Every beit midrash session is different, but here’s the general formula:
7:00 Settle in with food from a local restaurant (Indian, pizza, Thai, etc.) for a quick round of introductions
7:03 Stage-setting in the full group. This may involve framing remarks by the facilitator, discussion of a brief text, or engaging with a short pop culture video.
7:10 First round of havruta study — three-way conversations between two people and a text. (The word havruta relates to the Hebrew word for “friend.”) Participants partner with someone they haven’t learned with previously. The first set of texts typically comes from classic Jewish sources such as the Bible or Talmud. Each text is only a few sentences long, and all of the texts for the first two rounds typically fit on 2-3 sides of a page.
7:25 Regroup and share learnings from havruta study.
7:35 Second round of havruta study, with the same pairs discussing another set of texts. This set often contains contemporary texts and/or those from non-Jewish traditions.
7:50 Regroup and share learnings.
8:00 Break. Participants who aren’t enrolled in JS123 are free to leave at this time if they wish.
8:05 Stage-setting for the second hour. This hour typically, but not always, includes at least one additional round of havruta study (with different partners than the first hour). It may also include small group discussions facilitated by student members of the design team, creative activities, a community-building circle, or other forms of engagement with the evening’s texts and with one another.