<HTML>In the fall 1993 issue of Ten Da`at I published a piece questioning, in principle, whether we should be placing such a heavy emphasis on the study of Gemara as opposed to a broader study of Torah She-be`al Peh for the masses, reserving classical gemara study for the qualified. The point is argued philosophically, educationally, and historically. A very recent
article by Yosef Kfir in Mekhilin, a journal published by the Herzog Teacher's Seminary at Gush Etzion argues for a re-evaluation of all the components of our gemara curriculum. A brief survey of the religious education journal Shema`atin yields nearly a dozen articles reflecting the struggle in the Israeli Mamlachti Dati system (roughly parallel to our day schools) with the study of gemara, how many students are turned off to learning in general as a result of their struggles particularly in this
area, and the senses of failure and frustration on the part of the
educators as a result.
The rise and popularity (in Israel and for Israelis) of a variety of
post-high school learning programs which de-emphasize classical gemara study reflects a real need and concern, and challenges day school educators to ask the hard questions to which these institutions are responding. First and foremost, who is our student population and what is it that we want to accomplish in teaching them gemara.
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Rabbi Zvi Grumet
6 Rechov Hamagid
Jerusalem, Israel 93114
Phone/Fax:02-561-0751
Cell:053-757-195</HTML>
