Teen Beit Midrash of Hebrew College is a pluralistic and inclusive after school program for teens in grades 8-12. The program brings together a dedicated and diverse group of Jewish teens who are excited to delve into traditional Talmudic text and find contemporary meaning relevant to our lives. We open the library of our Jewish heritage to help teens understand our multi-voiced, nuanced tradition and gain the skills to reach their own conclusions. Together we learn, build community, and have fun.
1. Teen Beit Midrash (in-person): Open to students in grades 8-12.
Full year in-person
One semester in-person
2. Teen Beit Midrash (online): Open to students in grades 9-12.
Full year online
One semester online
3. Moot Beit Din: Open to students in grades 9-12.
January-March
Hear from our Students
Meet the teachers and students in Hebrew College’s Teen Beit Midrash. Students can join the in-person program in Newton, Mass. or the virtual program with teens all around the country.
A Beit Midrash or Study House is a unique and traditional Jewish way of learning. In a beit midrash, traditionally, students learn in pairs or small groups grappling directly with texts. This intimate form of study lets the students be in charge of their learning and build relationships built on trust and openness.
Students are supported by dedicated teachers who take teens seriously. They encourage and guide the teens in making meaning of both the texts and the big ideas and questions and how they relate to their lives. In our one room classroom, students learn to use dictionaries, grammar and translations.
Each year we choose a different Massechet (section or tractate) of the Talmud and follow it in its rich combination of Jewish law, morals, history, stories, and theology.
Each week we meet for some serious fun. First, we check in with each other and share our passions and interests. We then delve into the sugiya or section for the night. Some students begin the translation process with hints and dictionaries. Other students have more English support. We break part way through for a snack and then dive deep into discussions about the texts and the bigger human questions raised in the sugiyah. We end the evening with how these ideas relate to our lives and our society.
We meet weekly, and offer parallel in-person and online programming.
On Tuesday nights we are in person at Hebrew College. Come at 6p.m., if you want to bring your own dinner and shmooze (chatting and catching up) and then dive into our learning until 8:30 p.m.
On Wednesday nights we are on Zoom, and open to teens beyond the Boston area. We start at 6:45pm EST for shmooze time (chatting and catching up) and then dive into our learning at 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
How to Register
Registration is coming soon. We are pleased to offer several program options:
A Beit Midrash or Study House is a noisy place for sharing ideas and challenging each other in the spirit of finding authentic meaning in our texts. We break up into pairs or small groups, usually based on learning styles and Hebrew levels. We translate each text, not once but at least twice—first for the meaning of the specific words and then for the meaning of the text as a whole. The Rabbis of the Talmud did not always explain their reasoning. We have to dig deep into their words to puzzle out what they meant and then decide whether or not we agree.
A Beit Midrash is a noisy place because we are talking and sharing. The model of hevruta, or paired learning, goes back to the Talmud. The idea is that two people try to uncover meaning in a text based upon their understanding of the world and each other. Our learning is richer when we share ourselves as well.
A Beit Midrash is also a place to build a shared culture. We start our learning by dedicating our learning to people and situations that need our attention. We share our interests and news of the week. Sometimes, like before Purim, our Beit Midrash becomes a place to share jokes and plays.
In our Beit Midrash at TBM we share what it means to be a Jew in a secular world. How do we bring our Judaism to school and what happens when they clash or misalign? We also discuss how the wisdom of our ancient tradition can inform the way we think about important issues of today like justice, equality, and climate change.
Teen Beit Midrash is open to curious 8th-12th graders who want to spend their free time in an intellectually stimulating Jewish environment where they can try out big ideas and be actively engaged in their learning.
When we are in person we have students from around the greater Boston area. While the program is online, we welcome students from all over, from Nashville to New York. Some teens go to public school and some to private school. Students enter with a wide range of language and text skills and varying levels of knowledge of Jewish content. In general, we ask that teens be able to sound out the Hebrew alphabet before they join the program. But most important, teens who are looking for an intimate and challenging, pluralistic and inclusive, Jewish teen experience.
Want a taste of what learning Talmud is like? Here’s an example of a text that we learned last year from the Babylonian Talmud. It is from the section called Sukkah, on page 28b. This section is talking about the holiday of Sukkot—the fall harvest festival.
Step 1: First we look at the Hebrew or Aramaic.
כל שבעת הימים
אדם עושה
סוכתו קבע
וביתו עראי
Step 2: Rough (Yoda) translation
Then we start to translate. Different teens do it in different ways but everyone works with a hevrutah or learning buddy. Everyone uses a variety of dictionaries and word banks. Some have more extensive word banks and some literal or rough translation which helps them figure out why the words mean what they do and how they’re structured (sometimes we call it the Yoda translation, you’ll see why):
All seven+of the (ת) the day (plural)
Person does
Sukkah+his (תו) permanent
And house+his (תו) temporary
Step 3:Polished (or real English) translation
Next we take our rough/Yoda translation and transform it into prose.
All seven days of the holiday of Sukkot (see, you have to add some words so that it makes sense)
A person makes
His Sukkah his permanent residence
And his house his temporary residence
Step 4: Now here comes the really fun part: The Wondering About!
This is when we take this really old text (1500 years, give or take a few centuries) and try to figure out what it really means beyond its face value and what it can teach us for our lives today. We suggest a few questions to start with, but really it is the teens who do the deep dive thinking and wondering: Teen Beit Midrash is a place for you to be in control of your learning.
Questions
When do our houses feel permanent or temporary? What makes them feel that way?
What does it mean to have a holiday/experience that takes us out of our comfort zone on purpose?
How does it affect us to make nature our permanent home? What does it say about how we think about our planet as our home?
Teen Beit Midrash is not only about learning Talmud. We also care about building a Jewish community. We connect socially and learn about each other’s lives. We share important milestones and celebrate small events as well.
We have an annual Shabbaton. We spend Shabbat together in a community. We pray, eat, learn and play games together. We accommodate a variety of Shabbat observance. We also have other virtual programming outside of class time, such as game nights or gathering for havdalah together so that both cohorts can get to know each other.
Teen Beit Midrash was founded by Hebrew College alumna Rabbi Shahar Colt as a small but mighty Jewish startup. We are grateful to the following amazing groups and individuals:
Our founder and Rabbi Shahar Colt `16
Harvard Hillel, Temple Beth Zion, and Kehillat Israel for generously providing space
All of the teens and families that have brought their T to TBM
#TickTock Celeb S/O to TBM
Thank you Miriam Anzovin for learning w/the students in Hebrew College’s Teen Beit Midrash and for the shout out! #DafReactions #TickTock #YouTube
Student Voices
The Five Damages Project
Read the TBM final project “The Five Damages: Overlaps and Divides.” A reflection on psychology, sociology, and religion in the study of Baba Kamma.
“I absolutely love the concepts that we’re learning this year. I really enjoy discussing the text with hevruta and then hearing everybody else’s insights when we come back together.“
Why students love TBM
Is squid ink kosher? Can you time travel on shabbos? Students in Hebrew College’s Teen Beit Midrash program tackle these questions together using creativity, text study, and their pluralistic perspectives, and learn about themselves and their classmates in the process.
Our family hit the jackpot when we found TBM. It is a welcoming community with high-quality Jewish learning at the center. My teens went every week without complaining (really!). TBM is just the right combination of educational and social—with all kids, even the most quirky, welcomed. To this day, my children count graduates of TBM among their closest friends.
