The Zilberman Method is a system of teaching the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

to young students, pioneered by

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

rabbi

Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman ( he, יצחק שלמה זילברמן ; 30 April 1929 – 13 March 2001) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and educator, pioneer of the Zilberman Method of Torah study. He founded Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, part of a community ...

, that emphasizes rote learning of the text, while leaving the more advanced study of

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

to older students. Schools employing the method are colloquially referred to as Zilberman Schools.

Theory

The Zilberman Method draws upon traditional teaching methods as outlined by

Chazal Chazal or Ḥazal ( he, חז״ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha" (, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras, spanning from the times of the fin ...

and championed by The Maharal and the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon ( Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

. The

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tora ...

and the

set forth

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

guidelines for teaching Torah to children. These guidelines include the ages at which texts should be studied: "Five years old s the age to begin studyingScripture; a ten year-old earnsthe Mishnah; a thirteen year-old for the ''

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

'' ( bligation of thecommandments); a fifteen year-old or the studyof Talmud..."; the times of study (including Shabbat for children; ''Hachazan roeh heichan tinokot korin'' – the chazzan observes

n Shabbat N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

where

n the text N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

the children are reading) and the manner of teaching (''safi lei k'tura'' –stuffing the children like oxen; ''ligmar inish v'hadar lisbor'' –read the text and then explain it. The Zilberman method has children focus exclusively on

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Chumash (Scripture) is introduced in the following manner. On Monday and Tuesday, the teacher chants the text with the ''tropp'' ( ''ta'amei ha'mikra'') and the students immediately imitate him. This is repeated several times until the students are able to read the text independently. Then the teacher introduces the translation/explanation of the text and invites students to participate in the process. New words typically need to be translated only once; subsequently, students are encouraged to call out the translation on their own. All translations are strictly literal. If the translation does not automatically yield a comprehensible meaning, the students are invited to try to find one. The class spends the rest of the week reviewing the material. Each pasuk is reviewed with the tropp at least twenty-four times. Adjustments are made for each grade level.

Examples

In Shabbat 63a it states, "A man should recite, and only later expound." This is in contrast to standard procedure in the Torah world, where intense scrutiny of the text at a relatively young age is favoured over the covering and committing to memory of vast amounts of material. Zilberman also instituted that school sessions be continued on Shabbat and

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

, albeit at a reduced schedule."Rav Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman: The Zilberman Derech -Charting a New-Old Path"
''The Jewish Eye''

Other practices

Rabbi Zilberman kept the practice of donning his

tefilin Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews dur ...

all day, and so encouraged his students.Hadar, Alon (23 August 2007
"Goodbye to All That"
''Haaretz''. "They wore tefillin hylacteriesall the time." In normative practice, the tefilin are removed after

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components o ...

. Zilberman was one of the first rabbis to promote the usage of

tekhelet ''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet", "blue", or "turquoise" dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I ...

, and encouraged his students and family to make use of the dye in their

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usually ...

.Meyers Epstein, Varda (3 January 2014
"Tekhelet: A Choice or an Imperative?"
''The Jewish Press'' He encouraged his students to get married young, because it states in ''Pirkei Avot'' "An 18 year-old ntersthe ''

chuppah A ''chuppah'' ( he, חוּפָּה, pl. חוּפּוֹת, ''chuppot'', literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cl ...

'' (wedding canopy)".

History

Proponents of the Zilberman Method argue that it is not a new innovation, but rather a return to an ancient form of

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mitzvah'' ("comma ...

elucidated in the

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and

, and favoured by both the Maharal and the Vilna Gaon. Zilberman found the existing Jerusalem '' heder''s' curriculum not suitable for his own children, so he began to teach them at home according to his method. In the beginning of the 1980s, after years of limited success with incorporating his teaching style in existing institutions, Zilberman founded, with the help of his sons, a school in the northern part of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The school, Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu – also known as "Zilberman's

Cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

" – adopted its founder's method, and became an inspiration for many of his students, who later branched out all over

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

founding schools with the same teaching approach. Zilberman's life work was favored by rabbi

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo ...

and the Tchebiner Rav.

Schools using the Zilberman Method

In addition to Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, numerous other schools throughout Israel adhere to Zilberman Method principles, including Talmud Torah Yishrei Lev and the Zichru schools.

References

{{reflist

External links

*https://oldcitycheder.org/ *http://jsli.org/zilberman-method/ *https://jewishaction.com/religion/education/the_zilberman_method *http://5tjt.com/the-zilberman-method-innovation-in-torah-education Jewish education Learning methods