Our doors are barely hanging on their hinges after being almost knocked down with overeager requests for the second part of Ben Greenfield’s article, due to come out next issue.  We heard you loud and clear!  Here’s the second part.  Please stop your bombarding.

Devarim she-Yesh la-Hem Shiur, or a Case of Sheer Opportunity

 BY: Ben Greenfield

So: good or bad?  Until this point, I attempted some semblance of neutrality, refraining from normative statements.  True, I claim the centrality of shiur is innovative, but that betrays neither commendation nor condemnation — the question of merit remains.  The answer, I believe, hinges on two broader questions: why shiur and why now? In other words, what motivates the radically central position of shiur and what vaulted it into our particular time period?  I imagine  that even the slightest exposure to shiur answers the first query: we like it.  Continue reading »

We are jubilant to present our newest edition of Kol Hamevaser:  Jewish Education.  Don’t miss the interviews with Rabbi Reiss and Rabbi Wieder, or the articles on the shiur experience, women’s learning, and Ramchal’s poetry!  It can be accessed here.