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35-621: There are several differences between yeshiva gedolahs in Israel and the United States, the most obvious one being its name: in the United States, yeshiva gedolahs are referred to as bais medrash , the same name given to Torah study halls . Another difference is that while in most yeshivas in the United States, students graduate from mesivta after twelfth grade and then go on to yeshiva gedolah, Israeli mesivtas (known in Israel as yeshiva ketana or yeshiva tichonit ) go until eleventh grade, after which

70-399: A shiur klali , meaning "comprehensive shiur", given by the rosh yeshiva to the entire yeshiva. Beth midrash A beth midrash ( Hebrew : בית מדרש , "House of Learning"; pl. : batei midrash ), also beis medrash or beit midrash , is a hall dedicated for Torah study , often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue ( beth knesseth ), although

105-615: A beth midrash so that in addition to prayer the study of the Torah would also be permitted. There are generally either benches or chairs for sitting, along with tables on which books are placed. In Lithuanian yeshivas the beth midrash will have shtenders (standing desks resembling lecterns; the Yiddish word is derived from the German Ständer ). A characteristic beth midrash has many hundreds of books, including at least several copies of

140-457: A Roman commander, who was familiar with the Torah, but whose name has been lost in confusion. Among the issues were the fact that the numbers in the Book of Numbers didn't add up to their totals, and the reasoning behind the ritual of the red heifer ; on this latter question the answer he gave didn't satisfy his own students, so he decreed that the ritual was one that shouldn't be questioned. He

175-461: A catapult made of hardened cedar wood, and turned it toward the wall of Jerusalem. They brought unto him planks of cedar wood and put them into the catapult made of hardened cedar wood, and he would hit the wall with them until he made a breach in the wall... When Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai heard that he (i.e., Caesar's son, Titus , who was left to govern the Roman army) destroyed Jerusalem and burnt down

210-518: A coffin and I'll sleep in it.' Rabbi Eliezer held on to the front end of the coffin, and Rabbi Yehoshua held on to the back end. They carried the coffin as he laid in it until sunset, until they stopped at the gates of Jerusalem's walls. The porters at the gates enquired who it was that had died. They answered them: 'It's a dead man, as if you did not know that we're not permitted to let a corpse remain within Jerusalem overnight!' The porters replied: 'If it's

245-468: A dead man, remove him.' They then removed him, and remained with him until the sun had set, which, by that time, they had reached Vespasian. They opened up the coffin and he stood up before him. He (i.e. Vespasian) enquired of him: 'Are you Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai? Ask what I shall give you.' He said to him: 'I ask for nothing, except Yavneh (Jamnia). I will go and teach therein my disciples, and I'll establish therein prayer, and I'll perform therein all of

280-525: A passage in the Book of Hosea ("I desired mercy, and not sacrifice"), he helped persuade the Sanhedrin to—as the temple had been destroyed—replace animal sacrifice with prayer, a practice that remains the basis of Jewish worship. Eventually, Rabbinic Judaism emerged from the council's conclusions. In his last years, he taught at Bror Hayil , near Yavne. His habit was to wear his Tefillin (phylacteries) all day, both in summer and winter. However, during

315-403: A synagogue, or vice versa. In antiquity, this is a matter of debate (see below). Many batei midrash originally serve the community but attract a yeshiva in the course of their existence. A virtual beth midrash is an online forum that provides articles for self-study and live, online classes, which sometimes makes use of "breakout groups" to provide for chavrusa -style learning typical of

350-586: A throne for Hezekiah, the King of Judah, who is coming According to the Talmud, Yochanan ben Zakkai lived 120 years. Upon his death, his students returned to Yavneh, and he was buried in the city of Tiberias ; eleven centuries later, Maimonides was buried nearby. As leader of the Sanhedrin, he was succeeded by Gamliel II . The following story is told in the Jewish classic, Avoth deRabbi Nathan , version B, chapter 4:5, about

385-750: A traditional beth midrash study hall. For more information, see George Foot Moore 's Judaism, as well as the more recent works of Jacob Neusner . Also, Lee I. Levine 's The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine in Late Antiquity, as well as the relevant articles in Dan Urman and Paul V. M. Flesher's edited volume, Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. Yohanan ben Zakkai Yohanan ben Zakkai ( Hebrew : יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי , romanized :  Yōḥānān ben Zakkaʾy ; 1st century CE ), sometimes abbreviated as ריב״ז ‎ ribaz for R abbi Y ohanan b en Z akkai,

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420-675: Is located in Tiberias within the Maimonides burial compound . Yohanan was the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi in the Mishnah. The Talmud reports that, in the mid-first century, he was particularly active in opposing the interpretations of Jewish law ( Halakha ) by the Sadducees and produced counter-arguments to their objections to the interpretations of the Pharisees . So dedicated

455-520: Is then generalized to mean "expound". Early rabbinic literature , including the Mishnah , makes mention of the beth midrash as an institution distinct from the beth din and Sanhedrin . It was meant as a place of Torah study and interpretation, as well as the development of halakha (the practical application of the Jewish Law). The origin of the beth midrash , or house of study , can be traced to

490-409: Is to this end that you were created. Some of Rabbi Yohanan's comments were of an esoteric nature. On one occasion he advises that mankind should seek to understand the infinity of God, by imagining the heavens being extended to unthinkable distances. He argued that Job 's piety was not based on the love of God, but on the fear of Him. He was challenged to resolve several biblical curiosities by

525-633: The Torah and would therefore "fall into the hands of robbers." During the outbreak of hostilities, he settled in Jerusalem. During the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE in the First Jewish–Roman War , he argued in favour of peace: according to the Talmud ( Gittin 56a), when he found the anger of the besieged populace to be intolerable, he arranged a secret escape from the city inside a coffin, helped by his nephew and Zealot leader Ben Batiach , so that he could negotiate with Vespasian (who, at this time,

560-443: The beth midrash had developed along with the synagogue into a distinct though somewhat related institution. The main difference between the beth midrash and beth ha-keneseth (synagogue) is that the beth ha-keneseth is sanctified for prayer only and that even the study of Torah would violate its sanctity while in the beth midrash both Torah study and prayer are allowed. For this reason most synagogues designate their sanctuary as

595-422: The Talmud and its commentaries. "Second seder " or "afternoon seder " is usually dedicated to learning Talmud b'kius - covering ground without delving into the commentaries. The learning at "Night seder ", conducted after dinner and continuing into the night, differs between yeshivas, sometimes with the students continuing their studies from first seder and sometimes learning a different gemara than they do

630-483: The destruction of Jerusalem, Yochanan converted his school at Yavne into the Jewish religious centre, insisting that certain privileges given by Jewish law uniquely to Jerusalem should be transferred to Yavne. His school functioned as a re-establishment of the Sanhedrin so that Judaism could decide how to deal with the loss of the sacrificial altars of the temple in Jerusalem and other pertinent questions. Referring to

665-471: The duties prescribed in the divine Law.' He answered him: 'Go, and do all that you want to do.' Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai then said to him: 'Would you like me to tell you something?' Vespasian answered him: 'Say it.' He said to him: 'You are destined to rule over the Roman Empire !' He asked him: 'How do you know that?' He replied: 'Thus has it been passed down unto us, that the holy house will not be given into

700-621: The early rabbinic period, following the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) in which the destruction of the Temple took place. The earliest known rabbinical school was established by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai at Yavne . Other official schools were soon established under different rabbis. These men traced their ideological roots back to the rabbis of the late Second Temple period , specifically the Houses of Hillel and Shammai , two schools of thought. By late antiquity,

735-540: The entire Talmud , Torah , Tanach , siddurim (prayer books), Shulchan Aruch , Mishneh Torah , Arba'ah Turim , Mishnah Berurah , Aruch HaShulchan and other frequently consulted works. In modern times, batei midrash are typically found as the central study halls of yeshivas or independent kollels , both institutions of Torah study. The location and institution of study are often interchanged, so in popular parlance, yeshivot are sometimes referred to as batei midrash . A beth midrash may also be housed in

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770-484: The hands of a mere commoner, but rather into the hands of a king, as it says (Isaiah 10:34) : He shall cut down the forest thickets with an iron [instrument], and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.' They said that no more than two or three days had passed when a certain messenger came from his city, informing him that Caesar had just died, and that they have nominated him to head the Roman Empire. They brought unto him

805-409: The holy house with fire, he rent his clothes, and his disciples rent their clothes, and they were crying and shouting and pounding their chests as mourners, etc. Jewish tradition records Yohanan ben Zakkai as being extremely dedicated to religious study, claiming that no one ever found him engaged in anything but study . He is considered to be someone who passed on the teachings of his predecessors; on

840-509: The hot summer months, he only wore his arm phylactery ( shel yad ). His students were present at his deathbed and were requested by him, in his penultimate words according to the Talmudic record, to reduce their risk of ritual contamination conveyed by a corpse : Put the vessels out of the house, that they may not become unclean... More enigmatic were the Talmud's record of his last words, which seem to relate to Jewish messianism : ...prepare

875-476: The other hand, numerous homiletic and exegetical sayings are attributed to him and he is known for establishing a number of edicts in the post-destruction era: If you are holding a sapling in your hand and someone tells you, 'Come quickly, the Messiah is here!', first finish planting the tree and then go to greet the Messiah. If you have been studious in learning the Torah, do not take credit to yourself, since it

910-748: The reference is to the Roman general Cestius who was defeated by the Judeans in 66 CE, marking the beginning of the war with Rome). When our Master, Yochanan ben Zakkai, heard these words, he called out to the men of Jerusalem and said to them: 'My sons, why would you destroy this city, or seek to burn down the holy house !? After all, what is he (i.e., Vespasian) asking of you? Look, he's not asking from you anything except that you relinquish your bows and arrows, and he'll depart from you.' They replied to him: 'Just as we went out against two [Roman armies] before him and killed them, so, too, we will go out against him and kill him.' Vespasian had armored men positioned along

945-601: The rest of the day. Also incorporated into the day's schedule is a Halakha seder (often learning the Mishnah Berurah ) and Musar seder , dedicated to learning musar (notably, the Brisk yeshivas in Jerusalem don't have official musar sedarim ). Thursday nights in yeshiva gedolahs often include Mishmar (or Seder Leil Shishi ) where the students stay up the whole or most of the night learning. They also eat Shabbat food that night, including cholent . In larger yeshivas,

980-484: The students are divided in tracks by age. The grades are known by the amount of years its students were in the yeshiva. For example, the youngest track which had just completed twelfth grade (and in Israel, eleventh grade) is called "first year," the grade above them is called "second year," and so on. Historically, the oldest grade was known as a " kibutz ", and some yeshivas in Israel retain this tradition, calling their older grades kibutz s. Yeshiva gedolahs often include

1015-400: The students graduate to yeshiva gedolah. The day in yeshiva gedolahs (as well as in many mesivtas ) is split into three parts, each one known as a seder (plural, sedarim ). "First seder " or "morning seder " generally consists of in-depth Talmud study, known as iyun . This is done both in chavrusa fashion where students pair up to learn, and in a shiur where a rabbi expounds on

1050-455: The two are often coextensive. In Yiddish the beth midrash may be referred to as a zal , i.e. "hall". Beis midrash can also refer to a yeshiva gedolah , the undergraduate-level program in Orthodox , for boys over 12th grade. The Arabic term " madrasah " is derived from the same Semitic root , and refers to any type of educational institution. The root דרש means "to seek [knowledge]" and

1085-613: The walls of Jerusalem, and informants within the city. Everything that they'd hear, they'd write it down upon arrows and shoot the arrows outside the wall, one of which said that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was among those that admired the Caesar , and that he'd make mention of this fact to the people of Jerusalem. When Rabbi Yochanan b. Zakkai's repeated warnings went unheeded, he sent and called for his disciples, Rabbi Eliezer [ben Hyrcanus] and Rabbi Yehoshua [ben Hananiah]. He said to them: 'My sons, stand up and take me out of this place! Make me

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1120-447: The war with Rome. When Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem , he said to them: 'You fools! Why do you seek to burn down the holy house? After all, what am I asking of you? I merely ask that you relinquish unto me each man his bow and arrow, and I will depart from you.' They answered him in return: 'Just as we went out against two [Roman armies] that came before you and killed them, so, too, will we go out against you and kill you!' (i.e.,

1155-592: Was a tanna , an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period during the transformative post-destruction era . He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism , the Mishnah . His name is often preceded by the honorific title Rabban . He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time, and his escape from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (which allowed him to continue teaching) may have been instrumental in Rabbinic Judaism's survival post-Temple. His tomb

1190-669: Was he to opposing the Sadducean view of Jewish law that he prevented the Jewish high priest of his time, a Sadducee, from following the Sadducaic interpretation of the Red Heifer ritual. His home at this time was in Arraba , a village in the Galilee , where he spent eighteen years. Although living among them, he found the attitude of Galileans to be objectionable, allegedly exclaiming that they hated

1225-532: Was still just a military commander). Ben Zakkai correctly predicted that Vespasian would become Emperor and that the Temple would soon be destroyed . In return, Vespasian granted Yochanan three wishes: the salvation of Yavne and its sages and the descendants of Rabban Gamliel , who was of the Davidic line , and a physician to treat Rabbi Zadok , who had fasted for 40 years to stave off the destruction of Jerusalem. Upon

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