Editing Torah study (section)

==Forms of traditional Jewish Torah study== <!--linked from 'Pardes (Jewish exegesis)'-->
[[File:Yeshivat Har EtzionRML4RALRP.jpg|thumb|232x232px|A [[Shiur (Torah)|Shiur]] being given by the [[Rosh yeshiva|Rosh Yeshiva]] at [[Yeshivat Har Etzion]]]]
[[File:Learningtora.jpg|thumb|200px|Rabbi and his students in [[Moscow]], Russia]]
{{See|Yeshiva#Curriculum}}
The Talmud defines the objective of Torah study: "That the words of Torah shall be clear in your mouth so that if someone asks you something, you shall need not hesitate and then tell it to him, rather you shall tell it to him immediately."<ref>Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 30a</ref> In ''[[yeshiva]]s'' (Talmudical schools), rabbinical schools and ''[[kollel]]s'' (post-graduate Talmudical schools) the primary ways of studying Torah include study of:{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
* The ''Parsha'' ([[weekly Torah portion]]) with its [[Rabbinic literature|Meforshim]] (Rabbinic commentators)
* Talmud
* Ethical works

Other less universally studied texts include the [[Nevi'im]] and [[Ketuvim]], other rabbinic literature (such as [[midrash]]) and works of religious [[Jewish philosophy]].{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The text of the Torah can be studied on any of four levels as described in the [[Zohar#Pardes and Biblical exegesis|Zohar]]:{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
* ''[[Peshat]]'', the plain (simple) or literal reading;
* ''Remez'', the allegorical reading through text's hint or allusion
* ''Derash'', the metaphorical reading through a (rabbinic sermon's) comparison/illustration (midrash)
* ''Sod'', the hidden meaning reading through text's secret or mystery (Kabbalah).

The initial letters of the words '' '''P'''eshat'', '' '''R'''emez'', '' '''D'''erash'', '' '''S'''od'', forming together the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word [[Pardes (Jewish exegesis)|'''P'''a'''RD'''e'''S''']] (also meaning "orchard"), became the designation for the four-way method of studying Torah, in which the mystical sense given in the Kabbalah was the highest point. The distinction is similar to the medieval Christian classification into literal, [[Typology (theology)|typological]], [[tropological]] (moral) and [[anagogical]] senses of scripture (see [[Allegory in the Middle Ages]]): it is not certain whether this fourfold division first appeared in a Jewish or a Christian context.
[[File:TheGush2.jpg|thumb|220x220px|[[Yeshivat Har Etzion]] in [[Alon Shvut|Alon Shevut]]]]
In [[Haredi Judaism]] and much of [[Orthodox Judaism]], Torah study is a way of life for males. In these communities, men forgo other occupations and study Torah full-time. Women do not study Torah, but instead gain merit for facilitating the Torah study of the 
men. A 2017 survey of Modern Orthodox Jews found support for women studying Torah."<ref>{{cite web
   |url=http://nishmaresearch.com/assets/pdf/Report%20-%20Nishma%20Research%20Profile%20of%20American%20Modern%20Orthodox%20Jews%2009-27-17.pdf
   |title=Nishma Report: American Modern Orthodox Jews - a 2017 survey
   |website=NishmaResearch.com}}</ref>

Haredi Israelis often choose to devote many years to Torah study, often studying at a ''kollel''. [[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]] Israelis often choose to devote time after high school to Torah study, either during their army service at a [[Hesder]] yeshiva, or before their service at a [[Mechina]]. Many [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] students who study in [[Israel]] post high-school choose to study at [[Hesder]] Yeshivot, namely [[Yeshivat Har Etzion]], [[Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh]], [[Yeshivat Sha'alvim|Yeshivat Shaalvim]] and [[Yeshivat HaKotel]]. A portion of these students join the [[Hesder]] system, draft into the army and/or make [[Aliyah]].

In addition to full-time Torah study, Jews around the world often attend Torah classes in a contemporary academic framework. The [[Rohr Jewish Learning Institute]] offers classes on Parenting, Marriage, Medical Ethics, and Business Ethics.<ref>{{cite news
|author=Jack Wertheimer
|title=Why the Lubavitch Movement Thrives in the Absence of a Living Rebbe
|url=http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/06/2014/lubavitch-movement-thrives-absence-living-rebbe
|access-date=September 30, 2014 
|work=JA Mag in Jewish World |agency=[[Orthodox Union]]
|date=June 16, 2014 
|quote=Among the latter is the Jewish Learning Institute, the largest educational program for Jewish adults in the world (with the possible exception of the Daf Yomi enterprise), which currently enrolls over 66,000 teens and adults at some 850 sites around the world, each following a prescribed course of study according to a set timetable.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
   |author=Jack Wertheimer
   |title=The Outreach Revolution
   |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-outreach-revolution/|publisher=Commentary Magazine
   |access-date=April 2, 2013 |date=April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|author=Noelle Forde |title=Combating Apathy to Israel: Chabad's New Israel Awareness Course
|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124319#.Uv5ZDfldXEw
|work=Chabad's new free program helps young Jews connect spiritually with Israel
|date=20 November 2007
|publisher=Israel National News |access-date=November 21, 2007}}</ref><ref>http://www.vaildaily.com/news/12386057-113/jewish-learning-course-edwards
Posted Sunday, Aug 3rd, 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Open Source Contributor|title=BRCA gene cancer risk for Ashkenazi Jews in West Hartford|url=http://www.westhartfordnews.com/articles/2013/10/31/business/doc52725ce9a3e1f894436658.txt#|publisher=West Hartford News|access-date=October 31, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chabad hosts Jewish perspectives on staying positive|url=http://newjerseyhills.com/hanover_eagle/news/chabad-hosts-jewish-perspectives-on-staying-positive/article_593e3277-7566-5bce-afd1-4d931ee0e270.html|access-date=November 3, 2014|agency=Hanover Eagle|publisher=New Jersey Hills Media Group, Bernardsville, NJ|date=October 30, 2014|quote="How Happiness Thinks" was created by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute- an internationally acclaimed adult education program running on over 350 cities worldwide, which boast over 75,000 students. This particular course builds on the latest observations and discoveries in the field of positive psychology. "How Happiness Thinks" offers participants the chance to earn up to 15 continuing education credits from the American Psychological Association (APA), American Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Open Source Contributor|title=New Course to Explore Modern Ethical Dilemmas|newspaper=Chron |url=http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/living/new-course-to-explore-jewish-perspective-on-modern-ethical-dilemmas/article_09cf1211-c321-5811-a6f0-a8d0fc1f4fc1.html|publisher=Your Houston News|access-date=November 3, 2013
|date=October 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Tribune staff report|title=Happiness focus of JLI presentation|url=http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/southshore/13553933-113/jli-jewish-happiness-positive
|access-date=November 3, 2014
|agency=Tahoe Daily Tribune |date=October 30, 2014|quote=JLI, the adult education branch of Chabad Lubavitch, offers programs in more than 350 U.S. cities and in numerous foreign locations, including Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. More than 260,000 students have attended JLI classes since the organization was founded in 1998.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sheskin and Dashefsky|title=American Jewish Year Book|volume=113|year=2014|publisher=Springer International Publishing|isbn=978-3-319-01657-3|pages=447–597|edition=Volume 113|chapter=National Jewish Organizations|quote=... Is currently the largest provider of adult Jewish learning. JLI's mission is to inspire Jewish learning worldwide and to transform Jewish life and the greater community through Torah study. Its goal is to create a global network of informed students connected by bonds of shared Jewish experience. JLI's holistic approach to Jewish study considers the impact of Jewish values on personal and interpersonal growth. (The authors of the book are Professor Ira Sheskin of Department of Geography and Regional Studies, The Jewish Demography Project, The Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, University of Miami, and Professor Arnold Dashefsky, Department of Sociology, The Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, University of Connecticut.)|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-01658-0_10|s2cid=154745222 }}</ref>