As explained in the Theory section of this site, the study of Torah Sheb’al Peh is best accomplished in four stages. The first two stages, Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim, are covered by the V’Shinantam Mishnah Program, Years One and Two, respectively.  Students who have learned the two years of V’Shinantam come prepared and ready to learn the final two stages of Torah Sheb’al Peh:  Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya, as will be explained below, and are ready to begin directly with the V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program.

Preparation for Talmud Study

Students that did not have the pleasure of the V’Shinantam experience, and are lacking background and skills in preparation for the study of Talmud, should first learn our special booklet:  Learning Skills for Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim, in either English or Hebrew:

Learning Skills for Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim was developed specifically to meet the needs of Junior High School students who lack background and preparation for the study of Talmud. The booklet is designed for independent or chevruta study, and teaches all the skills of the two years of V’Shinantam, but in a more mature and concentrated fashion - perfect for a semester’s work before entry into the V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program.

Talmud Study

The Talmud is not a unitary composition, but a collection, composite and editing of the spiritual, legal and educational brilliance of over 1500 of the most brilliant human beings to ever walk the planet. They learned in dozens of Bate Midrash over eight generations following the Tannaim, between the years 220 and 500 CE in Eretz Yisrael and Babylonia. Based on Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim (Tosefta, b’raitot and Midr’she Halachah), the Talmud subdivides into two main layers:  Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya. Torat Ha’Amoraim consists of tens of thousands of statements, dialogues, stories and recorded sessions of court, over eight generations in many Bate Midrash. Shakla V’Tarya, the anonymous Aramaic-language layer of the Talmud, is the recorded analysis of Torat HaTannaim and Torat Ha’Amoraim by the last Amoraim themselves, and by the students of the Amoraim known as Savoraim, who continued the work of their forbears for another approximately 150 years until the Moslem conquest. These two systems – Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya – are very different from each other, in language, method and purpose, but they appear today intertwined in the text of the Talmud. The very first step in learning how to learn Talmud is learning to differentiate these two main layers, and learn each with its own proper utilities and methods. Both are sanctified sections of the Talmud, with the same halachic import and binding nature, but their learning methods represent two very different approaches to legal process.

On top of this intertwined text, commentaries and various apparata of later scholars, the Gaonim (~640 - 1000 CE), Rishonim (~1000 – 1500) and Acharonim (~1500 – ongoing), accumulated around the Talmud. Classical Talmudic study consists of mastery of the Talmudic text itself, plus inquiries into the meaning of the text through study of these commentaries and apparata.

The V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program consists, therefore, of three years of curriculum:

• V’Dibarta Bam Year One – study of the Amoraim and their Bate Midrash, and of Torat Ha’Amoraim,
• V’Dibarta Bam Year Two – study of Aramaic and the nature, roles and methods of the Shakla V’Tarya,
• V’Dibarta Bam Year Three – study of the apparata surrounding the Talmud, and introduction to the commentaries and approaches of our teachers, the  Gaonim, Rishonim and Acharonim.

Each year of V’Dibarta Bam provides workbooks for students, teacher guides for instructors/facilitators, and teaching aids to beautify the learning and teaching experience, as well as special learning centers for in depth investigation by advanced students.  See the buttons to your left for detailed descriptions and samples of V’Dibarta Bam.

Year One of V’Dibarta Bam is currently available. Year Two is scheduled for publication during the 5772 school year, and Year Three is scheduled for publication during the 5773 school year.

V’Dibarta Bam is basically skills training, with selected content readings for practice and comprehension of the skills. Bonayich recommends study of Talmud chapters in their organic order and sequence alongside study of V’Dibarta Bam. See the “Pirke G’mara” button to your left for information on these unique publications.

For more details about V’Dibarta Bam, Pirke G’mara or any other of the quality publications of Bonayich Educational Services, Ltd., Contact Us at bonayich@bonayich.com.

As explained in the Theory section of this site, the study of Torah Sheb’al Peh is best accomplished in four stages. The first two stages, Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim, are covered by the V’Shinantam Mishnah Program, Years One and Two, respectively.  Students who have learned the two years of V’Shinantam come prepared and ready to learn the final two stages of Torah Sheb’al Peh:  Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya, as will be explained below, and are ready to begin directly with the V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program.

Preparation for Talmud Study

Students that did not have the pleasure of the V’Shinantam experience, and are lacking background and skills in preparation for the study of Talmud, should first learn our special booklet:  Learning Skills for Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim, in either English or Hebrew:

Learning Skills for Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim was developed specifically to meet the needs of Junior High School students who lack background and preparation for the study of Talmud. The booklet is designed for independent or chevruta study, and teaches all the skills of the two years of V’Shinantam, but in a more mature and concentrated fashion - perfect for a semester’s work before entry into the V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program.

Talmud Study

The Talmud is not a unitary composition, but a collection, composite and editing of the spiritual, legal and educational brilliance of over 1500 of the most brilliant human beings to ever walk the planet. They learned in dozens of Bate Midrash over eight generations following the Tannaim, between the years 220 and 500 CE in Eretz Yisrael and Babylonia. Based on Mishnah and Torat HaTannaim (Tosefta, b’raitot and Midr’she Halachah), the Talmud subdivides into two main layers:  Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya. Torat Ha’Amoraim consists of tens of thousands of statements, dialogues, stories and recorded sessions of court, over eight generations in many Bate Midrash. Shakla V’Tarya, the anonymous Aramaic-language layer of the Talmud, is the recorded analysis of Torat HaTannaim and Torat Ha’Amoraim by the last Amoraim themselves, and by the students of the Amoraim known as Savoraim, who continued the work of their forbears for another approximately 150 years until the Moslem conquest. These two systems – Torat Ha’Amoraim and Shakla V’Tarya – are very different from each other, in language, method and purpose, but they appear today intertwined in the text of the Talmud. The very first step in learning how to learn Talmud is learning to differentiate these two main layers, and learn each with its own proper utilities and methods. Both are sanctified sections of the Talmud, with the same halachic import and binding nature, but their learning methods represent two very different approaches to legal process.

On top of this intertwined text, commentaries and various apparata of later scholars, the Gaonim (~640 - 1000 CE), Rishonim (~1000 – 1500) and Acharonim (~1500 – ongoing), accumulated around the Talmud. Classical Talmudic study consists of mastery of the Talmudic text itself, plus inquiries into the meaning of the text through study of these commentaries and apparata.

The V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Program consists, therefore, of three years of curriculum:

• V’Dibarta Bam Year One – study of the Amoraim and their Bate Midrash, and of Torat Ha’Amoraim,
• V’Dibarta Bam Year Two – study of Aramaic and the nature, roles and methods of the Shakla V’Tarya,
• V’Dibarta Bam Year Three – study of the apparata surrounding the Talmud, and introduction to the commentaries and approaches of our teachers, the  Gaonim, Rishonim and Acharonim.

Each year of V’Dibarta Bam provides workbooks for students, teacher guides for instructors/facilitators, and teaching aids to beautify the learning and teaching experience, as well as special learning centers for in depth investigation by advanced students.  See the buttons to your left for detailed descriptions and samples of V’Dibarta Bam.

Year One of V’Dibarta Bam is currently available. Year Two is scheduled for publication during the 5772 school year, and Year Three is scheduled for publication during the 5773 school year.

V’Dibarta Bam is basically skills training, with selected content readings for practice and comprehension of the skills. Bonayich recommends study of Talmud chapters in their organic order and sequence alongside study of V’Dibarta Bam. See the “Pirke G’mara” button to your left for information on these unique publications.

For more details about V’Dibarta Bam, Pirke G’mara or any other of the quality publications of Bonayich Educational Services, Ltd., Contact Us at bonayich@bonayich.com.