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Yeshiva
Yeshiva or yeshivah (Hebrew name, plural yeshivot) is an institution for Torah study and the study of Talmud primarily within Orthodox Judaism and primarily attended by males. Yeshiva is the "generic" name for the entire system of schools that teach Torah, Mishnah and Talmud, to all ages. Today, yeshiva gedolah ("greater/higher yeshiva") refers to the post-high school level while yeshiva katana (minor/lesser yeshiva") refers to the high school-level in Israel. In the United States, high school-level yeshiva is also called mesivta or metivta, the Aramaic translation for yeshiva. A yeshiva for male married students is known as a kollel ("gathering"). Traditionally, females do not learn Torah in a yeshiva setting. In 1917, under the guidance of Sarah Shenirer the Bais Yaakov system was started, which provided females with a Torah education, but one usually not comparable to yeshivas, in curriculum. Eventually, the term "Bais Yaakov" came to apply to any girls' seminary in this style. Jewish tradition lays down that students should sit while learning from a master. The word yeshivah, meaning "sitting", therefore came to be applied to the activity of learning in class. |