Below is a collection of Talmud lesson plans, interactive tools, and articles created by The Lookstein Center staff or contributed to the site by Jewish educators.
LESSON PLANS AND RESOURCES
Researching the Development of the Torah She Be’Al Peh – In this student project, a timeline of the development of Torah Sheh Ba’al Peh is created. By The Lookstein Center.
Introduction to the Study of Talmud – This document offers a basic introduction to the study of Talmud, including the basic categories of Talmudic thought, the basic terms for discussing Talmud, a brief guide to punctuating the Talmud, and a brief guide to Talmudic strata.
Talmud Vocabulary Word Frequency List – This is a list of words that appear in the Talmud along with their frequency. This can help teachers determine the relative importance of a particular vocabulary word.
Mishna Vocabulary Word Frequency List – This is a list of words that appear in the Mishna along with their frequency. This can help teachers determine the relative importance of a particular vocabulary word.
Alphabetical Index of Talmud Topics – This online index of WebShas content is listed in English alphabetical order.
Daf Yomi Advancement Forum – Archives of charts, graphs, insights, and summaries of every page of Gemara.
articles
Tackling Talmud – This issue of The Lookstein Center’s journal, Jewish Educational Leadership, addresses the way that Talmud is and should be taught today in Jewish schools.
PBL, Meaning-Making, and Teaching Talmud – This article from The Lookstein Center’s journal, Jewish Educational Leadership, analyzes a different approach to teaching Talmud.
Why Learn Gemara? – This article by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein analyzes the importance of studying the Talmud.
“So What?!”: Talmud Study Through Values Analysis – In this article, Rabbi Scott Berman suggests that all sugyot of Talmud can be mined for values and meaning.
Curriculum, Crisis, and Change: Towards a Talmud Curriculum Grounded in Educational Theory – In this article, David Stein argues for a spiraled curriculum rooted in educational theory for Talmud which will allow teachers to simultaneously engage students in skills and meaning.
What are the Essential Questions and Structures of Talmud Study? – In this article, Yaakov Jaffee argues for refocusing on the essential questions and structures of the Talmud.
A Mock Bet Din – In this article, Ira Kosowsky provides the framework for using a mock bet din in the classroom as an interactive Talmud assessment.
WEBSITES
The Mercava – This website allows for interaction with the books of the Talmud, displayed in its original format.
Lev Ladaat – This Hebrew educational site is a combined effort of the religious public school system and Herzog College in Israel. It is geared towards meaningful education and has links to lesson plans and ideas for a variety of Jewish subjects and texts.
AlHatorah Mishna – This Hebrew website allows users to choose from a wide variety of texts and commentaries and to color code the text of the Mishna.
AlHatorah Gemara – This Hebrew website allows users to choose from a wide variety of texts and commentaries and to color code the text of the Gemara.
Dicta – This website has many analytical tools for Hebrew texts, including a tool to search the Talmud by word, a citation tool for Talmudic texts, and more.
Do you have anything to add to the list? Contact us at content@lookstein.org.