For the past few years, I’ve been involved in a program called Sunday Night Learning (SNL – cute, right?), based in the UPenn Hillel. The whole idea is that students split off into pairs (called “chevrutas“), and together study, discuss, and debate some Jewish text of interest. The great thing about chevruta study is that it’s all about what you’re interested in, and encourages you share and develop your own ideas around the text.

SNL’s gotten big – what started off as a small group of mostly observant Jewish students studying Talmud and Bible has now exploded into a gathering of over 150 students, running the religious gamut, who engage in the study of not only traditional texts, but also of modern commentaries and philosophical works.

And UPenn isn’t the only school with this kind of self-directed Jewish study program.  About two years ago, the Bronfman Center at NYU kicked off the highly successful Jewish Learning Enrichment Program (JELO), in an effort to “build a weekly Jewish learning community” that encourages students to engage in a textual exploration of their Jewish heritage – on their own terms.

Last Thursday, JTA featured an article discussing the new trend in secular, religious, egalitarian, and nondenominational communities across the country: yeshiva-style chevruta text study!

…recently Jews of all denominations and ages, who once connected to Judaism by attending synagogue, celebrating holidays and sending their children to Hebrew school, have begun to yearn for something more: studying Jewish texts, yeshiva-style, but without the traditional yeshiva.

Clearly, Jewish learning is in.

-Naomi