Beth Medrash Govoha

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Coordinates: 40°05′44″N 74°13′19″W / 40.0955°N 74.222°W / 40.0955; -74.222 Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew: בית מדרש גבוה) is the largest Talmudical Academy in the United States and one of the largest in the world.^{[citation needed]} A Haredi institution, it was founded in 1943 by Rabbi Aharon Kotler with 13 students in Lakewood Township, New Jersey where it remains. It is commonly known as Bais Medrash Govoha, BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva. Its enrollment in 2009 exceeds 5500 students^{[citation needed]}.

The campus consists of four main buildings containing over eight study halls available and numerous residence halls.

The yeshiva is licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and accredited by the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools.^[1] It is authorized to grant bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in Talmudics to those students who apply and qualify for the degrees, as well as a post-master's certificate in Talmudic studies.

Curriculum

The yeshiva studies are based on classical Torah study traditions using the Talmud, Shulchan Aruch, responsa and rabbinic literature as texts and sources.

The daily schedule consists of three sedorim (or study sessions) plus daily prayers and meals. For each session there is usually a main limud' (field/focus of study) based on the Talmud. However there also exists a system of chaburahs (group study) where 10-70 scholars form a chaburah (group) to study specific sub-texts within the Talmud and/or Shulchan Aruch.

Chaburah system

Every chaburah has a Rosh Chaburah (head/leader of the study group). It is the Rosh Chaburah's responsibility to arrange enough seats for the members of his chaburah, to decide the topic of study for the semester, and to make sure that there is a lecture given on the subject studied at least once a week. Many "chaburos" require members to prepare and give lectures on a rotating basis. These are in addition to the Rosh Chaburah's weekly lecture.

Programs, Testing & Acceptance

Semesters/Zmanim

Three zmanim (semesters) exist in a year, based on the Hebrew calendar:

1. Winter zman, which is from Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan through the seventh of Nisan.
2. Summer zman from Rosh Chodesh Iyar through the tenth of Av.
3. Elul zman from Rosh Chodesh Elul through the eleventh of Tishrei.

The three zmanim span two official semesters. The Fall semester runs through the Winter zman. The Spring semester includes the Summer zman and Elul zman.

Application

Applications to enroll into the yeshiva are accepted twice a year, before the summer and winter semesters. There are no enrollments for the fall semester. The deadlines vary, and they are generally close to the 1st of Elul for the winter enrollment, and the 1st of Adar for summer enrollment.

Testing and acceptance

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This is generally a four part process. Only applicants who have received a "bechina (entrance exam) card" authorizing them to advance will be able to proceed with these steps:

1. The applicant completes a secondary registration application which asks for more detailed additional information that was not required on the original application.
2. The admissions officer holds a general interview with the applicant. With him are usually one or two other members of the faculty. The meeting will usually be short, allowing the admissions department an opportunity to evaluate the candidate's general potential for success in the institute.
3. A faculty member tests the candidate in general Talmudic knowledge. A grade is issued, on a scale of one to five, reflecting the applicant's possession of the requisite knowledge.
4. One of the four roshei yeshiva (deans) listens to a Pilpul, or talmudic discourse, from the applicant. This part of the exam is to test the applicant's ability to engage in specialized Talmudic reasoning called Lomdus. Here too, a grade is issued on a scale of one to five.
5. After completing the two exams. The acceptance will depend on a combination of all the factors in the admissions process. Usually applicants are notified during Chol HaMoed about the decision. If the applicant is accepted, he and his parents are then required to set up a meeting with the tuition department to discuss tuition arrangements.

Registration

After acceptance, tuition is negotiated, and the accepted student must complete steps required by the State of New Jersey of all students entering dormitories and post-secondary schools in New Jersey. Additionally, in a signed acceptance agreement, the matriculating student agrees to abide by the rules of the institution.

Tumult day

"Tumult day" refers to the time that chavrusos (study partners) must be arranged and students arrange entry into a particular "chaburah", or study group. Among other things, students discuss with potential study partners what subjects they would like to study, and also make sure that the study partnership has the potential to succeed, both on a personal level and on an intellectual level.

"Freezer"

Upon acceptance to the Yeshiva, the student must sign a document stating that he will not date for his first three months at the yeshiva. These three months are known colloquially as "The Freezer". This minimizes the student's distractions during the crucial first few months of his studies and allows him to be better integrated into the Yeshiva as a whole.

The ban ends twice a year; for students entering for the winter term, they can begin dating on Tu B'Shevat. For students entering for the summer term, the date is 17 Tammuz.

An exception to the non-dating rule is that the student may continue to date a girl, if he started seeing her before the semester started.

If a student is found to have broken the rule, the senior faculty will generally not attend the wedding (which is considered an honor), and there may be other disciplinary consequences, such as the suspension of student from Yeshiva indefinitely.

See also

• Lakewood East, a branch in Israel
• Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
• Miami Beach Community Kollel

References