“For decades, even centuries, the beit midrash, and by extension the classroom, has been the central place where people gather to study together. Because of this, they have served as the most important centers for the transmission of Jewish ideas. In this digital age, where ideas proliferate on numerous platforms and in a variety of formats, Jewish learning must also reach beyond the beit midrash.

There are good reasons that the beit midrash has been central for so long. It’s pedagogically unmatched for intensive educational experiences, group conversations, forming relationships with peers and teachers and for cohort-based learning. Because the beit midrash is so crucial, Jewish education has long revolved around it: teachers spend years honing their classroom skills, intensive educational programs are built around and online resources for creating source sheets are blossoming.”

Read the complete essay on eJewishPhilanthropy