Talmud Study as a Spiritual Endeavor in Rabbinic Training - Delights and Dangers

[Watch Video] Rabbinical students come to the study of classical sources spiritually motivated, seeking practical relevance and personal connection to tradition through Talmudic study. Teachers of future rabbis are answerable not only for intellectual standards but also for the future of Talmudic conversation as a factor in the continuing life of Judaism. In this presentation, I draw upon the experience of introducing rabbinical students to Talmudic study in four rabbinical schools, and upon the responses of students, to reflect upon curricular and pedagogical choices that arise from considering that spiritual development is at stake in the very same classrooms where we cultivate technical and analytical skills.