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Concept
Chavrusa
Summary
Chavrusa, also spelled chavruta or ḥavruta (חַבְרוּתָא, lit. "fellowship" or "group of fellows"; pl. חַבְרָוָותָא ḥāvrāwāthā), is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small group of students (usually 2-5) analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method in yeshivas and kollels, where students often engage regular study partners of similar knowledge and ability, and is also practiced by those outside the yeshiva setting, in work, home, and vacation settings. The traditional phrase is to learn b'chavrusa (בְחַבְרוּתָא, "in partnership"); the word has come by metonymy to refer to the study partner as an individual, though it would more logically describe the pair.
Unlike a teacher-student relationship, in which the student memorizes and repeats the material back in tests, chavrusa-style learning puts each student in the position of analyzing the text, organizing their thoughts into logical arguments, explaining their reasoning to their partner, hearing out their partner's reasoning, and questioning and sharpening each other's ideas, often arriving at entirely new insights into the meaning of the text.
Chavrusa is an Aramaic word meaning "friendship" or "companionship"; it can also mean "group of fellows". The Rabbis of the Mishnah and Gemara uses the cognate term chaver (חבר, "friend" or "companion" in Hebrew) to refer to the one with whom a person studies Torah. In contemporary usage, chavrusa is defined as a "study partnership".
A chavrusa usually refers to two students learning one on one. When three or more students learn together, they are called a chavura (חַבוּרָה, group; also chabura). It some communities, the idea of chavrusa can include two, three, four or even five individuals studying together. The Reform and Conservative movements have extended the idea of chavura to modern scholarship and poetry.
(Note that a chavura (Ashkenazic pronunciation: chevra) can also refer to a group of individuals or families which is part study or prayer group, part social club.
Official source
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