A Philosophy of Havruta

The traditional Jewish practice of “learning in havruta” has the potential to enrich both Jewish and general education, and the phrase “havruta-learning” is becoming increasingly popular. Unfortunately, it is also rapidly becoming an empty slogan associated with self-congratulatory but often thoughtless educational activities. This makes Holzer and Kent’s discussion of the nature, value, optimal forms and pre-conditions of havruta-learning very timely. Their first-hand experience with this practice as participants, guides, and researchers and the nuanced philosophical, educational, and Jewish lenses that animate their discussion give rise to a “must-read” book for theorists and practitioners who seek to develop a deep, conceptually rich, practice-relevant understanding of havruta-learning.

No longer confined to traditional institutions devoted to Talmudic studies, havruta work, or the practice of students studying materials in pairs, has become a relatively widespread phenomenon across denominational and educational settings of Jewish learning. However, until now there has been little discussion of what havruta text study entails and how it might be conceptualized and taught. This book breaks new ground from two perspectives: by offering a model of havruta text study situated in broader theories of interpretation and learning, and by treating havruta text study as composed of textual, interpersonal and intra-personal practices which can be taught and learned. We lay out the conceptual foundations of our approach and provide examples of their pedagogical implementation for the teaching of havruta text study. Included are illustrative lesson plans, teachers' notes and students reflections, exercises for students, and other instructional materials for teaching core concepts and practices.