Yeshive

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional Jewish school where students, mainly young men, devote themselves to advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic texts
2. An institution in Jewish religious education focused on intensive study of sacred texts such as the Talmud under rabbinic guidance
3. A Hebrew academy offering rigorous religious scholarship, particularly the study of Talmud and Jewish law, often for post-adolescent students

Etymology: "Yeshiva" comes from the Hebrew verb "yashav," meaning "to sit." The original sense was simply a sitting or a session, and in rabbinic usage it came to mean a gathering where scholars sat together to study and debate. Only later did the word name the institution itself. The name reflects how Talmud study is done: students sit across from one another, working through texts in pairs and groups, so the posture of study gave the institution its name rather than any building or curriculum. English borrowed the word from Hebrew, and it is usually pluralized as "yeshivas," while Hebrew uses "yeshivot."