Our entire gemara curriculum is geared to prepare our graduates to have a solid foundation capable of building upon for a lifetime of the highest level of torah study.
In 6th grade the boys begin the study of gemara. In addition to the knowledge contained in the text studied, the following skills are focused on:
- Familiarity with the “tzuras hadaf”of the traditional vilna shas
- An understanding of the correlation and unique roles of the chumash, mishna, and gemara
- A basic understanding of the history of talmud bavli
- Brief list of key terminology unique to learning gemara
In 6th grade the text learned is the second perek of meseches bava metziah. In addition to the knowledge contained in the text studied, the following skills are focused on:
- A thorough review of skills acquired in 5th grade
- Level one accumulative learning of our “shas milim” list; words common to almost any daf in shas
- Proper reading and punctuation inside the text of gemara
- An understanding of the flow within a “sugya” of gemara
- Higher levels of analysis synonymous with gemara study
- Understanding the role of Rashi in the study of gemara with learning of select Rashi
- Chavrusa style learning
In 7th and 8th grade the following skills are focused on:
- A thorough review of skills acquired in 5th and 6th grades
- Level two accumulative learning of our “shas milim” list
- Introduction to the role of tosafot in the study of gemara
- Consistent study of Rashi and tosafot