The JTS Beit Midrash Summer Program

Sample Daily Schedule

Morning Classes (according to Hebrew language and textual skills)

NOTICE: Students need to test out of Hebrew Alef 1 in order to take these classes.

RLC 6113 Rabbinic Texts A: Building Blocks for Talmud (6 credits)
TBD
MTWR
9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
This course will focus on close reading and comparison of three foundational layers of early rabbinic literature—the Mishnah, Tosefta, and early Midrash Halakhah—in the original Hebrew. We will develop core comprehension skills, build familiarity with tannaitic writing, and explore the interpretive possibilities within these texts that later shaped the Talmud Bavli’s approach. Along the way, we will consider how these early sources construct law, meaning, and narrative, and reflect on the ways they continue to inform contemporary understandings of halakhah and the sacred. By the end of the course, we will begin to examine how the Bavli integrates, expands, and reframes this material within its own distinctive discourse.

RLC 6620 Rabbinic Texts B: Taking Hold of Talmud (6 credits)
TBD
MTWR 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
This course will focus on developing essential skills for reading the Talmud Bavli, including understanding its structure, technical terminology, key concepts of rabbinic culture, and the use of rabbinic languages. Through close study of selected passages, students will practice navigating sugyot, identifying their building blocks, and appreciating the religious and conceptual questions that animate Talmudic discourse. The course is designed to strengthen fundamental textual skills while introducing students to the interpretive world of the Bavli and the methods by which it constructs law, meaning, and narrative.

RLC 6642 Rabbinic Texts C: The Bavli and Later Rabbinic Adjudication (6 credits)
MTWR 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
TBD
This course offers an opportunity for students with prior experience with the Talmud Bavli to deepen and expand their textual skills. Through close reading of selected sugyot, we will work to sharpen proficiency in navigating the structure and logic of Talmudic discourse. Significant attention will be given to the classical commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot, with an emphasis on developing strategies for reading, comparing, and understanding how their interpretations shape the meaning and implications of the Talmudic text. We will also investigate how medieval rabbinic authorities transformed the Talmud into a foundational source for legal adjudication.

Afternoon Classes

HEB 5001Z: Alef 1 (6 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR
2:00–4:00 p.m. ET on Zoom
This course runs through both Sessions 1 and 2 (ten weeks), June 4–August 7.
The course covers the seven Introductory Units and Lessons 1–8 of Hebrew from Scratch, Vol. 1 (Ivrit min ha-hatḥala alef). It takes the student from learning the mechanics of reading and writing unpointed Hebrew to active mastery of 500 words; knowledge of the present tense and infinitive verb forms; reading and enactment of dialogues relating to everyday life; and reading comprehension of short descriptive, narrative, and informative texts. Additional course materials, daily assignments, and unit tests will be delivered and submitted via Canvas.

HEB 5101: Alef 2 (6 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR
2:00–4:00 p.m. 
This course runs through both Sessions 1 and 2 (ten weeks), June 4–August 7.
This course, a direct continuation of Alef 1, brings students near the end of the first volume of Hebrew from Scratch A (Ivrit min ha-hatḥalaalef) with the same emphasis on reading comprehension, as well as the development of communication skills. Students will continue to expand their vocabulary and learn–among other basic language forms–the past tense. Additional readings will be assigned from the folktale anthology Sipur ve-od sipur.

HEB 5103: Alef 3 (6 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR
2:00–4:00 p.m. in person on the JTS campus
This course runs through both Sessions 1 and 2 (ten weeks), June 4–August 7.
This course is designed to seamlessly follow Heb 1101 by building on comprehension and oral-aural skills previously acquired, and continue to develop vocabulary and grammar skills (including the future tense of verbs). The two volumes of Hebrew From Scratch (Ivrit min ha-hatḥala) are used as textbooks, supplemented by additional readings from a diversity of sources.

HEB 5201: Bet 1 (3 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR 2:00–5:00 p.m. ET in person on the JTS campus
This course continues with the second volume of Hebrew from Scratch (Ivrit min ha-hatḥala bet). Students will continue to expand their vocabulary and advance their reading, writing, and conversational skills through reading and discussing additional texts of a variety of periods and genres (e.g., adapted stories, poems, selections from parashathashavua, midrash, and biblical commentary). In grammar, the study of the future tense and major prepositions begun in the previous semester will be concluded, and new topics in syntax and the verb system will be introduced.

HEB 5203: Bet 2 (3 credits)
TBD
[MTWR 2:00-5:00 p.m. ET in person on the JTS campus]
This intermediate-level course will bring students to the end of Hebrew from Scratch II (Ivrit min ha-hatḥala bet), supplementing the textbook with materials from level gimel books and other readings in Hebrew from various periods (e.g., adapted stories, poems, selections from parashat hashavua, midrash, and biblical commentary). Students will learn new grammar topics, develop strategies for reading comprehension and word recognition, and practice conveying ideas and opinions in both speech and writing.

HEB 5299Z: Adv. Hebrew Skills: David & Jonathan in Hebrew Lit Through the Ages  (3 credits)
Miriam Meir
MTWR
2:00–5:00 p.m. ET on Zoom
This advanced-level Hebrew language course aims to further develop Hebrew comprehension, conversation, reading and writing skills. Readings include Hebrew texts of diverse genres, registers and periods, including classical texts, around the Biblical stories of David and Jonathan. Grammatical topics include a systematic integrated study of the binyanim system and a variety of advanced topics in syntax.

Tuition

* If you are interested in registering only for the Afternoon/Hebrew classes, please visit our Summer Hebrew Intensive.

These rates are not for credit. You can earn up to six academic credits for these classes through the JTS Summer School. Information about tuition for three-and six-credit summer courses can be found here.  

Testimonial

“Nishma was an amazing and deeply effective experience. My afternoon Hebrew class gave me the language tools to decode the texts we were studying each morning, so I found myself needing to look up fewer words each day. And the reverse was equally true: working closely with rabbinic passages helped solidify the grammar topics we covered in Hebrew. The support of the entire faculty was exceptional, guiding my learning partner and me through grammatical and conceptual challenges alike. I’m still amazed by how much progress I made in such a short time.”
—Ian Macdougald

Questions?

Feel free to contact us at nishma@jtsa.edu. 

Summer 2026 registration coming soon.

Learn about the Rabbinical School Low-Residency Mekhinah Program, a semester-long program that allows you to build skills for Rabbinical School while living and working wherever you are by participating in online courses, mentorship, and virtual cohorts.