The JTS Beit Midrash Summer Program
Two Learning Opportunities
Nishma is a 5-week program that immerses you in the Jewish traditional practice of text study. Through the program, you’ll improve your Hebrew language skills and build confidence in reading rabbinic texts. Learn with different scholars as they share their approaches to interpreting these texts. Whether you’re preparing for a career in Jewish education, communal service, academia, the rabbinate, or the cantorate, or simply wish to engage in deep learning for its own sake, Nishma provides the foundation for meaningful engagement with classical Jewish sources and their scholarship.
Tanakh 360 offers a weeklong (or longer) exploration of the Hebrew Bible from various perspectives. Each day focuses on a unique approach—Biblical Scholarship, Rabbinics, Medieval Commentary, and Jewish Thought—taught by top JTS faculty and leading scholars in an intimate and engaging setting. Participants will explore the enduring questions Jews have asked of our sacred canon over the centuries and the diverse interpretative tools they have employed to derive meaning from it.
Nishma
Dates: June 4–July 3, 2025
Sample Daily Schedule
| 7:30–8:30 a.m. | Shaharit (morning prayer) |
| 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (4x/week) | Text Study |
| 12:30–1:45 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:45–2:00 p.m. | Minhah (afternoon prayer) |
| 2:00–4:45 p.m. (4x/week or 3x/week, depending on the class) | Hebrew |
| Evening (once a week) | Explore New York City |
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)
Rabbi Jessica Spencer
MTWR
9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
This course will focus on the foundational layer of rabbinic texts—the Mishnah, Tosefta, and early Midrash Halakhah—to investigate how the rabbis of this period created laws and narratives around food. We will work in the original Hebrew with an emphasis on comprehension skills and building familiarity with tannaitic (early rabbinic) writing and will also consider how these texts influence our own understandings of food and the sacred. By the end of the course, we will start to explore how the Talmud Bavli weaves this material together into its distinct narratives.
RLC 6620 Rabbinic Texts B: Taking Hold of Talmud (6 credits)
Dr. Sarah Wolf
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 selected passages from Tractate Hullin, we will examine the practices and ethics of Jewish dietary laws, with particular attention to the treatment of animals and animal families in the context of eating.
RLC 6642 Rabbinic Texts C: The Bavli and Later Rabbinic Adjudication (6 credits)
June 9 to July 3
MTWR 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Dr. Marcus Mordecai Schwartz
In this class, we will explore selected passages from Chapter 5 of Tractate Avodah Zarah, dealing with wine. We will ask why wine became the central rabbinic vessel for thinking about relationships with people outside the Jewish community. We will use the topic of wine as a lens to examine how medieval rabbinic literature transformed the Talmud into a foundational source for legal adjudication. The course will place a strong emphasis on understanding classical and medieval rabbinic sources while also dedicating time to modern and contemporary applications.
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 5101Z: 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 5103Z: Alef 3 (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 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 5201Z: Bet 1 (3 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR 2:00–5:00 p.m.
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 5299Z: Advanced Hebrew Skills: Shimshon in Hebrew Literature 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 Shimshon. Grammatical topics include a systematic integrated study of the binyanim system and a variety of advanced topics in syntax.
Tuition
| Full-Time (Text Study + Hebrew Alef) | $3,800 |
| Full Time (Text Study + Hebrew Bet or Advanced) | $2,500 |
| Part Time (Text Study) * | $1,200 |
* 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.
Tanakh 360
Dates: July 7–August 7, 2025
Morning Class
MTWTh: 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m:
Each week of this session will focus on one of the liturgical readings of that week (Parashah, Haftarah, or Eicha for the week of Tisha B’Av.) Each day of the week will highlight a different approach to reading the Biblical text and will be taught by a different faculty.
- Monday: Biblical Scholarship
- Tuesday: Midrashim
- Wednesday: Parshanut
- Thursday: Jewish Thought
Faculty members include Professors Shira Billet, Eitan Fishbane, Dana Fishkin, Robbie Harris, Job Jindo, Phil Keisman, Yitz Landes, Yael Landman, Ben Kamine, Ben Sommer and Malka Strasberg
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 5101Z: 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 5103Z: Alef 3 (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 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 5203: Bet 2 (3 credits)
Faculty TBD
MTWR
2:00-4:45 p.m.
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 5300Z: Advanced Hebrew Skills: Akedat Yitshak in Hebrew Literature through the Ages (3 credits)
Miriam Meir
MTWR
2:00pm–4:45 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, on the topic of Akedat Yitshak. Grammatical topics include a systematic integrated study of the binyanim system and a variety of advanced topics in syntax.
Tuition
Part-Time (Text Study Only)
1 week: $300
2 weeks: $500
3 weeks: $750
4 weeks: $980
5 weeks: $1200
Full-Time
5 weeks of Text Study + Hebrew Alef: $3,800
5 weeks of Text Study + Hebrew Bet or Advanced: $ 2,500
If you are interested in registering only for the Afternoon/Hebrew classes, please visit our Summer Hebrew Intensive.
Apply to JTS Beit Midrash Summer Program
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at nishma@jtsa.edu.
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.
