elementary-school students enroll in a ''[[cheder]]'', post-[[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|bar mitzvah]]-age students learn in a ''[[mesivta]]'', and undergraduate-level students learn in a ''[[beit midrash]]'' or ''[[yeshiva gedola]]'' ({{langx|he|ישיבה גדולה||large yeshiva' or 'great yeshiva}}). In Israel, elementary-school students enroll in a [[Talmud Torah]] or ''[[cheder]]'', post-bar mitzvah-age students learn in a ''yeshiva ketana'' ({{langx|he|ישיבה קטנה||small yeshiva' or 'minor yeshiva|link=no}}), and high-school-age students learn in a ''yeshiva gedola''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1MArvfg24EsC&q=yeshiva+ketana&pg=PA211 |title=נתיבות שלום |trans-title=Nesivos Sholom |last=Berezovsky |first=Rabbi Sholom Noach |author-link=Sholom Noach Berezovsky|page=211 |publisher=Feldheim Publishers |year=2001 |isbn=9781583304952}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCbtAAAAMAAJ&q=what+is+a+mesivta |title=The Day Schools and Torah Umesorah: The Seeding of Traditional Judaism in America |last=Kramer |first=Doniel Zvi |publisher=Yeshiva University Press |year=1984 |page=xiv}}</ref> A ''[[kollel]]'' is a yeshiva for married men, in which it is common to pay a token stipend to its students. Students of [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] ''yeshivot gedolot'' (plural of ''yeshiva gedola'') usually learn in yeshiva until they get married.

Historically, yeshivas were for men only. Today, all non-Orthodox yeshivas are open to women. Although there are separate schools for Orthodox women and girls,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://matzav.com/sarah-schenirer-ah-the-mother-of-the-bais-yaakov-movement-on-her-yahrtzeit-today-26-adar |title=Sarah Schenirer a"h, the Mother of the Bais Yaakov Movement, On Her Yahrtzeit, Today, 26 Adar |website=matzav.com |date=2013-03-08 |access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref>  (''[[midrasha]]'' or [[seminaria|"seminary"]]) these do not follow the same structure or curriculum as the traditional yeshiva for boys and men.

==Etymology==
Alternate spellings and names include ''yeshivah''; ''metivta'' and ''[[mesivta]]'' ({{langx|arc|מתיבתא}} ''methivta''); ''[[beth midrash]]''; Talmudical academy, rabbinical academy and rabbinical school. The word ''yeshiva'' is applied to the activity of learning in class, and hence to a learning "session."<ref>"Session", in fact, similarly derives from the Latin ''sedere'', "to sit."</ref>

The transference in meaning of the term from the learning session to the institution itself appears to have occurred by the time of the [[Talmudic Academies in Babylonia]], [[Sura (city)|Sura]] and [[Pumbedita]], which were known as ''shte ha-yeshivot'' (the two colleges).

==History==
{{further|Jewish education#The yeshiva}}

===Origins===
The [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] contains the law that a town can only be called a ''city'' if it supports ten men (''batlanim'') to make up the required [[minyan|quorum]] for communal prayers. Similarly, every [[beth din]] ('house of judgement') was attended by a number of pupils up to three times the size of the court ([[Mishnah]], tractate [[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]]). According to the [[Talmud]],<ref>The Babylonian Talmud references these ''Yarḥei Kalla'' several times; e.g. [https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.6b?lang=bi, ''Berakhot'' 6b], [https://www.sefaria.org/Taanit.10b.4?lang=bi ''Taanit'' 10b].</ref> adults generally took two months off every year to study, these being [[Elul]] and [[Adar]], the months preceding the [[pilgrimage festivals]] of [[Sukkot]] and [[Pesach]] (called ''Yarḥei Kalla,'' [[Aramaic]] for '[[Kallah|Months of Kallah]]'). The rest of the year, they worked.

===Geonic period===
[[File:Rabbi Ashi.jpg|thumb|right|A depiction of [[Sura Academy|Sura]] (from [[Beit Hatefutsot]])]]
The Geonic period takes its name from [[Gaon (Hebrew)|''Gaon'']], the title given to the heads of the three yeshivas which existed from the third to the thirteenth century. The Geonim acted as the principals of their individual yeshivot, and as spiritual leaders and high judges for the wider communities tied to them. The yeshiva conducted all official business in the name of its Gaon, and all correspondence to or from the yeshiva was addressed directly to the Gaon.

Throughout the Geonic Period there were three yeshivot, each named for the cities in which they were located: [[Jerusalem]], [[Sura (city)|Sura]], and [[Pumbedita]]; the yeshiva of Jerusalem would later relocate to [[Cairo]], and the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita to [[Baghdad]], but retain their original names. Each Jewish community would associate itself with one of the three yeshivot; Jews living around the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] typically followed the yeshiva in Jerusalem, while those living in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and modern-day [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] typically followed one of the two yeshivot in Baghdad. There was no requirement for this, and each community could choose to associate with any of the yeshivot.

The yeshiva served as the highest educational institution for the [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbis]] of this period. In addition to this, the yeshiva wielded great power as the principal body for interpreting [[Halakha|Jewish law]]. The community regarded the Gaon of a yeshiva as the highest judge on all matters of Jewish law. Each yeshiva ruled differently on matters of ritual and law; the other yeshivot accepted these divisions, and all three ranked as equally orthodox. The yeshiva also served as an administrative authority, in conjunction with local communities, by appointing members to serve as the head of local congregations. These heads of a congregation served as a link between the congregation and the larger yeshiva it was attached to. These leaders would also submit questions to the yeshiva to obtain final rulings on issues of dogma, ritual, or law. Each congregation was expected to follow only one yeshiva to prevent conflict with different rulings issued by different yeshivot.

The yeshivot were financially supported by a number of means, including fixed voluntary, annual contributions; these contributions being collected and handled by local leaders appointed by the yeshiva. Private gifts and donations from individuals were also common, especially during holidays, consisting of money or goods.

The yeshiva of Jerusalem was finally forced into exile in Cairo in 1127, and eventually dispersed entirely. Likewise, the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita were dispersed following the [[Mongols|Mongol]] invasions of the 13th century. After this education in Jewish religious studies became the responsibility of individual [[synagogues]]. No organization ever came to replace the three great yeshivot of Jerusalem, Sura and Pumbedita.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Mediterranean Society: An Abridgement in One Volume |last=Goitein |first=S.D. |editor-last=Lassner |editor-first=Jacob |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1999 |isbn=9780520240599 |url=https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520240599/a-mediterranean-society |access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref>

===To 19th century===
After the Geonic Period Jews established more Yeshiva academies in Europe and in Northern Africa, including the [[History of the Jews in Kairouan|Kairuan yeshiva]] in Tunisia (Hebrew: ישיבת קאירואן) that was established by Chushiel Ben Elchanan (Hebrew: חושיאל בן אלחנן) in 974.<ref>מרדכי וורמברנד ובצלאל ס. רות, '''עם ישראל – תולדות 4000 שנה – מימי האבות ועד חוזה השלו'''</ref>

Traditionally, every town [[rabbi]] had the right to maintain a number of full or part-time pupils in the town's [[beth midrash]] (study hall), which was usually adjacent to the synagogue. Their cost of living was covered by community taxation. After a number of years, the students who received ''[[semikha]]'' (rabbinical ordination) would either take up a vacant rabbinical position elsewhere or join the workforce.

====Lithuanian====
{{See also|List of yeshivos in Europe (before World War II)}}
[[File:Volozhin yeshiva.jpg|thumb|right|[[Volozhin yeshiva]], "mother of the yeshivas"]]
[[File:Mir Yeshiva 1a.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mir Yeshiva (Belarus)|Mir yeshiva]], [[Russian Empire]]]]
[[File:Ponivez1.JPG|thumb|[[Ponevezh Yeshiva]] in [[Bnei Brak]], [[Israel]]]] 
Organised [[Torah study]] was revolutionised by [[Chaim Volozhin]], an influential 18th-century Lithuanian leader of Judaism and disciple of the [[Vilna Gaon]]. In his view, the traditional arrangement did not cater to those looking for more intensive study.

With the support of his teacher, Volozhin gathered interested students and started a yeshiva in the town of [[Valozhyn]], located in modern-day [[Belarus]]. The [[Volozhin yeshiva]] was closed some 60 years later in 1892 following the Russian government's demands for the introduction of certain secular studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schacter|first1=Jacob J. |title=Haskalah, Secular Studies and the Close of the Yeshiva in Volozhin in 1892 |jstor=40914771 |journal=The Torah U-Madda Journal |volume=2 |pages=76–133 |date=1990}}</ref> Thereafter, a number of yeshivot opened in other towns and cities, most notably [[Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka)|Slabodka]], [[Panevėžys]], [[Mir yeshiva (Poland)|Mir]], [[Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty|Brisk]], and [[Telshe yeshiva|Telz]]. Many prominent contemporary ''yeshivot'' in the United States and [[Israel]] are continuations of these institutions, and often bear the same name.

In the 19th century, [[Israel Salanter]] initiated the [[Mussar movement]] in non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewry, which sought to encourage yeshiva students and the wider community to spend regular times devoted to the study of Jewish ethical works. Concerned by the new social and religious changes of the [[Haskalah]] (the Jewish [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]), and other emerging political ideologies (such as [[Zionism]]) that often opposed traditional Judaism, the masters of Mussar saw a need to augment [[Talmudic]] study with more personal works. These comprised earlier classic Jewish ethical texts ([[mussar literature]]), as well as a new literature for the movement.<ref name="Actually"/> After early opposition, the Lithuanian yeshiva world saw the need for this new component in their curriculum, and set aside times for individual mussar study and mussar talks ("mussar shmues"). A ''[[mashgiach ruchani]]'' (spiritual mentor) encouraged the personal development of each student. To some degree, this Lithuanian movement arose in response, and as an alternative, to the separate mystical study of the [[Hasidic Judaism]] world. Hasidism began in the previous century within traditional Jewish life in Ukraine, and spread to Hungary, Poland and Russia. As the 19th century brought upheavals and threats to traditional Judaism, the Mussar teachers saw the benefit of the new spiritual focus in Hasidism, and developed their alternative ethical approach to spirituality.

Some variety developed within Lithuanian yeshivas to methods of studying Talmud and ''mussar'', for example whether the emphasis would be placed on ''beki'ut'' (breadth) or ''iyyun'' (depth). ''[[Pilpul]]'', a type of in-depth analytical and casuistic argumentation popular from the 16th to 18th centuries that was traditionally reserved for investigative Talmudic study, was not always given a place. The new analytical approach of the [[Brisker method]], developed by [[Chaim Soloveitchik]], has become widely popular. Other approaches include those of [[Mir yeshiva (Poland)|Mir]], [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen|Chofetz Chaim]], and [[Telshe yeshiva|Telz]]. In ''mussar'', different schools developed, such as Slabodka and [[Novardok Yeshiva|Novhardok]], though today, a decline in devoted spiritual self-development from its earlier intensity has to some extent levelled out the differences.

====Hasidic====
[[File:Jeszywas Chachmei w Lublinie.JPG|thumb|right|[[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]], now a national monument]]
[[File:Breslov Yeshiva.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Breslov (Hasidic group)|Breslov]] Yeshiva in [[Mea Shearim]], [[Jerusalem]].]]
[[File:Satmer Yeshiva.jpg|thumb|right|[[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar]] Yeshiva in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]].]]
[[File:באבוב חגי.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobov]] Kollel in Jerusalem]]
With the success of the yeshiva institution in Lithuanian Jewry, the [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] world developed their own yeshivas, in their areas of Eastern Europe. These comprised the traditional Jewish focus on Talmudic literature that is central to [[Rabbinic Judaism]], augmented by study of [[Hasidic philosophy]] (Hasidism). Examples of these Hasidic yeshivas are the [[Chabad|Chabad Lubavitch]] yeshiva system of [[Tomchei Temimim]], founded by [[Sholom Dovber Schneersohn]] in Russia in 1897, and the [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]] established in Poland in 1930 by [[Meir Shapiro]], who is renowned in both Hasidic and Lithuanian Jewish circles for initiating the [[Daf Yomi]] daily cycle of Talmud study.
(For contemporary ''yeshivas'', see, for example, under [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)#Institutions|Satmar]], [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)#Belz yeshivas|Belz]], [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)#Institutions|Bobov]], [[Breslov (Hasidic group)#Today|Breslov]] and [[Pupa (Hasidic dynasty)|Pupa]].)

In many Hasidic ''yeshivas'', study of Hasidic texts is a secondary activity, similar to the additional mussar curriculum in Lithuanian yeshivas. These paths see Hasidism as a means to the end of inspiring emotional ''[[devekut]]'' (spiritual attachment to God) and mystical enthusiasm. In this context, the personal pilgrimage of a Hasid to his [[Rebbe]] is a central feature of spiritual life, in order to awaken spiritual fervour. Often, such paths will reserve the [[Shabbat]] in the yeshiva for the sweeter teachings of the classic texts of Hasidism.

In contrast, Chabad and [[Breslov (Hasidic group)|Breslov]], in their different ways, place daily study of their dynasties' Hasidic texts in central focus; see [[#Ethics, mysticism and philosophy|below]]. Illustrative of this is Sholom Dovber Schneersohn's wish in establishing the Chabad yeshiva system, that the students should spend a part of the daily curriculum learning Chabad Hasidic texts "with ''pilpul''". The idea to learn Hasidic mystical texts with similar logical profundity, derives from the unique approach in the works of the Rebbes of Chabad, initiated by its founder [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi]], to systematically investigate and articulate the "Torah of the [[Baal Shem Tov]]" in intellectual forms. Further illustrative of this is the differentiation in Chabad thought (such as the "Tract on Ecstasy" by [[Dovber Schneuri]]) between general Hasidism's emphasis on emotional enthusiasm and the Chabad ideal of intellectually reserved ecstasy. In the Breslov movement, in contrast, the daily study of works from the imaginative, creative radicalism of [[Nachman of Breslov]] awakens the necessary soulfulness with which to approach other Jewish study and observance.

====Sephardi====
{{see also|:Category:Sephardic yeshivas}}
{{hatnote|Further information: [[:he:קטגוריה:ישיבות ספרדיות|קטגוריה:ישיבות ספרדיות]]}}
[[File:Porat Yosef Yeshiva, Geula branch.jpg|right|thumb|[[Geula]] branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva.]]
[[File:Kisse Rahamin Yeshiva, Bnei Brak.JPG|right|thumb|[[Kisse Rahamim yeshivah]], [[Bnei Brak]]]]
Although the yeshiva as an institution is in some ways a continuation of the [[Talmudic Academies in Babylonia]], large scale educational institutions of this kind were not characteristic of the North African and Middle Eastern [[Sephardi]] Jewish world in pre-modern times: education typically took place in a more informal setting in the synagogue or in the entourage of a famous rabbi. In medieval Spain, and immediately following the expulsion in 1492, there were some schools which combined Jewish studies with sciences such as logic and astronomy, similar to the contemporary Islamic [[madrasa]]s. In 19th century Jerusalem, a college was typically an endowment for supporting ten adult scholars rather than an educational institution in the modern sense; towards the end of the century a school for orphans was founded providing for some rabbinic studies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles3/sephardic.htm |first=Daniel J. |last=Elazar |title=Can Sephardic Judaism be Reconstructed? |access-date=2018-10-06 |publisher=[[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]}}</ref> Early educational institutions on the European model were [[Midrash Bet Zilkha]] founded in 1870s Iraq and [[Porat Yosef Yeshiva]] founded in Jerusalem in 1914. Also notable is the [[Beit El Synagogue|Bet El yeshiva]] founded in 1737 in Jerusalem for advanced Kabbalistic studies. Later Sephardic yeshivot are usually on the model either of Porat Yosef or of the Ashkenazi institutions.

The Sephardic world has traditionally placed the study of [[Kabbalah]] (esoteric Jewish mysticism) in a more mainstream position than in the European [[Ashkenazi]] world. This difference of emphasis arose as a result of the [[Sabbatean]] heresy in the 17th century, that suppressed widespread study of Kabbalah in Europe in favour of Rabbinic Talmudic study. In Eastern European Lithuanian life, Kabbalah was reserved for an intellectual elite, while the mystical revival of Hasidism articulated Kabbalistic theology through Hasidic thought. These factors did not affect the Sephardi Jewish world, which retained a wider connection to Kabbalah in its traditionally observant communities. With the establishment of Sephardi yeshivas in Israel after the [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|immigration of the Arabic Jewish communities there]], some Sephardi yeshivas incorporated study of more accessible Kabbalistic texts into their curriculum. The European prescriptions to restrict advanced Kabbalistic study to mature and elite students also influence the choice of texts in such yeshivas.

===19th century to present===

====Conservative movement====
[[File:JTSA 122 Bway jeh.JPG|thumb|[[Jewish Theological Seminary of America|JTS]] building in [[Manhattan]]]]
In 1854, the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau]] was founded. It was headed by [[Zecharias Frankel]], and was viewed as the first educational institution associated with "positive-historical Judaism", the predecessor of [[Conservative Judaism]]. In subsequent years, Conservative Judaism established a number of other institutions of higher learning (such as the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]] in New York City) that emulate the style of traditional yeshivas in significant ways. Many do not officially refer to themselves as "yeshivas" (one exception is the [[Conservative Yeshiva]] in Jerusalem), and all are open to both women and men, who study in the same classrooms and follow the same curriculum. Students may study part-time, as in a kollel, or full-time, and they may study ''lishmah'' (for the sake of studying itself) or towards earning rabbinic ordination.

====Nondenominational or mixed====
{{See also|#Curriculum}}
Non-denominational yeshivas and kollels with connections to Conservative Judaism include [[Yeshivat Hadar]] in New York, whose leaders include [[Rabbinical Assembly]] members [[Elie Kaunfer]] and [[Shai Held]]. The rabbinical school of the [[Academy for Jewish Religion in California]] is led by Conservative rabbi Mel Gottlieb. The faculty of the [[Academy for Jewish Religion in New York]] and of the Rabbinical School of [[Hebrew College]] in [[Newton Centre]], Massachusetts also includes many Conservative rabbis.
See also [[Institute of Traditional Judaism]].

More recently, several non-traditional, and nondenominational (also called "transdenominational" or "postdenominational") seminaries have been established.<ref>Rabbi Andrea Lobel (2021). [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/rabbis-different-path-to-ordination A Different Path to Ordination], ''[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]''</ref><ref>Josh Nathan-Kazis (2012). [https://forward.com/news/166946/online-ordained-rabbis-grab-pulpits/ Online-Ordained Rabbis Grab Pulpits], ''[[The Forward]]''</ref><ref>Rabbi [[Patrick Aleph|P. Beaulier]] (2019). [https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/want-more-diversity-in-rabbinical-schools-then-move-them-online/ Want More Diversity In Rabbinical Schools? Then Move Them Online], ejewishphilanthropy.com</ref> These grant semikha in a shorter time, and with a modified curriculum, generally focusing on leadership and pastoral roles. These are [[Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute|JSLI]], [[Rabbinical Seminary International|RSI]], [[Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary|PRS]] and [[List of rabbinical schools#Non-denominational|Ateret Tzvi]]. The [[Mesifta Adath Wolkowisk|Wolkowisk Mesifta]] is aimed at community professionals with significant knowledge and experience, and provides a tailored program to each candidate.

====Reform and Reconstructionist seminaries====
[[File:RRC.JPG|thumb|Reconstructionist Rabbinical College]]
[[Hebrew Union College]] (HUC), affiliated with [[Reform Judaism]], was founded in 1875 under the leadership of [[Isaac Mayer Wise]] in Cincinnati, Ohio. HUC later opened additional locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. It is a rabbinical seminary or college mostly geared for the training of rabbis and clergy specifically. Similarly, the [[Reconstructionist Rabbinical College]] of [[Reconstructionist Judaism]], founded in Pennsylvania in 1968, functions to train its future clergy. Some Reform and Reconstructionist teachers also teach at the non-denominational seminaries mentioned above. In Europe, Reform Judaism trains rabbis at [[Leo Baeck College]] in London, UK and [[Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg|Abraham Geiger Kolleg]] in Potsdam, Germany. None of these institutions describes itself as a "yeshiva".

====Contemporary Orthodox====
[[File:Kollelbirkatizhak.jpg|thumb|right|Kollel Birkat Yitzhak, [[Moscow]]]]
{{main|List of yeshivas}}
{{see also|List of rabbinical schools #Orthodox}}
[[World War II]] and the [[Holocaust]] brought the yeshivot of Eastern and Central Europe to an end; although many scholars and rabbinic students who [[Holocaust survivors|survived the war]] established yeshivot in Israel as well a number of Western countries.<ref name="JVL" /> The [[Yeshiva of Nitra]] was the last surviving in occupied Europe. Many students and faculty of the Mir Yeshiva were able to escape to Siberia, with the Yeshiva ultimately [[Mir Yeshiva (Belarus)#Shanghai|continuing to operate in Shanghai]]; see [[Yeshivas in World War II]].

From the mid-20th century<ref name="JVL">[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/yeshiva "Yeshiva"], jewishvirtuallibrary.org</ref>
the greatest number of yeshivot, and the most important were centered in Israel and in the U.S.;
they were also found in many other Western countries, prominent examples being [[Gateshead Talmudical College|Gateshead Yeshiva]] in England (one of the [[Novardok Yeshiva#Post World War II|descendants of Novardok]]) and the [[Yeshiva of Aix-les-Bains]], France.
The [[Chabad]] movement was particularly active in this direction,<ref name="JVL" /> establishing yeshivot also in France, North Africa, Australia, and South Africa; this "network of institutions" is known as ''[[Tomchei Temimim]]''.
Many prominent contemporary yeshivot in the U.S. and Israel are continuations of European institutions, and often bear the same name.

=====Israel=====
[[File:Mercaz HaRav01.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mercaz Harav]], Jerusalem]]
{{Further|Religion in Israel#Orthodox spectrum}}
{{see also|Category:Orthodox yeshivas in Israel|Category:Religious Zionist yeshivot}}
Yeshivot in Israel have operated since Talmudic times,<ref>See e.g. [https://www.sefaria.org.il/Berakhot.18b.14?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Brachot 18b]</ref> 
[[#Geonic_Period|as above]];
see [[Talmudic academies in Eretz Yisrael]].
More recent examples include the [[Great Academy of Paris]] (c. 1280); the [[Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue]] (since the mid-1500s); the [[Beit El Synagogue|Bet El yeshiva]] (operating since 1737); and [[Etz Chaim Yeshiva]] (since 1841). 
Various yeshivot were established in Israel in the early 20th century: [[Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva|Shaar Hashamayim]] in 1906, Chabad's [[:he: ישיבת תורת אמת (חב"ד)|Toras Emes]] in 1911, [[Hebron Yeshiva]] in 1924, [[Sfas Emes Yeshiva|Sfas Emes]] in 1925, [[Lomza Yeshiva|Lomza]] in 1926. 
After (and during) World War II, numerous other Haredi and Hasidic Yeshivot were re-established there by survivors. The Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem – today the largest Yeshiva in the world – was established in 1944, by Rabbi [[Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (Poland and Jerusalem)|Eliezer Yehuda Finkel]] who had traveled to Palestine to obtain visas for his students; Ponevezh similarly by Rabbi [[Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman]]; and [[Knesses Chizkiyahu]] in 1949.
The leading Sephardi Yeshiva, Porat Yosef, was founded in 1914; its predecessor, Yeshivat Ohel Moed was founded in 1904. From the 1940s and onward, especially following immigration of the Arabic Jewish communities,  Sephardi leaders, such as [[Ovadia Yosef]] and [[Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel]], established various yeshivot to facilitate Torah education for Sephardi and [[Mizrahi Jews]] (and alternative to Lithuanian yeshivot).

The [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] community has grown with time – In 2018, 12% of Israel's population was Haredi,<ref name="IDI"/> including [[Sephardic Haredim]] –  supporting [[:he:קטגוריה:ישיבות חרדיות בישראל|numerous yeshivot correspondingly]]. Boys and girls here attend separate schools, and proceed to higher Torah study, in a yeshiva or seminary, respectively, starting anywhere between the ages of 13 and 18; see ''[[Chinuch Atzmai]]'' and ''[[Bais Yaakov]]''. A significant proportion of young men then remain in yeshiva until their marriage; thereafter many continue their Torah studies in a kollel. (In 2018, there were 133,000 in full-time learning .<ref name ="IDI">Gilad Malach, Lee Cahaner (2019). [https://en.idi.org.il/articles/29348 2019 Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel]. Israel Democracy Institute</ref>) Kollel studies usually focus on deep analysis of Talmud, and those Tractates not usually covered in the standard "undergraduate" program; see {{slink||Talmud study}} below. Some Kollels similarly focus on halacha in total, others specifically on those topics required for ''[[Semikha]]'' (Rabbinic ordination) or [[Dayan (rabbinic judge)|''Dayanut'']] (qualification as a Rabbinic Judge). The certification in question is often conferred by the Rosh Yeshiva.

[[Mercaz Harav]], the foundational and leading [[Religious Zionism|Religious-Zionist]] yeshiva was established in 1924 by Ashkenazi [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel|Chief Rabbi]] [[Abraham Isaac Kook]]. Many in the [[Religious Zionist]] community today attend a [[Hesder]] yeshiva (discussed [[#Types of yeshivot|below]]) during [[Religious Zionism#Military service|their national service]]; these offer a kollel for Rabbinical students. (Students generally prepare for the ''Semikha'' test of the [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel]]; until his recent passing (2020) commonly for that of the [[posek]] R. [[Zalman Nechemia Goldberg]].)
Training as a ''Dayan'' in this community is usually through [[:he:מכון אריאל|''Machon Ariel'']] (''[[Machon Harry Fischel]]''), also founded by Rav Kook, or [[:he:ארץ חמדה (כולל)|''Kollel Eretz Hemda'']]. Women in this community, as above, study in a [[Midrasha]]. High school students study at [[Education in Israel#Educational tiers and tracks|''Mamlachti dati'']] schools, often associated with ''[[Bnei Akiva]]''. [[Bar Ilan University]] allows students to combine Yeshiva studies with university study; [[Jerusalem College of Technology]] similarly, which also offers a Haredi track; there are [[List of Israeli universities and colleges#Colleges|several colleges of education]] associated with [[Hesder]] and the ''Midrashot'' (these often offer specializations in ''Tanakh'' and ''Machshavah'' – discussed [[#Curriculum|below]]). 
See {{slink|Religious Zionism|Educational institutions}}.

=====United States=====
[[File:The old Beis Madrash Building of BMG.jpg|thumb|right|[[Beth Medrash Govoha]], Lakewood, New Jersey –  largest yeshiva outside Israel.<ref name=LargestYeshivaOutsideIsrael>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2019/04/lakewood-yeshiva-looks-to-use-old-golf-course-for-new-campus.html|title=Lakewood yeshiva looks to use old golf course for new campus|author=Steve Strunsky|publisher=New Jersey On-Line LLC|date=April 16, 2019|access-date=April 16, 2019|quote=Beth Medrash Gohova is said to be the world’s largest Jewish-affiliated university outside of Israel.}}</ref><ref name=LargestYeshivaNorthAmerica>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/ocean/2017/08/11_ways_lakewood_is_like_nowhere_else_in_nj.html|title=10 ways Lakewood is unlike anywhere else in N.J.|author=Stephen Stirling|date=3 August 2017|publisher=NJ Advance Media|access-date=April 16, 2019|quote=The sea change can be pinned to one event: The founding of the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva in the mid-20th century. The Orthodox Jewish community has set down roots en masse around the religious school, which is now the largest yeshiva in North America.}}</ref>]]
[[File:Mirrer Yeshiva, Ocean PKWY.jpg|thumb|[[Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)|Mir Yeshiva]] in Brooklyn]]
{{Further|Category:Orthodox yeshivas in the United States}}
The first Orthodox yeshiva in the U.S. was [[Etz Chaim Yeshiva (Manhattan)|Etz Chaim]] of [[New York City|New York]] (1886), modeled after Volozhin. It developed into the [[Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary]] (1896; "RIETS") and eventually [[Yeshiva University]] in 1945. It was established in the wake of [[History of the Jews in the United States#Immigration of Ashkenazi Jews|the immigration of Central and Eastern European Jews]] (1880s – 1924). [[Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem]], founded in 1907, was led by Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]] from the 1940s through 1986; [[Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin]], est 1904, was headed by Rabbi [[Yitzchok Hutner]] from 1943 to 1980. [[:Category:Hasidic Judaism in the United States|Many Hasidic dynasties]] have their main Yeshivot in America, typically established in the 1940s; [[770 Eastern Parkway#Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva|the Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva]] has over 1000 students.

The postwar establishment of Ashkenazi yeshivot and ''kollelim'' parallels that in Israel; as does the educational pattern in [[Haredi Judaism#United States|the American Haredi community]], although more obtain a secular education [[#College credit|at the college level]]. [[Beth Medrash Govoha]] in [[Lakewood Township, New Jersey|Lakewood]], [[New Jersey]]  with 3,000 students in the early 2000s was founded in 1943 by R. [[Aaron Kotler]] on the "rigid Lithuanian model" that demanded full-time study;<ref name="JVL" /> it now offers a [[Bachelor of Talmudic Law]] degree which allows students to go on to [[graduate school]].<ref>[https://www.chea.org/beth-medrash-govoha beth-medrash-govoha] on chea.org</ref><ref name="JVL" /> The best known of the numerous Haredi yeshivas are, additional to "Lakewood", Telz, [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen|"Rabbinical Seminary of America"]], [[Yeshivas Ner Yisroel|Ner Yisroel]], Chaim Berlin, and [[Hebrew Theological College]]; ''[[Yeshivish]]'' (i.e. satellite) communities often maintain a [[Kollel#Community kollelim|community kollel]].
Many Hasidic sects have their own yeshivas, such as [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)#Institutions|Satmar]] and [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)#Institutions|Bobov]], while Chabad operates its ''Tomchei Temimim'' nationwide.
The first Sephardic yeshiva in the Americas was Yeshivat Mikdash Melech, established in 1972 <ref>[https://www.mikdashmelechjerusalem.com/about.html about], mikdashmelechjerusalem.com</ref> by Rabbi Haim Benoliel. (In 1988, the yeshiva opened a branch in Israel, Mikdash Melech Jerusalem,<ref>[https://www.mikdashmelechjerusalem.com/ home page], mikdashmelechjerusalem.com</ref> to serve English-speaking Sephardic students.) There are over today 600 junior and high schools, typically a [[Mesivta]] or [[Bais Yaakov]];
see [[Torah Umesorah]].

[[Modern Orthodox]] typically spend a year, often two, post-high school in a yeshiva (sometimes [[Hesder]]) or ''Midrasha'' in Israel. Many thereafter, or instead, attend [[Yeshiva University]], undertaking a dual curriculum, combining academic education with Torah study;<ref name=missionstatement>{{cite web |url=http://www.yu.edu/MissionStatement/index.aspx |title=Mission Statement |publisher=Yeshiva University |access-date=August 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527113714/http://www.yu.edu/MissionStatement/index.aspx |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> see ''[[Torah Umadda]]'', and [[Yeshiva University#Campuses|S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program]]. (A percentage stay in Israel, "making ''[[Aliyah]]''"; many also go on to higher education in other American colleges.) Semikha is usually through RIETS, although many [[Modern Orthodox]] [[Rabbis]] study through ''[[Hesder]]'', or other Yeshivot in Israel such as [[Yeshivat HaMivtar]], [[Mizrachi (religious Zionism)|Mizrachi's]] ''Musmachim'' program,<ref>[https://mizrachi.org/musmachim/ Musmachim] mizrachi.org</ref> and Machon Ariel.<ref>[https://fischelfoundation.org/ariel.htm Ariel Institute]</ref>
RIETS also houses several post-semikha kollelim, including one focused on ''Dayanut''.<ref>[https://www.yu.edu/riets/kollellim "kollellim"], yu.edu/riets</ref> Dayanim also train through Kollel Eretz Hemda<ref>[http://www.eretzhemdah.org/content.asp?PageId=3459&lang=en Yadin-Yadin for the Diaspora], eretzhemdah.org</ref> and Machon Ariel; while Mizrachi's post-semikha ''Manhigut Toranit'' program<ref>[https://www.manhigut-toranit.org manhigut-toranit.org]</ref> focuses on leadership and scholarship, with the advanced semikha of [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel#Semikhah|"Rav Ir"]]. Communities will often host a [[:he:תורה מציון (ארגון)|''Torah MiTzion'']] kollel, where ''[[Hesder]]'' graduates learn and teach, generally for one year. 
There are numerous [[:Category:Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools in the United States|Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools]], typically offering a ''beit midrash'' / ''metivta'' program in parallel with the [[Secondary education in the United States#Curriculum|standard curriculum]], (often) structured such that students are able to join the first ''shiur'' in an Israeli yeshiva.

The US educational pattern is to be found around the Jewish world, with regional differences; see [[:Category:Orthodox yeshivas in Europe]] and [[:Category:Orthodox yeshivas by country]].

==Structure and features==
{| class="wikitable floatright" | width="250"
|- style="text-align:center;"
| typical daily schedule
|-
|The following is a typical daily schedule for Beit Midrash students in mainstream Lithuanian yeshivas, although the schedule will vary from Yeshiva to Yeshiva:<ref>See a similar (although not identical) schedule [https://www.daat.ac.il/daat/chinuch/mosdot/telz-2.htm as descriped] by Rabbi [[Mordechai Gifter]] in the [[Telshe Yeshiva]].</ref>
*7:00&nbsp;a.m. – Optional ''seder'' (study session)
*7:30&nbsp;a.m. – Shacharit – Morning prayers
*8:30&nbsp;a.m. – Session on study of Jewish law
*9:00&nbsp;a.m. – Breakfast
*9:30&nbsp;a.m. – Morning Talmud study (first ''seder'')
*12:30&nbsp;p.m. – [[Shiur (Torah)|Shiur]] (lecture) – advanced students sometimes dispense with this lecture
*1:30&nbsp;p.m. – Lunch
*2:45&nbsp;p.m. – Mincha – afternoon prayers
*3:00&nbsp;p.m. – Mussar ''seder'' – Jewish ethics
*3:30&nbsp;p.m. – Talmud study (second ''seder'')
*7:00&nbsp;p.m. – Dinner
*8:00&nbsp;p.m. – Night ''seder'' – Review of lecture, or study of choice.
*9:25&nbsp;p.m. – Mussar ''seder'' – Jewish Ethics
*9:45&nbsp;p.m. – Maariv – Evening prayers
*10:00&nbsp;p.m. – Optional evening ''seder''
This schedule is generally maintained Sunday through Thursday. On Thursday nights, there may be an extra long night seder, known as ''mishmar'' sometimes lasting beyond 1:00 am, and in some yeshivot even until the following sunrise. On Fridays, there is usually at least one ''seder'' in the morning, with unstructured learning schedules for the afternoon. Saturdays have a special [[Shabbat]] schedule which includes some ''sedarim'' but usually no shiur.
|}
[[File:Yeshiva lunchroom.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Mincha]]'', [[Yeshiva Centre, Melbourne]] ]]
Yeshiva study is differentiated from, for example university study, by several features, apart from the curriculum. The year is structured into "''zmanim''"; the day is structured into "''seders''". The learning itself is delivered through a "''shiur''", a discursive-lecture with pre-specified sources, or "''marei mekomot''" (מראה מקומות; "bibliography", lit. "indication of the (textual) locations");<ref name="MaareiMekomot_1">[https://www.thejerusalemkollel.com/wp-content/uploads/download/BerkowitzSheets/Smicha/ISSUR_VHETTER/11_NaT_bar_NaT.pdf Example ''marei mekomot'' - Halacha]</ref><ref name="MaareiMekomot_2">[http://dafyomireview2.com/ravkaplan/cdd/talmud/5772-Gittin/001-2012_04_24-RavKaplan-gittin-daf2a.gif Example ''marei mekomot'' - Gemara]</ref> study in general, and particularly the preparation for ''shiur'', takes place in "{{transliteration|he|chavruta}}" or paired-study. This study is in a common venue called the ''[[beth midrash|bet midrash]]'' ([[Yiddish]], "zal" i.e. "hall").

The institution is headed by its ''[[rosh yeshiva]]'', while other senior rabbis are referred to as "Ram" (''[[rosh mesivta]] or reish metivta''); the [[Mashgiach ruchani|''mashgiach'']] assumes responsibility for students' spiritual development (''[[mashpia]]'', in Hasidic yeshivot). A ''kollel'' is headed by its ''[[Kollel#Leadership|rosh kollel]]'', even when it is part of a yeshiva. A ''sho'el u'meishiv'' ({{langx|he| שואל ומשיב|link=no}}; {{translation|literal=yes}} ask and he answers; often simply "''meishiv''", or alternately "''nosay v'notayn''") is available to consult to students on difficult points in their day's Talmudic studies. The rabbi responsible for the Talmudic ''shiur'' is known as a ''[[maggid shiur]]''. Students are known as ''talmidim'' (sing. ''talmid'').
''[[Rav muvhak]]'' is sometimes used in reference to one's primary teacher; correspondingly, ''talmid muvhak'' may refer to a primary, or outstanding, student.

===Academic year===
{{see also|Bein Hazmanim}}
In most yeshivot, the year is divided into three periods (terms) called ''zmanim'' (lit. times; sing. ''zman''). ''Elul zman'' starts from the beginning of the Hebrew month of [[Elul]] and extends until the end of [[Yom Kippur]]. The six-weeks-long semester is the shortest yet most intense session, as it comes before the High Holidays of [[Rosh Hashanah]] and Yom Kippur. Winter ''zman'' starts after [[Sukkot]] and lasts until about two weeks before [[Passover]], a duration of five months (six in a [[Jewish calendar|Jewish leap year]]). Summer ''zman'' starts after Passover and lasts until [[Rosh Chodesh]] Av or [[Tisha B'Av]], a duration of about three months.

===Chavruta-style learning===
{{main|Chavruta}}
Yeshiva students prepare for and review the [[Shiur (Torah)|''shiur'']] (lecture) with their ''chavruta'' during a study session known as a ''seder''.<ref name="Forta"/> In contrast to conventional classroom learning, in which a teacher lectures to the student, ''chavruta''-style learning requires the student to analyze and explain the material, point out the errors in their partner's reasoning, and question and sharpen each other's ideas, often arriving at entirely new insights of the meaning of the text.<ref name="jeff">{{cite web|url=http://www.rebjeff.com/1/category/singing/1.html |title=Bringing the People Together |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |publisher=Reb Jeff}}</ref> A ''chavruta'' is intended to help a student keep their mind focused on the learning, sharpen their reasoning powers, develop their thoughts into words, organize their thoughts into logical arguments, and understand another person's viewpoint.<ref name="zobin">{{cite book |pages=104&ndash;106 |title=Breakthrough to Learning Gemora: A Concise, Analytical Guide |last=Zobin |first=Zvi |year=1996 |publisher=Kest-Lebovits}}</ref> The shiur-based system was [[Telshe Yeshiva#Rabbi Eliezer Gordon|innovated at the Telshe yeshiva]], where there were five levels.

Chavruta-style learning tends to be animated, as study partners read the Talmudic text and the commentaries aloud to each other, and then analyze, question, debate, and argue their points of view to arrive at an understanding of the text. In the heat of discussion, they may wave their hands, pound the table, or shout at each other.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVvAe_U9stsC |page=422 |title=The Blackwell Reader in Judaism |last1=Neusner |first1=Jacob |last2=Avery-Peck |first2=Alan J. |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishers]] |year=2001 |isbn=0-631-20738-4}}</ref> Depending on the size of the yeshiva, dozens or even hundreds of pairs of ''chavrutas'' can be heard discussing and debating each other's viewpoints.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-20wAAAAYAAJ&q=chavruta |title=Ein Yaakov: The Ethical and Inspirational Teachings of the Talmud |page=xxix |last=Finkel |first=Avraham Yaakov |year=1999 |publisher=Jason Aronson |isbn=0-7657-6082-7}}</ref> Students need to learn the ability to block out other discussions in order to focus on theirs.<ref name="Forta"/>

===Types===
{{Further|Jewish education#The yeshiva}}
[[File:Талмуд-тора.jpg|thumb|right|Talmud Torah, Russia, 1937]]
[[File:ישיבת הרב עמיאל-ZKlugerPhotos-000xs9x.jpeg|thumb|right|Yeshiva High School, Tel Aviv, 1938]]
[[File:A BIBLE CLASS IN A HEDER IN TEL AVIV. שיעור תורה ב"חדר" בתל אביב.D31-105.jpg|thumb|right|"Cheder"-class in Talmud, Tel Aviv, 1946.]]
[[File:Shiur Klali in Yeshivas Kerem B'Yavne.jpg|thumb|right|Bet Midrash, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh]]
[[File:Zysman yeshiva college.jpg|thumb|Old Bet Midrash building, Yeshiva University]]
# Yeshiva Ketana (junior yeshiva) or "Talmud Torah" – Many Haredi (non-Hasidic and Hasidic) yeshivot ketanot in Israel, and some (primarily Hasidic) in the Diaspora, do not have a secular course of studies,{{Citation needed|reason= No course of secular studies at all, or do they usually provide at least a bare-bones secular education? Supporting references required.|date=July 2020}} with all students learning Judaic Torah studies full-time.
# Yeshiva High School – also called ''[[Mesivta]]'' (Metivta) or ''Mechina'' or ''Yeshiva Ketana'', or in Israel, ''Yeshiva Tichonit'' <ref>See the Hebrew Wikipedia's [[:he: ישיבה תיכונית | 
ישיבה תיכונית]].</ref> – combines the intensive Jewish religious education with a secular high school education. The dual curriculum was pioneered by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy of [[Yeshiva University]] (now known as [[Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy]]) in 1916; [[:he: אלמה (ישיבה תיכונית)|"Aluma"]] was established in Jerusalem in 1936, and [[:he: ישיבת היישוב החדש|"ha-Yishuv"]] in Tel Aviv in 1937.
# [[Mechina]] – For Israeli high-school graduates who wish to study for one year before entering the army. In [[Telshe yeshiva|Telshe]] yeshivas and in [[Yeshivas Ner Yisroel|Ner Yisroel of Baltimore]], the Mesivtas/Yeshiva ketanas are known as Mechinas.
# [[Beth midrash]] – For high school graduates, and is attended from one year to many years, dependent on the career plans and affiliation of the student.
# Yeshivat [[Hesder]] – Yeshiva that has an arrangement with the [[Israel Defense Forces]] by which the students enlist together in the same unit and, as much as is possible serve in the same unit in the army. Over a period of about 5 years there will be a period of service starting in the second year of about 16 months. There are different variations. The rest of the time will be spent in compulsory study in the yeshiva. The [[Hesder]] Yeshiva concept is attributed to Rav [[Yehuda Amital]]. The first was [[Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh]], established in 1954; the largest is the [[Hesder Yeshiva of Sderot]] with over 800 students.
# [[Kollel]] – Yeshiva for married men. The kollel idea has its intellectual roots in the Torah; [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] mentions the law that a town can only be called a "city" if it supports ten men (''batlanim'') to make up the required [[minyan|quorum]] for communal learning. It is mostly a modern innovation of 19th-century Europe. A kollel will often be in the same location as the yeshiva.
# [[Baal Teshuva]] yeshivot catering to the needs of the newly [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]].

A post-high school for women is generally called a "seminary", or ''[[midrasha]]'' (plural ''midrashot'') in Israel,<ref name="science.co.il">[https://www.science.co.il/jewish-studies/Midrashot.php ''Midrashot''], science.co.il</ref> and not a yeshiva. (Although there are exceptions such as Prospect Park Yeshiva.) The [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] [[Bais Yaakov]] system was started in 1918 under the guidance of [[Sarah Schenirer]]. These institutions provide girls with a Torah education, using a curriculum that skews more toward practical ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and the study of [[Tanakh]], rather than [[Talmud]]. The curriculum at Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox ''midrashot'' includes some study of Talmud: often Mishnah, sometimes ''Gemara''; in further distinction, curricula generally entail ''chavruta''-based study of the texts of Jewish philosophy, and likewise Tanakh is studied with commentaries. See {{slink|Midrasha|Curriculum}} for further discussion.

===Languages===
Classes in most [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] yeshivot (throughout the world) are taught in [[Yiddish]]; [[Kol Torah]], established in 1939 in [[Jerusalem]] and headed by [[Shlomo Zalman Auerbach]] for over 40 years, was the first mainstream Haredi yeshiva to teach in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish. [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]], Modern Orthodox, [[Zionism|Zionist]], and ''baal teshuvah'' yeshivot use [[Modern Hebrew]] or the local language. In many American non-Hassidic Yeshivos, the language generally used is English.

Students learn with each other in whatever language they are most proficient, with Hasidic students usually learning in Yiddish, Israeli Lithuanian students in Hebrew, and American Lithuanian students in English.

=== College credit ===
{{See also|Midrasha#Certifications}}
Some yeshivas permit students to attend college. Often there are arrangements for the student to receive credit towards a college degree for their yeshiva studies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.YeshivaDegree.com |title=Guide To Degree Completion Programs for Yeshiva Students |year=2011 |publisher=YeshivaDegree.com |access-date=2018-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402100219/http://www.yeshivadegree.com/ |archive-date=2012-04-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Yeshiva University]] in New York provides a year's worth of credit for yeshiva studies.<ref>[https://www.yu.edu/israel-program S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program]</ref> Institutions with similar arrangements in place include [[Lander College for Men]], [[Yeshivas Ner Yisroel]] and [[Hebrew Theological College]].

[[#United_States|As above]], some American ''yeshivot'' in fact ''award'' the degrees [[Bachelor of Talmudic Law]] (4 years cumulative study), [[Master of Rabbinic Studies]] / [[Master of Talmudic Law]] (six years), and (at ''Ner Yisroel'') the Doctorate in Talmudic Law (10 years).
These degrees are [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|nationally accredited]] by the [[Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools]], and may then grant access to graduate programs such as law school.

Non-Orthodox institutions, typically, require that students earn a [[master's degree]], inherent in the Ordination program. The program is then often [[Course credit|credit-based]], and may require a thesis.

For further discussion on the contemporary integration of secular education, see:
{{slink|Jewish education|Secular education emphasis}},  {{slink|Mesivta |Modern-day concept}} and [[Controversy over secular education in New York Hasidic schools]].

For historical context see: 
{{slink|Moses Sofer |Influence against changes in Judaism}}; 
[[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]]; 
{{slink|Volozhin yeshiva |History}}; 
{{slink|Telshe Yeshiva |History}}; 
[[Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary]]; 
{{slink|Yitzchok Hutner |Rabbinic and teaching career}};
{{slink|Torah Lehranstalt |History}};
[[Kelm Talmud Torah]]; 
{{slink|Yitzchak Yaacov Reines|Biography}}.

==Curriculum==

[[Torah study]] at an Orthodox yeshiva comprises the study of [[rabbinic literature]] - essentially along the lines established in the Lithuanian Yeshivas [[#Lithuanian yeshivas|as above]] -   principally the Talmud, along with the study of ''halacha'' (Jewish law); [[Musar literature|Musar]] and [[Hasidic philosophy]] are often studied also.<ref name="Actually">{{cite news |last=Krakowski|first=Moshe |date=26 December 2018 |title=What Yeshiva Kids Are Actually Studying All Day |url=https://forward.com/life/faith/416616/what-yeshiva-kids-are-actually-studying-all-day/ |work=Forward |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> In some institutions, classical [[Jewish philosophy]] or Kabbalah are formally studied, or the works of individual thinkers (such as [[Abraham Isaac Kook]]). 
<!-- It has also been documented that some Yeshivas study subjects that do not have a direct religious orientation, but are in some ways akin to secular subjects, such as ''Ivrit'' ([[Hebrew Language]]) and ''Historia'' ("[[Jewish History]]").<ref name="Klein">{{cite thesis |last=Klein |first=Reuven Chaim |date=November 9, 2021 |title=Ivrit’s Place in the Dual Curriculum Model of Orthodox Jewish High Schools in North America |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:43725/ |degree=MA Jewish Education}}</ref>-->
See also {{slink|Rabbi#Contemporary ordination}}.

[[Rabbi#Non-Orthodox Judaism|Non-Orthodox institutions]] offer a synthesis of traditional and critical methods, allowing Jewish texts and tradition to encounter social change and modern scholarship. The curriculum is thus also focused on classical Jewish subjects – e.g. Talmud, Tanakh, Midrash, ''halacha'', and Philosophy –
but differs from Orthodox yeshivot in that the subject-weights are more even (correspondingly, Talmud and halacha are less emphasized), and the approach entails an [[Biblical criticism#Twentieth century|openness to modern scholarship]];
the curriculum also emphasizes "the other functions of a modern rabbi such as preaching, counseling, and pastoral work".<ref>[https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ordination-semihah/2/ Ordination (Semicha)], myjewishlearning.com</ref>
As mentioned, often, in these institutions less emphasis is placed on Talmud and Jewish law, "but rather on sociology, cultural studies, and modern Jewish philosophy".<ref name="Blane">Rabbi [[Steven Blane]] (N.D.). [https://jsli.net/apply-online/ordination-smicha/ "Ordination and Semicha"], jsli.net</ref>

[[Rabbi#Conservative Judaism|Conservative Yeshivot]] occupy a position midway,<ref name="Blane"/> in that their training places (significantly) more emphasis on Halakha and Talmud than other non-Orthodox programs.
See [[Conservative halakha]].

The sections below discuss the Orthodox approach, but may also be seen as overviews of the traditional content.

===Talmud study===
[[File:Gemara-rosh-hashana-2a.jpg|thumb|right|The first page of [[Rosh Hashanah (tractate)|tractate Rosh Hashanah]] in the [[Babylonian Talmud]]. The center column contains the Talmud text, starting with a section of [[Mishnah]]. The [[Gemara]] begins on the eighth line, indicated by '''{{lang|he|גמ׳}}'''. The large blocks of text on either side are the [[Tosafot]] and [[Rashi]] commentaries. Other notes and cross references are in the margins.
The "standard" commentaries<ref name="Steinsaltz"/> - Rosh, Rif, Mordechai, Maharam, Maharsha, Maharshal - are appended to the tractate, while other major commentators are published separately.]]
[[File:Talmud set.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|A full set of the [[Babylonian Talmud]]]]
[[File:משנה סדורה - סיכום הגמרא - חברותא.jpg|thumb|right|''Chavrusas'' learning ''beki'ut,'' recording their summary of each ''sugya'' alongside its ''Mishnah'']]
{{Further|Talmud #Commentaries}}
{{see also|Gemara|Mishnah}}

In a typical Orthodox yeshiva, the main emphasis is on Talmud study, and particularly on its analytic component, ''[[Gemara]]'':- an often intensive "dialectic give and take" (Aramaic: ''[[shakla v'tarya]]'') where [[Mishnah#Content and purpose|the cases]] brought in the underlying ''[[Mishnah]]'' are analyzed,<ref name="Rashab_2"/> thereby explicating all <ref name="Wolfson">[[Harry Austryn Wolfson]] (1929). [https://ohr.edu/judaism/articles/talmud.htm Talmudic Method]</ref> [[Mishnah#Content and purpose|inherent teachings]] and insights. 
For discussion of the nature, structure and characteristics of this activity, see {{slink|Gemara#Argumentation and debate}} and {{slink|Gemara#Gemara and Mishnah|nopage=y}}.

Generally, two parallel Talmud streams are covered during a {{transliteration|he|zman}} (trimester). 
The first is {{transliteration|he|iyyun}}, or in-depth study (variants described below), often confined to selected legally focused tractates with an emphasis on analytical skills and close reference to the classical commentators.<ref name="MaareiMekomot_2" />
The second stream, ''beki'ut'' ("expertise"), seeks to build general knowledge of the Talmud. In some Hasidic yeshivas, {{transliteration|he|girsa}} ("text"), is the term used for {{transliteration|he|beki'ut}}, but may also incorporate an element of memorization.

In the yeshiva system of Talmudic study, the undergraduate yeshivot focus on the ''[[Masekhet|mesechtohs]]'' (tractates) that cover civil jurisprudence and monetary law (''[[Nezikin]]'') and those dealing with contract and marital law (''[[Nashim]]''); through them, the student can best master the [[Gemara#Argumentation and debate|proper technique of Talmudic analysis]], and in parallel,<ref name="Bobov">[https://rabbinicalcollegeboboveryeshiva.edu/Catalog/catalog.pdf ''Catalog''], Rabbinical College [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobover]]</ref> the halakhic application of [[:Category:Talmud concepts and terminology|Talmudic principles]]. With these mastered, the student goes on to other areas of the Talmud.<ref name="Actually" /> Tractates [[Berakhot (tractate)|''Berachot'']], [[Sukkah (Talmud)|''Sukkah'']], [[Pesachim (Talmud)|''Pesachim'']] and [[Shabbat (Talmud)|''Shabbat'']] are often included.<ref name="talmudic.edu">[https://talmudicu.edu/educational-programs/ Programs], [[Talmudic University of Florida]].</ref><ref name="cyttl">[https://cyttl.edu/wp-content/uploads/CYTTL%20catalog%2021-22.pdf Catalog] Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz</ref> See for example under {{slink|Yeshivas Ner Yisroel|Cycle of Masechtos (Tractates of the Talmud)}}. Sometimes tractates dealing with an upcoming [[Jewish holidays|religious holiday]] are studied before and during the holiday (e.g. ''Shabbat'' 21a–23b for [[Chanukah]], [[Megillah (Talmud)|Tractate ''Megilla'']] for [[Purim]], etc.).

Works initially studied to clarify the Talmudic text are the commentary by [[Rashi]], and [[Rashi#Commentary on the Talmud 2|the related]] work  ''[[Tosafot]]'', a parallel analysis and [[Tosafot#Character|running critique]].<ref name="Rashab_2">See [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144840/jewish/Chapter-XXVIII.htm ''Kuntres Eitz HaChayim'' ch 28] for discussion of the interrelation between Rashi and Tosfot, and between Mishna and Gemara more generally.</ref>
The integration of Talmud, Rashi and Tosafot, is considered as foundational – and prerequisite – to further analysis<ref name="Rashab">See for example the guidelines for Talmud study authored by [[Sholom Dovber Schneersohn]] in 1897 on the founding of ''[[Tomchei Tmimim]]'':
[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144840/jewish/Chapter-XXVIII.htm ''Kuntres Eitz HaChayim'' ch 28],
[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144841/jewish/Chapter-XXIX.htm 29],
[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144842/jewish/Chapter-XXX.htm 30].</ref> (in fact, this combination is sometimes referred to by its own acronym, ''"gefet"''  גפ״ת – ''Gemara'',  ''perush Rashi'',  ''Tosafot'').<ref name="cyttl" /> 
The [[Super-commentary|super-commentaries]] by [[Solomon Luria|"Maharshal"]], [[Meir Lublin|"Maharam"]] and [[Samuel Edels|"Maharsha"]] address the three components together: being at a further remove from [[Gemara#The Sugya|the underlying Talmudic debate]], these - with their interplay - constitute a higher-order of analysis.<ref name="Steinsaltz"/>

At more advanced levels, additional ''[[Talmud#Commentaries|mefarshim]]'' (commentators) are similarly studied:<ref name="Steinsaltz">See chapter "Talmudic Exegesis" in: [[Adin Steinsaltz]] (2006). ''The Essential Talmud''. [[Basic Books]]. {{ISBN|978-0465082735}}</ref> other ''[[rishonim]]'', from the 11th to 14th centuries, as well as ''[[acharonim]]'', from later generations. There are two main schools of ''rishonim'', from France and from Spain, who will hold different interpretations and understandings of the Talmud; the ''acharonim'' collate and clarify these opinions, and constitute, then, a further layer of analysis. Widely referenced here are the [[Menachem HaMeiri|"Meiri"]], [[Nachmanides#Talmudic commentary|"Ramban"]], [[Solomon ben Adret|"Rashba"]], [[Yom Tov of Seville|"Ritva"]], [[Nissim of Gerona|"Ran"]] and [[Yitzchak Meir Alter#Works|"Rim"]], as well as the parallel [[Bezalel Ashkenazi#Shitah Mekubezet|''Shitah Mekubetzet'']] compilation.

At these levels, students link the Talmudic discussion to [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|codified law]] – particularly ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' (i.e. [[Maimonides]]), [[Arba'ah Turim]] and [[Shulchan Aruch]] – by studying, also, the halakha-focused commentaries of [[Asher ben Jehiel]], [[Isaac Alfasi]] and [[Mordechai ben Hillel]], respectively referred to as "Rosh", "Rif", and the "Mordechai". Here, too, any differences give rise to further analysis - especially where these have implications re ''practice'' - <ref name="Rashab"/> and the [[Houses of Hillel and Shammai|underlying Talmudic opinions]], and the other commentaries, are in turn revisited.
<ref>See for example [https://etzion.org.il/en/talmud/seder-nezikin/massekhet-bava-kamma/reshut-ha-rabim-ii this discussion] on '' [[Bava Kamma]]'' 19-22, by R. Moshe Taragin.</ref>

As the [[Shiur (Torah)#Class levels|level of the ''shiur'']] progresses, so the student must integrate more of these commentaries<ref name="Steinsaltz"/> into their analysis of the ''[[sugya]]'' (loosely, Talmudic "unit of analysis"), simultaneously understanding the specific [[Chidush#Current usage|''chidush'']], i.e. novel contribution, as well as any implication re practical-halakha. This ''iyyun'' will generally take one of the following forms, each the ''"derech ha-limud"'' or "way of learning" of the Yeshiva (see the Hebrew article [[:He: דרכי לימוד התלמוד|"Approaches to Learning Talmud"]]):

* At the higher levels, in many Lithuanian influenced Yeshivot, the highly analytic "[[Brisker method]]" is employed, [[#Lithuanian yeshivas|as mentioned]]. The method - often referred to simply as ''lomdus'' - seeks to identify the principles underlying each commentator's approach, abstracting beyond the context of the specific ''sugya'', [[Talmud#Brisker method|by placing each]] within a categorical structure <ref>Rabbi Josh Yuter. [https://joshyuter.com/archives/2003/12/structuralism_and_brisk.php Structuralism and Brisk]</ref> (the best known of [[Brisker_method#Examples|these "binaries"]] being ''cheftza / gavra'', "object" / "person").
* Elsewhere, and generally, the approach is more traditional:<ref name="Rashab"/> Students work through each ''sugya''  in light of the various rishonim, [[Chaim Rabinowitz#Telshe|successively specifying and understanding]] - and if possible, [[Gemara#Legal|reconciling]] - differences (legal and conceptual) between these, [[Shimon_Shkop#Telz_and_Grodno|such that]] "every particular contributes to the clarification of the others."<ref name="Rashab_3">[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144841/jewish/Chapter-XXIX.htm ''Kuntres Eitz HaChayim'' ch 29]</ref>  Through this, the study [[Brisker method#Controversy|builds and deepens the concepts and principles]]<ref name="Wolfson"/> arising from the tractate.  Throughout, an important simultaneous requirement is that the [[peshat|"simple interpretation"]] of the underlying ''sugyas'' [[Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich#Style of learning|must maintain]].<ref>See for example [https://marbitz.com/getting-pshat/ this discussion]  ([https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=46852&st=&pgnum=32 ''Kovetz Igros Chazon Ish'' II 16]) by the [[Chazon Ish]], cautioning against "loading" the Talmud's words.</ref>
* Many Yeshivot proceed ''aliba dehilchasa''<ref name ="aliba">See the Hebrew article [[:he: אסוקי שמעתתא אליבא דהלכתא]] for detail and discussion.</ref> (אליבא דהלכתא, Seph. pronunciation, ''dehilchata''; lit. "according to the Law"), where the learning focuses more on the Halachik-rules that develop from the ''sugya'', delineating how the opinions of the rishonim and acharonim relate to practice. There are two sub-approaches:<ref name ="aliba"/> The first, often [[Talmud#Sephardic approaches|the approach taken at Sephardic Yeshivot]], analyzes the ''sugya'' as the [[Oral Torah#The Gemara|source of the ''halacha'']], understanding how it inheres in each ''rishon'', and is undertaken even for topics with limited application (prototypical are  ''[[ir nidachat]]'' and ''[[ben sorer umoreh]]''). The second, often <ref>[https://collive.com/drawbacks-of-smicha-programs/ Interview with Rabbi Yosef Barber], Head of the semikha program at Yeshivas [[Tomchei Temimim]] Chovevei Torah</ref> applied when the ''sugya'' is studied by ''semikha'' students - see below - focuses on the implication re practical-halacha, the  "''[[nafka mina]]''",  of each commentary, somewhat limiting consequent theoretical and abstract discussion.
* Some Yeshivot – such as [[Yeshivat Birkat Moshe|Birkat Moshe]] – particularly emphasize the Rambam, analyzing the ''sugya'' [[Mishneh Torah#Study|in light of the ''Mishneh Torah'']] and [[List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah|its numerous commentaries]]. (''Brisker'' yeshivot invariably reference Rambam also:  the ''Mishneh Torah'' covers all of halacha, and thus provides a consistent reference for the treatment of other ''rishonim''; see ''[[Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim]]''.)

The ''Rosh Yeshiva'' gives the most senior ''shiur''. It is here that the student consolidates the yeshiva's approach to ''iyyun'', i.e. its ''derech ha-limud''; see {{slink|Rosh yeshiva|Role}}. 
At many yeshivot, students are thus expected to learn in this ''shiur'' for at least two years before proceeding to ''Kollel'' or ''semikha'' study (and with the ''Rosh Yeshiva's'' sanction).
The ''Rosh Yeshiva'' also delivers the weekly ''[[shiur klali]]'' ("comprehensive lecture"), which sums up the week's learning, and revisits a selected topic or concept in further detail; this is attended by all levels, and will often have its own ''marei mekomot''.

Typically, boys begin their study of Talmud in late elementary school, initially studying [[Mishnah]], the component of Talmud where, as outlined above, the [[Mishnah#Content and purpose|underlying "cases"]] are presented. (At this stage, they have completed their survey of ''[[Chumash (Judaism)|Chumash]]'', with these cases expanding on the [[mitzvah|legal precepts]] there; see [[#Torah_and_Bible_study|below]].) In early middle school, ''[[gemara]]'', the analytic component, is introduced; by [[High school in the United States|high school]] some are able to work with ''Tosafot''. Some systems more closely follow ''[[Pirkei Avot]]'' [https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/משנה_אבות_ה_כא ch 5:21] as a guideline; where Mishna-study begins at age 10, and ''Gemara'' at 15. See [[Zilberman Method]] for further discussion.

===Jewish law===
[[File:SA-EE1b.pdf|right|thumb|Page of ''Shulchan Aruch''; ''[[Even Ha'ezer]]'' section, laws of ''[[Ketubot]]''. The central block contains the law as presented by [[Yosef Karo]], interspersed with [[Shulchan Aruch#Moses Isserles|the glosses]] of the [[Moses Isserles|''Rema'']] in a [[Rashi script|"cursive" script]] and preceded by "הגה"; surrounding this are the [[Shulchan Aruch#Major commentaries|primary commentators]]  for the section (here, [[Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus|''Beit Shmuel'']] and [[Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima|''Chelkat Mechokek'']]; on ''Yoreh Deah'', ''"Shakh"'' and ''"Taz"''), and [[Shulchan Aruch#Page layout|on the margins]] are various other commentaries and cross references.]]
Generally, a period is devoted to the study of practical ''halakha'' ("''Halakha LeMaaseh''"), emphasizing application as opposed to derivation. The text most commonly studied in Ashkenazi yeshivot is the ''[[Mishnah Berurah]]'', a commentary on the ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' originally published between 1884 and 1907. 
In Sephardic yeshivot, the ''Shulchan Aruch'' itself is more commonly studied, along with the [[Beit Yosef (book)|''Bet Yosef'']] commentary;  the ''[[Yalkut Yosef]]'' and [[Yaakov Chaim Sofer#Works|''Kaf Hachaim'']] are also often studied (similar to ''Mishnah Berurah'') while [[Yosef Hayyim#Works|''Ben Ish Hai'']] is a standard reference.  In [[Chabad]] yeshivot,<ref name="Rabbinical College of America"/> emphasis is placed upon study of ''[[Shulchan Aruch HaRav]]''. Beginning students are encouraged to also work through the [[Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (book)|''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'']], so as to survey all areas of applicable ''halacha'' and to consolidate their prior, high school, knowledge; this is also often the practice outside of Chabad. More advanced students, additionally and similarly, review the ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' through [[Daily Rambam Study|its daily study cycle]] (this is often outside of any ''seder''), here including  ''halachot'' relating to, for example, the Temple.

Students in ''[[Semikha]]'' (Rabbinic ordination) [[List of rabbinical schools#Orthodox|programs]], and often those in [[kollel]], devote the largest portion of their schedule to ''halakha''. The focus is on in-depth,<ref>See [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144842/jewish/Chapter-XXX.htm  ''Kuntres Eitz HaChayim'' ch 30]</ref> source-based<ref name="MaareiMekomot_1"/> study of those areas where (community) Rabbis will typically be asked ''"shaylas"'', i.e. halachic questions: the testing<ref name="Rabbinical College of America">[http://rca.edu/media/pdf/1120/NbJg11207139.pdf ''CATALOG''], [[Rabbinical College of America]]</ref><ref name="RCA"/><ref>[http://www.smicha.co.il/ smicha.co.il] – resource for the [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel#Semikhah|Semikha of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel]], maintained by Rabbi [https://www.srugim.co.il/tag/%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A9%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%90 Harel Shapira]</ref><ref name="RIETS">[https://www.yu.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/semikhah_requirements_final.pdf ''Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary - Semikhah Requirements'']</ref> invariably covers [[Kashrut]] (referred to as ''"Issur v'Heter"''), usually [[Shabbat]], often [[Niddah]], sometimes [[Bereavement in Judaism|Avelut]] (mourning) and/or [[Jewish wedding|marriage]]. This study, typically of two to four year's  duration,  encompasses a detailed analysis of the ''halakha'' in the ''[[Arba'ah Turim]]'' and ''Bet Yosef'', through its final presentation in the ''Shulchan Aruch'', with [[Shulchan Aruch#Major commentaries|its major commentaries]] (especially [[Shabbatai HaKohen#The "Shakh"|"''Shakh''"]] and [[David HaLevi Segal#Works|"''Taz''"]]), complemented by a survey of key [[History of responsa in Judaism|''She'elot u-Teshuvot'']] ([[responsa]]), recent and historical. The analysis, in turn, is built on a detailed knowledge <ref name ="JE"/> of all relevant Talmudic ''sugyas'', which are studied accordingly within the schedule,
<ref name="Bobov"/><ref name="talmudic.edu"/> 
emphasizing the legal commentaries mentioned. Students in an Orthodox Semikha program will thus have a thorough 
<ref name ="JE">[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7333-hattarat-hora-ah Hattarat hora'ah], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''</ref>
background in Talmud, typically
<ref name="RCA">[http://www.rabbis.org/pdfs/SemichaGuidelines22Dec2015.pdf ''Semicha Standards''], [[Rabbinical Council of America]] Executive Committee, 2015.</ref> 
having spent at least four
<ref name="talmudic.edu"/><ref name="cyttl"/> 
preceding years in Yeshiva; Kollel students likewise. (See {{slink|Rabbi|Orthodox and Modern Orthodox Judaism}}.) 
During the morning ''seder'', Semikha students continue their Talmud studies, learning the same ''masechet'' as the rest of the Yeshiva,
<ref name="RIETS"/> 
often independently, but in many yeshivot, participating in the ''Rosh Yeshiva's'' ''shiur''. (Rabbis, then, [[Semikhah#Concept|will have been]] direct "students of the ''Rosh Yeshiva''" for their final four, or more, years of study.)

===Ethics, mysticism and philosophy===
[[File:Mesilat Yesharim.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of the first edition of ''Mesillat Yesharim''.]]
[[File:Book-beney isoschor.jpg|thumb|right |Contemporary print of the Chassidic work ''[[Bnei Yissoschar]]'']]
Haredi ''Yeshivot'' (with the exception of Brisker yeshivot) typically devote a ''seder'' to [[musar literature|''mussar'']] (ethics and character development). The preeminent text studied is the ''[[Mesillat Yesharim]]'' ("Path of the Just") of [[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto]]. [[Rabbinic literature#Musar literature|Other works]] of [[mussar literature]] studied include:
*''[[Orchot Tzaddikim]]'' ("Paths of the Righteous"); its authorship and time of writing is uncertain, but as it quotes [[Maimonides]], it was written some time after his works were disseminated.
*''[[Chovot ha-Levavot]]'' ("Duties of the Hearts") by [[Bahya ibn Paquda]].
*''[[Ma'alot ha-Middot]]'' ("Benefit [of good character] traits") by [[Jehiel ben Jekuthiel Anav|Jehiel Anav]]
*''Mishnat R' Aharon'', Mussar Lectures on many topics by [[Aharon Kotler]].
*''[[Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler#Michtav me-Eliyahu|Mikhtav me-Eliyahu]]'', the works of [[Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler]].
*''[[Tomer Devorah]]'' by [[Moses Cordovero]].
*[[Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz#Publications|''Sichos Mussar'']] by [[Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz]].
*''[[Pele Yoetz]]'' by [[Eliezer Papo]].
* ''[[Kav ha-Yashar]]'' by [[Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover]].

As above, these sessions focus the student on self-understanding and introspection, internalizing the spiritual aims of Judaism, and developing the character-traits, or ''middos'', appropriately. Topics in [[Jewish ethics#Areas of applied Jewish ethics|applied Jewish ethics]], such as [[lashon hara|the "laws of speech"]], are often studied separately.

Hasidic yeshivot study the mystical, spiritual [[Rabbinic literature#Hasidic thought|works of Hasidic philosophy]] (''Chassidus'').  These draw on the earlier esoteric theology of ''[[Kabbalah]]'', but articulates it in terms of inner psychological awareness and personal analogies. This study thus makes Jewish mysticism accessible and tangible, so that it inspires emotional ''[[dveikus]]'' (cleaving to God) and embeds a deep [[Hashkafa#Principles|spiritual element in daily Jewish life]];  it thereby serves a similar purpose to ''mussar'', but through different means and with different contributions to intellectual and emotional life. Chabad yeshivot, for example, study the [[Tanya (Judaism)|''Tanya'']], the ''[[Likutei Torah]]'', and the voluminous works of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch#The leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch|''Rebbes'' of Chabad]] for an hour and a half each morning, before prayers, and an hour and a half in the evening.

[[#Sephardi yeshivas|As mentioned]], Sephardi ''yeshivot'' often incorporate study of selected Kabbalistic texts into their curriculum – [[Primary texts of Kabbalah|standard texts]], as well as works by [[Yosef Hayyim]], [[Yehuda Fatiyah]] and [[Yaakov Chaim Sofer]]. Kabbalistic sources are brought in ''halachik'' works such as ''Kaf Hachaim'' and ''Ben Ish Hai'' – and are then studied indirectly also; see {{slink|Sephardic law and customs|Lurianic Kabbalah}}.

In Hesder, [[Religious Zionist]] and [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] yeshivot,
''Machshavah'' ([[Jewish philosophy]] generalized / applied as "[[Jewish thought]]"; also ''[[Hashkafa]]'', "worldview") is taught formally,<ref>See for example: [https://web.archive.org/web/20201020182723/https://www.etzion.org.il/en/topics/topics-hashkafa Topics in Hashkafa] at [[Har Etzion]]; [https://www.yutorah.org/search/?category=0,234838 Shiurim in Machsahava] at [[Yeshiva University]] (yutorah.org); [https://www.webyeshiva.org/course/?topic=19 Hashkafa courses] at [[WebYeshiva]]</ref>
with ''shiurim'' systematically covering the [[Jewish principles of faith|classic topics]], as well as [[Hashkafa#Specific topics|contemporary issues]], in light of the [[Rabbinic literature#Jewish philosophy|leading works here]],<ref>[https://rabbimanning.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Emunah-and-Belief-Part-1.pdf Example ''marei mekomot'' - Hashkafa]</ref> with the treatment mirroring Talmud-study as above. (Indeed, the ''maggid shiur'' may refer to the topic in question as "our sugya".) These works — ''[[Kuzari]], [[The Guide for the Perplexed|Moreh Nevukhim]], [[Sefer ha-Ikkarim]], [[Emunoth ve-Deoth|Emunot ve-Deot]], [[Derech Hashem]], [[Chaim of Volozhin#Works|Nefesh Ha-Chaim]], [[Kad ha-Kemach]]'' and others — in turn draw on [[Aggadah#In the Talmud and Midrash|''Talmudic-Aggadah'']] / ''[[Midrash]]'', and on ''Tanach'' (see below). 
Hesder yeshivot additionally devote specific time to the writings of [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], "Rav Kook", who articulated a unique personal blend of mysticism, creative exegesis and philosophy (as well as to ''[[Torat Eretz Yisrael]]'' generally). The [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]], similarly, study the works of [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]], "Rav Soloveitchik".
Hasidic philosophy and Mussar are also often taught; and ''[[Judah Loew ben Bezalel#Thought|Maharal]]'' may have a dedicated ''shiur''. Machshava is also a focus-area of many ''Midrashot''.

Some Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas also include formal study of ''Hashkafa'', especially at ''[[ba'al teshuva]]'' focused institutions; many ''Semikha'' programs likewise, particularly those with an outreach, or ''[[kiruv]]'', component. Regardless, students here typically study the major works independent of a ''shiur''.

===Torah and Bible study===
[[File:Mikraot Gedolot.JPG|thumb|right|''Chumash'' with ''Mikraot Gedolot''. The [[Torah]] text is the block of large, bold letters; adjacent to it is the ''Targum Onkelos'' with Rashi's commentary below (with the related supercommentary ''[[Siftei Chachamim]]'' alongside). Ramban, [[Abraham ibn Ezra|Ibn Ezra]] and [[Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno|Sforno]] are on the facing page; [[Mikraot Gedolot#Commentaries|other commentaries]] and references are in the margins.]]
[[File:Mikraot Gedolot Jiddisch.jpg|thumb|right|Chumash with Yiddish translation]]
Intensive study of ''[[Chumash (Judaism)|Chumash]]'' (Torah) with the commentary of [[Rashi]] is stressed and taught in all elementary grades.<ref name="Actually"/> In Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas, this is often done with Yiddish translations. The rest of the ''[[Tanach]]'' (Hebrew Bible; acronym: ''Torah'' and ''[[Nach (Bible acronym)|Nach]]'' = ''"Torah, [[Hebrew Bible#Nevi'im|Nevi'im]] u'[[Hebrew Bible#Ketuvim|Ketuvim]]"''; "Torah, Prophets and Writings") is usually taught through high school, although less intensively.

In Yeshivot, thereafter, ''Chumash'', and especially ''Nach'', are studied less directly. Yeshiva students typically follow the practice of ''[[Shnayim mikra ve-echad targum]]'', independently reviewing the upcoming ''[[parashah]]'' ([[weekly Torah portion]]) twice in the original Hebrew and once in [[Targum Onkelos]] (an [[Aramaic]] translation), together with Rashi's commentary. Students often also study [[Nachmanides#Commentary on the Torah|Ramban's commentary]], functioning in relation to Rashi here, somewhat as Tosafot above; less frequently, other commentaries from the ''[[Mikraot Gedolot]]'' edition are reviewed. 
Students may similarly study ''Nach'' independently (often using the [[David Altschuler#Works|''Metzudos'']] commentary); usually, ''Tanach'' is not taught ''per se'', with exceptions being the five [[Megilloth]] and [[Psalms|Tehillim]]. The ''Rosh Yeshiva'' delivers a weekly ''shiur'' on the ''parashah'', exploring a particular question or theme, with a related ethical or ''hashkafic'' teaching; this is often [[Shiur (Torah)#Public study sessions|open to the public]].

At [[Hesder]], [[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]] and [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] yeshivot, the study of ''Chumash'' and ''Nach'' continues in parallel with Talmud study. These institutions offer formal ''shiurim'' in many, if not all, of the books of ''Nevi'im''  and ''Ketuvim''. These are often structured [[Shiur (Torah)#Class levels|by level]], similar to Talmud study, where the text, and its overall structure, is then analyzed in light of the [[Jewish commentaries on the Bible|various commentaries]] and [[Midrash#Classical compilations|''Midrashim'']],<ref>[https://cdn.yutorah.net/_materials/Marei_Mekomot-513431.pdf Example ''marei mekomot'' - Tanach]</ref> typically complementing the ''Machshavah'' ''shiurim''. 
(See further re this approach under {{slink|Yeshivat Har Etzion|Educational and religious philosophy}}.)
[[Oral Torah#In rabbinic literature and commentary|More recent commentaries]] especially studied are ''[[Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin#Bibliography|"Netziv"]]'' and ''[[Malbim#Methodology and style|"Malbim"]]''; as well as reference works such as ''[[Da'at Miqra]]'' by [[Mordechai Breuer]] and others.
The commentaries by Ramban, [[Isaac Abarbanel#Exegesis|Abarbanel]], [[Bahya ben Asher#Torah commentary|"Rabbeinu Behaye"]], and [[Samson Raphael Hirsch#Commentary on the Torah|"Rav Hirsch"]] provide much philosophical content. 
The ''[[Sefer ha-Chinuch]]'', although not a commentary ''per se'', offers a systematic [[Sefer ha-Chinuch#Content|legal and philosophic discussion]] of [[613 commandments|the commandments]], and is similarly studied. (The related [[Joseph_Babad#Minchat_Chinuch|''Minchat Chinuch'']] is often referenced in legal-focused Talmud ''shiurim''.)
Intensive study of Tanach, as for Machshava, is likewise a feature of many ''Midrashot''.

==See also==
* [[Bais Yaakov]]
* [[Jewish day school]]
* [[List of yeshivas]]
* [[List of rabbinical schools]]
* [[Mesivta]]
* [[Religious school]]
* [[Yeshivish]]

==References==
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{{OrthodoxJudaism}}
{{Jewish education}}
{{Organized Jewish Life in the United States|Religious education}}

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[[Category:Jewish education]]
[[Category:Jewish religious occupations]]
[[Category:Jewish educational institutions]]
[[Category:Single-gender schools]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]