Doing Talmud: an Ethnographic Study in a Religious High School in Israel
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Doing Talmud: An Ethnographic Study in a Religious High School in Israel Thesis submitted for the degree of “Doctor of Philosophy” by Aliza Segal Submitted to the Senate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem May 2011 Iyyar 5771 This work was carried out under the supervision of: Prof. Marc Hirshman Dr. Zvi Bekerman Acknowledgements If an apt metaphor for the completion of a dissertation is the birthing of a child, then indeed it takes a village to write a dissertation. I am fortunate that my village is populated with insightful, supportive and sometimes even heroic people, who have made the experience not only possible but also enriching and enjoyable. My debt of gratitude to these villagers looms large, and I would like to offer a few small words of thanks. To my advisors, Dr. Zvi Bekerman and Professor Menachem (Marc) Hirshman, for their generosity with time, insight, expertise, and caring. I have been working with Zvi since my MA thesis, and he has shaped my world view not only as a researcher but also as an individual. His astute and lightening-speed comments on everything I have ever sent him to read have pushed me forwards at every stage of my work, and it is with great joy that I note that I have never left his office without something new to read. Menachem has brought his keen eye and sharp wit to the project, and from the beginning has been able to see the end. His attention to the relationship between structure and content has informed my work as both a writer and a reader. I additionally thank the faculty of the Melton Centre for Jewish Education for all that I have learned from them, and especially Dr. Howard Deitcher and Dr. Alex Pomson for being tremendously supportive and helpful. My dissertation committee, comprised of Professor Philip Wexler, Professor Vered Noam, and Professor Baruch Schwarz, assisted in shaping avenues for exploration, and Professor Schwarz has been particularly helpful in the later phases of the work as well. Special thanks to my dear friends, Dr. Adina Moshavi and Dr. Yoel Finkelman, who willingly – and sometimes unwittingly – served as consultants in their own field of expertise. i To the students, teachers, and administrators of the pseudonymous Yeshivat Darkhei Noam, and especially to Rav Uzi and his class. They allowed me into their world and shared with me their thoughts, activities and experiences so that I and others could learn. I will always think of them with respect and affection, even as they may remember me as the woman with the recording equipment and lots of questions who planted herself in their class. To the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University, the Network for Research in Jewish Education, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and the Mandel Leadership Institute, in appreciation of their material support of this project. The Mandel Leadership Institute additionally provided, during the final and crucial year of writing, an academic home that has been enriching beyond measure. The faculty coordinators of the Scholars in Education program, Professor Mordecai Nissan and Dr. Iris Tabak, have asked challenging questions while always looking out for our interests, and have proven worthy role models in so many ways. The Mandel Institute faculty and visiting scholars provided an expansive and rich view of what it means to conduct research in education, and I am particularly thankful to Professor Lee Shulman, Professor Sam Wineburg, and Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser for the interest they have taken in me and my work. My colleagues at Mandel, Galit Caduri, Oren Ergas, and Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim, know more about my work than they care to and impacted upon it more than they know, and suffused our working group with the best possible combination of friendship and rigor. Finally, to my family, who have not only tolerated but also nourished me and this project from the beginning. My father-in-law, Robert Segal, with his wife Tzivi, has encouraged my every personal and intellectual undertaking, and together with my late mother-in-law, Susan Segal, has modeled what it means to be a lifelong learner. ii My father, Mark Levin, has long stimulated and supported my interest in text and Jewish community, and directly made this work possible by spending many hours each week with his grandchildren. My mother, Harriet Levin, in her belief that access to knowledge is paramount, has always fostered my intellectual pursuits, and has also provided, among countless other things large and small, an ear and a shoulder for me whenever I need them. To Michael, whose belief in me has resulted in this dissertation. His love, partnership, and friendship form the wellspring of my village; that he is an accomplished scholar who is also a fantastic father to our children adds to the vitality of this water. The smallest inhabitants of the village, our sons Amichai, Elyashiv, Sariel and Ori, give it the light and the life that make it all worthwhile – despite their certainty that their mother records and analyzes everything they say. Blessed is the One who has given me life, sustained me, and enabled me to reach this day. Aliza Segal Jerusalem May 2011 Iyyar 5771 iii Table of Contents Section I: Introduction Preface 1 Overview 2 Chapter 1: Review of the Literature 6 1.1 Talmud education: Background and rationale for the study 6 1.2 Talmud and its study 11 1.3 Schooling and learning 16 1.4 Ethnographic studies of religious schools 23 1.5 Classroom discourse 26 1.6 Havruta paired learning 31 Chapter 2: Research Setting 34 2.1 Context: Israeli school system 34 2.2 School population and structures 35 2.3 School ethos 38 Chapter 3: Research Methods 42 3.1 Methodology 42 3.2 Data collection 43 3.3 Access: Initial and ongoing 46 3.4 Researcher positioning 48 Section II: The Beit Midrash: House of Study, House of Prayer Introduction: “Torah and prayer. It comes together.” 50 Chapter 4: House of Prayer: “He’s within it.” 54 4.1 Spontaneous Prayer, Scripted Prayer 55 4.2 Scripted and Sacred: “What there is to say” 56 4.3 Boundary violations through prayer 62 4.4 Prayer as performative ritual 67 Chapter 5: House of Study: “A learning Jew” 73 5.1 Sustained activity in the Sacred Space: “In my spare time I learn…” 73 5.2 Lernen with schooling structures: Seder halakhah and night seder 75 5.3 Night Seder: “You sit learn.” 76 5.4 Peer mentoring: “I have a „freshie‟” 84 5.5 Morning Seder: Yeshivah confronts School 87 5.6 Sacred Time: Structure from without 90 5.7 Sacred Space: The “Oitser” 93 5.8 Students and teachers: “Most of the work, we do in seder.” 100 5.9 Making choices: “Seder…I do make sure to come.” 104 5.10 Challenges: “To take advantage of this seder” 109 5.11 Sleep at the Yeshivah: “Checking out” 112 Chapter 6: Havruta Learning: “Kind of the best way to do that” 122 6.1 Triads and Tribulations: Getting settled and Semiotics 123 6.2 What‟s in a Havruta: “To also listen and learn” 125 6.3 Students on Havruta: "What we want to learn today" 131 6.4 Modes of Participation: An analytical model 140 6.5 Data Collection and Selection: “A Constant Hubbub” 142 6.6 Havruta Sessions Observed: “There's something to it” 144 6.7 Baseline Beit Midrash Activity: Introducing Aharon and Gavriel 148 6.8 Instructions for Seder: “Today we need to read from there” 151 6.9 Session introduction: Text and Turn-taking 157 6.10 Segment Borders: “Alright. Come and hear…” 160 6.11 Discourse Markers, Citation, Pronouns, Code-switching and Recontextualization: “It doesn‟t have to be a beit kenesset” 166 6.12 The Havruta Session: Reading Practices, Aims and Discourses 178 6.13 Lernen as Ritual: Epistemic Appropriation 201 The Beit Midrash: Conclusions 204 Section III: The Classroom: Interpretation and Identities Introduction: From Beit Midrash to Classroom 209 Chapter 7: Constructing the Classroom: “You’re participating in something” 210 7.1 Architectonic Elements: “I would have three classrooms” 210 7.2 The Whiteboard: Lecture and haburah 218 7.3 Student participation: “What really changes everything is seder” 222 7.4 Role of the teacher: “There are all different types of shiurim” 224 7.5 Non-participation: “In class it‟s very limiting” 230 7.6 Interpretive tradition: “He doesn‟t agree with Rashi” 235 Chapter 8: The Class Session: Discursive practices and construction of Discourse(s) 242 8.1 Students in the Classroom: Havruta to Haburah 243 8.2 Worksheet: A Teacher Reworking 246 8.3 Use of Pronouns in the Classroom: Multivocality and Presentizing 251 8.4 IRE Recitation Sequences: Personal Apprenticeship and Teacher Control 260 8.5 Class Discussions: Speaking Rights and Knowledge Sources 267 8.6 Normative Halakhah in the Classroom Discourse: Limited Flexibility 291 The Classroom: Conclusions 299 Section IV: Conclusions Chapter 9: Talmud Study as Socialization at Darkhei Noam 303 9.1 Review of the findings and analysis 304 9.2 Discussion 308 9.3 Authority, autonomy and socialization: Proposing a model 313 9.4 Limitations of this study 317 9.5 Implications & directions for further research 320 Works Cited 325 Appendices Appendix A: Transliteration Conventions 346 Appendix B: Talmud Page 347 Appendix C: Havruta Session Transcript 348 Appendix D: Class Session Transcript 365 א Hebrew Abstract Section I. Introduction Preface As I first wended my way to Yeshivat Darkhei Noam 1 on a warm but breezy day in September 2008, I was struck by a sense of openness.