{
  "url": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta.json",
  "path": "/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta",
  "format": "json",
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Chevra and Chevruta",
  "summary": "Acquire for yourself a friend. Acquire for yourself a study partner. Both are mitzvot.",
  "breadcrumbs": [
    {
      "title": "The New Jew",
      "href": "/index.json"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community",
      "href": "/sections/community.json"
    },
    {
      "title": "Chevra and Chevruta",
      "href": "/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta.json"
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "html": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta",
    "json": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta.json",
    "xml": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/community-chevra-and-chevruta.xml"
  },
  "data": {
    "article": {
      "slug": "community-chevra-and-chevruta",
      "title": "Chevra and Chevruta",
      "deck": "Acquire for yourself a friend. Acquire for yourself a study partner. Both are mitzvot.",
      "summary": "Summary. The Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 1:6) instructs: \"Make for yourself a rabbi, and acquire for yourself a friend (chaver).\" Jewish life is communal. The chevra — the group of close peers in your kehilla — is the practical extension of community. A chevruta — a study partner — is the structural unit of Talmudic learning. A New Jew should aim for both: a small group of friends who share Shabbat tables, holidays, and life-cycle events; and a study partner with whom you regularly learn one text. Both relationships, the tradition teaches, are themselves religious practices.",
      "level": "essential",
      "sectionSlug": "community",
      "tags": [
        "chevra",
        "chevruta",
        "study partner"
      ],
      "publishedAt": "2026-07-06T02:19:03.001Z",
      "wordCount": 569,
      "readMinutes": 3
    },
    "section": {
      "slug": "community",
      "title": "Community"
    },
    "image": null,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "summary",
        "body": "Summary. The [Mishnah](/glossary.json#letter-M) ([Pirkei Avot 1:6](https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.1.6)) instructs: \"Make for yourself a rabbi, and acquire for yourself a friend ([chaver](/glossary.json#letter-C)).\" Jewish life is communal. The [chevra](/glossary.json#letter-C), the group of close peers in your [kehilla](/glossary.json#letter-K), is the practical extension of community. A [chevruta](/glossary.json#letter-C) is a study partner, the structural unit of [Talmud](/glossary.json#letter-T)ic learning. A New Jew should aim for both: a small group of friends who share [Shabbat](/glossary.json#letter-S) tables, holidays, and life-cycle events, and a study partner with whom you regularly learn one text. Both relationships, the tradition teaches, are themselves religious practices.",
        "text": "Summary. The Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 1:6) instructs: \"Make for yourself a rabbi, and acquire for yourself a friend (chaver).\" Jewish life is communal. The chevra, the group of close peers in your kehilla, is the practical extension of community. A chevruta is a study partner, the structural unit of Talmudic learning. A New Jew should aim for both: a small group of friends who share Shabbat tables, holidays, and life-cycle events, and a study partner with whom you regularly learn one text. Both relationships, the tradition teaches, are themselves religious practices."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "How to Find Your Chevra",
        "text": "How to Find Your Chevra"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Within your [shul](/glossary.json#letter-S). Take initiative: invite people for Shabbat dinner, accept invitations, attend the shul's adult education programs, get involved in the [chevra kadisha](/glossary.json#letter-C) (the burial society, and a particularly meaningful way to enter community life) or the [bikkur cholim](/glossary.json#letter-B) committee (visiting the sick). New Jews report, again and again, that six to twelve months of consistent attendance and intentional effort will earn them a chevra. Before that, the loneliness can be acute. Push through.",
        "text": "Within your shul. Take initiative: invite people for Shabbat dinner, accept invitations, attend the shul's adult education programs, get involved in the chevra kadisha (the burial society, and a particularly meaningful way to enter community life) or the bikkur cholim committee (visiting the sick). New Jews report, again and again, that six to twelve months of consistent attendance and intentional effort will earn them a chevra. Before that, the loneliness can be acute. Push through."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "What a Chevra Does",
        "text": "What a Chevra Does"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Shabbat meals — hosts and is hosted, with the same families on a rotating basis.",
        "text": "Shabbat meals — hosts and is hosted, with the same families on a rotating basis."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Holiday observance — [sukkah](/glossary.json#letter-S) meals on [Sukkot](/glossary.json#letter-S), [Pesach](/glossary.json#letter-P) [seders](/glossary.json#letter-S), [Shavuot](/glossary.json#letter-S) [Tikkun Leil](/glossary.json#letter-T) learning, [Purim](/glossary.json#letter-P) [seudah](/glossary.json#letter-S).",
        "text": "Holiday observance — sukkah meals on Sukkot, Pesach seders, Shavuot Tikkun Leil learning, Purim seudah."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Lifecycle moments — [brit milah](/glossary.json#letter-B), bar/bat [mitzvah](/glossary.json#letter-M), weddings, funerals, [shiva](/glossary.json#letter-S). The chevra shows up.",
        "text": "Lifecycle moments — brit milah, bar/bat mitzvah, weddings, funerals, shiva. The chevra shows up."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Adult learning — a shared [shiur](/glossary.json#letter-S), a [parshah](/glossary.json#letter-P) class, a chevruta arrangement among members.",
        "text": "Adult learning — a shared shiur, a parshah class, a chevruta arrangement among members."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Mutual aid — meals after a baby is born, transportation after surgery, help during shiva.",
        "text": "Mutual aid — meals after a baby is born, transportation after surgery, help during shiva."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Chevruta — The Study Partner",
        "text": "Chevruta — The Study Partner"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The traditional unit of Talmudic learning is two people (sometimes three) sitting across from each other, reading a text aloud together. The Talmud ([Berachot 63b](https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.63b)) teaches ein haTorah niknit ela ba-chavurah, \"the Torah is only acquired in a group (chavurah).\" The reasoning: one person reading alone misses what the other catches. The text is most fully understood through dialogue. A chevruta is not casual. It is a serious commitment to meet at a regular time and to engage seriously with a chosen text.",
        "text": "The traditional unit of Talmudic learning is two people (sometimes three) sitting across from each other, reading a text aloud together. The Talmud (Berachot 63b) teaches ein haTorah niknit ela ba-chavurah, \"the Torah is only acquired in a group (chavurah).\" The reasoning: one person reading alone misses what the other catches. The text is most fully understood through dialogue. A chevruta is not casual. It is a serious commitment to meet at a regular time and to engage seriously with a chosen text."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "How to Find a Chevruta",
        "text": "How to Find a Chevruta"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Through your shul's adult education program.",
        "text": "Through your shul's adult education program."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Through Hadar's Project [Zug](/glossary.json#letter-Z) — Hadar matches you with a chevruta and a curriculum.",
        "text": "Through Hadar's Project Zug — Hadar matches you with a chevruta and a curriculum."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Through Sefaria's chevruta-finding feature.",
        "text": "Through Sefaria's chevruta-finding feature."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Through Yeshivat Hadar, the OU's [Daf Yomi](/glossary.json#letter-D) program, or the local [kollel](/glossary.json#letter-K).",
        "text": "Through Yeshivat Hadar, the OU's Daf Yomi program, or the local kollel."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "By asking your rabbi to suggest someone at your level.",
        "text": "By asking your rabbi to suggest someone at your level."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "What to Study",
        "text": "What to Study"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "For a first chevruta: Pirkei [Avot](/glossary.json#letter-A), with a good commentary ([Sacks](/glossary.json#letter-J) or Bunim). For a slightly deeper start: the Mishnah Berachot, with [Bartenura](/glossary.json#letter-T)'s commentary. For a Talmud chevruta: a [tractate](/glossary.json#letter-M) of the Daf Yomi cycle (if you join the cycle), or one you pick yourself (Berachot, [Megillah](/glossary.json#letter-M), and Pesachim are popular starting points). Whatever you choose, commit to weekly sessions of an hour. Don't be ambitious about pace. Depth is the goal.",
        "text": "For a first chevruta: Pirkei Avot, with a good commentary (Sacks or Bunim). For a slightly deeper start: the Mishnah Berachot, with Bartenura's commentary. For a Talmud chevruta: a tractate of the Daf Yomi cycle (if you join the cycle), or one you pick yourself (Berachot, Megillah, and Pesachim are popular starting points). Whatever you choose, commit to weekly sessions of an hour. Don't be ambitious about pace. Depth is the goal."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Where Denominations Diverge",
        "text": "Where Denominations Diverge"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Chevruta study is universal across all denominations and is increasingly the norm in non-[Orthodox](/glossary.json#letter-O) adult education too. The Conservative movement's Mercaz [Halacha](/glossary.json#letter-H), the [Reform](/glossary.json#letter-R) movement's [Mishkan](/glossary.json#letter-M) Initiative, and Reconstructing Judaism's online [Beit Midrash](/glossary.json#letter-B) all offer chevruta-style learning.",
        "text": "Chevruta study is universal across all denominations and is increasingly the norm in non-Orthodox adult education too. The Conservative movement's Mercaz Halacha, the Reform movement's Mishkan Initiative, and Reconstructing Judaism's online Beit Midrash all offer chevruta-style learning."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Sources",
        "text": "Sources"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Mishnah Pirkei Avot 1:6; 2:9](https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.2.9).",
        "text": "Mishnah Pirkei Avot 1:6; 2:9."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Talmud Bavli](/glossary.json#letter-T), Berachot 63b; [Ta'anit 7a](https://www.sefaria.org/Taanit.7a).",
        "text": "Talmud Bavli, Berachot 63b; Ta'anit 7a."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:13](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Torah_Study.1.13).",
        "text": "Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:13."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Way #11: Work It Through With Friends](https://aish.com/48964631/) — Aish.",
        "text": "Way #11: Work It Through With Friends — Aish."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Chavruta: Learning Torah in Pairs](https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1144871/jewish/Chavruta-Learning-Torah-in-Pairs.htm) — Chabad.org.",
        "text": "Chavruta: Learning Torah in Pairs — Chabad.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Humbly Learning Through Chavruta](https://www.hartman.org.il/humbly-learning-through-chavruta/) — Shalom Hartman Institute.",
        "text": "Humbly Learning Through Chavruta — Shalom Hartman Institute."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Bava Metzia 84a](https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Metzia.84a) — Sefaria.",
        "text": "Bava Metzia 84a — Sefaria."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Further Reading",
        "text": "Further Reading"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Aviva Zornberg, Bewilderments — for the chevruta sensibility in prose.",
        "text": "Aviva Zornberg, Bewilderments — for the chevruta sensibility in prose."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Daniel Boyarin, Carnal Israel — for the academic background.",
        "text": "Daniel Boyarin, Carnal Israel — for the academic background."
      }
    ],
    "related": [
      {
        "slug": "where-to-start-your-first-shul-visit",
        "title": "Your First Shul Visit",
        "href": "/articles/where-to-start-your-first-shul-visit.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "community-finding-a-shul",
        "title": "Finding a Shul",
        "href": "/articles/community-finding-a-shul.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits",
        "title": "What to Expect on First Visits",
        "href": "/articles/community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "community-conversion-to-judaism",
        "title": "Conversion to Judaism",
        "href": "/articles/community-conversion-to-judaism.json"
      }
    ],
    "goDeeper": [
      {
        "slug": "community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits",
        "title": "What to Expect on First Visits",
        "level": "practice",
        "href": "/articles/community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits.json"
      }
    ],
    "glossary": {
      "avot": {
        "term": "Avot",
        "hebrew": "אָבוֹת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'Fathers' — the Patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and the name of the first blessing of the Amidah, which invokes them. Pirkei Avot, the Mishnah's tractate of ethical teachings, shares the name.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "daf-yomi": {
        "term": "Daf Yomi",
        "hebrew": "דַּף יוֹמִי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'The daily page' — the worldwide program of studying one Talmud folio each day, completing the entire Babylonian Talmud in about seven and a half years.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day"
      },
      "halacha": {
        "term": "Halacha",
        "hebrew": "הֲלָכָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Jewish law — literally \"the way one walks\" — the legal system that develops from the Torah's mitzvot through the Mishnah, Talmud, and the great codes; the movements differ on how binding it is, not on its centrality to the tradition.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-questions-what-is-halacha"
      },
      "jonathan-sacks": {
        "term": "Jonathan Sacks",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948–2020) served as Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and became one of the most widely read Jewish thinkers of his generation; his commentary anchors the Koren Shalem Siddur, the Field Guide's recommended first siddur for most New Jews.",
        "moreSlug": "where-to-start-your-first-siddur"
      },
      "mishkan": {
        "term": "Mishkan",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁכָּן",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'dwelling place' — the portable sanctuary the Israelites built and carried through the wilderness, the forerunner of the Temple in Jerusalem.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "mishnah": {
        "term": "Mishnah",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁנָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The first great written compilation of the Oral Torah, organized by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi around 200 CE into six orders; together with the Gemara it forms the Talmud.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "orthodox-judaism": {
        "term": "Orthodox Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Orthodox Judaism holds Halacha as fully binding and the Shulchan Aruch as its canonical code; it spans Haredi and Hasidic communities as well as Modern Orthodoxy, and is the starting point from which this Field Guide is written, even as it engages seriously with other denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "pesach": {
        "term": "Pesach",
        "hebrew": "פֶּסַח",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Passover — the spring festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, observed with the seder meal, matzah, and the removal of chametz from the home.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-pesach"
      },
      "purim": {
        "term": "Purim",
        "hebrew": "פּוּרִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The joyous festival celebrating the rescue of Persian Jewry recounted in the book of Esther, observed with the Megillah reading, gifts of food, gifts to the poor, and a festive meal.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-rabbinic-festivals-purim"
      },
      "reform-judaism": {
        "term": "Reform Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Reform Judaism treats Halacha as a source of values and meaning rather than binding law, emphasizing individual autonomy, ethical monotheism, and tikkun olam; it was the first movement to fully recognize patrilineal descent and ordain women as rabbis.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "shabbat": {
        "term": "Shabbat",
        "hebrew": "שַׁבָּת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The seventh day — the weekly day of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall, marked by candle lighting, kiddush, festive meals, and rest from creative work.",
        "moreSlug": "where-to-start-your-first-shabbat"
      },
      "shavuot": {
        "term": "Shavuot",
        "hebrew": "שָׁבוּעוֹת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The early-summer festival marking the giving of the Torah at Sinai, arriving at the end of the seven-week count from Pesach; customs include all-night study and dairy foods.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-shavuot"
      },
      "sukkot": {
        "term": "Sukkot",
        "hebrew": "סוכות",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The autumn Festival of Booths, one of the three pilgrimage festivals — seven days of dwelling in the sukkah and waving the four species, in 'the season of our joy.'",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-sukkot"
      },
      "talmud": {
        "term": "Talmud",
        "hebrew": "תלמוד",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The vast rabbinic work — the Mishnah together with the Gemara's discussion of it — that develops the Oral Torah into Jewish law and thought. It is the central text of Jewish study after the Bible itself.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "talmud-bavli": {
        "term": "Talmud Bavli",
        "hebrew": "תלמוד בבלי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Babylonian Talmud, completed around 500 CE in the academies of Babylonia — the more extensive of the two Talmuds and the authoritative one for Jewish law.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "bartenura": {
        "term": "The Bartenura",
        "hebrew": "עובדיה מברטנורא",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura (c. 1445-c. 1515), the Italian rabbi whose accessible commentary on the Mishnah has been printed alongside nearly every edition since the 16th century; he later revived the Jewish community of Jerusalem.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-facts-pirkei-avot"
      },
      "tikkun-leil-shavuot": {
        "term": "Tikkun Leil Shavuot",
        "hebrew": "תיקון ליל שבועות",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The custom of studying Torah all night on the first night of Shavuot, readying oneself to receive the Torah at daybreak as Israel did at Sinai.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "beit-midrash": {
        "term": "beit midrash",
        "hebrew": "בֵּית מִדְרָשׁ",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A 'house of study' — the hall, lined with books and loud with paired argument, where Jewish texts are learned. It is the beating heart of a yeshiva and of many synagogues.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "bikkur-cholim": {
        "term": "bikkur cholim",
        "hebrew": "בִּקּוּר חוֹלִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The mitzvah of visiting the sick — a core act of gemilut chasadim (loving-kindness) that many communities organize through dedicated societies.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "brit-milah": {
        "term": "brit milah",
        "hebrew": "בְּרִית מִילָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The covenant of circumcision, performed on a Jewish boy's eighth day (health permitting), following God's covenant with Avraham in Bereshit 17.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "chaver": {
        "term": "chaver",
        "hebrew": "חָבֵר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A friend or companion — the word behind Pirkei Avot's counsel to 'acquire for yourself a chaver.' In Jewish life, friendship is treated as a practice, not an accident.",
        "moreSlug": "community-chevra-and-chevruta"
      },
      "chevra": {
        "term": "chevra",
        "hebrew": "חֶבְרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A close circle — the group of friends within a community who share Shabbat tables, holidays, and life's turns. Jewish life is built to be lived inside one.",
        "moreSlug": "community-chevra-and-chevruta"
      },
      "chevra-kadisha": {
        "term": "chevra kadisha",
        "hebrew": "חֶבְרָה קַדִּישָׁא",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 'holy society' — the volunteers who prepare the dead for burial with washing, dressing, and watchfulness. It is considered among the greatest of kindnesses, since it can never be repaid.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "chevruta": {
        "term": "chevruta",
        "hebrew": "חַבְרוּתָא",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A study partner, and the paired, out-loud style of learning that is the basic unit of Talmud study — from the Aramaic for 'friendship.' Two learners argue a text into clarity.",
        "moreSlug": "community-chevra-and-chevruta"
      },
      "kehilla": {
        "term": "kehilla",
        "hebrew": "קְהִלָּה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Jewish community — the congregation and the web of relationships within which Jewish life is actually lived.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "kollel": {
        "term": "kollel",
        "hebrew": "כּוֹלֵל",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "An institute of full-time, usually stipended Torah study for adults, most often married men — the word means \"all-inclusive.\"",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "masechet": {
        "term": "masechet",
        "hebrew": "מַסֶּכֶת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A tractate — one of the 63 subject-organized volumes of the Mishnah and Talmud, such as Berakhot (blessings) or Shabbat.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "megillah": {
        "term": "megillah",
        "hebrew": "מְגִלָּה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A scroll — most famously the Megillah, the scroll of Esther read aloud on Purim; the Five Megillot are the biblical scrolls read across the holiday cycle.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-judaica-megillot"
      },
      "mitzvah": {
        "term": "mitzvah",
        "hebrew": "מִצְוָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A commandment — one of the Torah's 613 divine instructions, and by extension any religious duty or good deed. The plural is mitzvot.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-613-mitzvot"
      },
      "parshah": {
        "term": "parshah",
        "hebrew": "פָּרָשָׁה",
        "translit": "parashah",
        "definition": "The weekly Torah portion — one of 54 divisions of the Torah, one (occasionally two) read each Shabbat so that the whole Torah is completed every year. The plural is parshiyot.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-the-parshah-cycle"
      },
      "seder": {
        "term": "seder",
        "hebrew": "סֵדֶר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'order.' Most often the Passover-night ritual meal that retells the Exodus in fifteen ordered steps; the word also names the six divisions of the Mishnah and any fixed session of study.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "seudah": {
        "term": "seudah",
        "hebrew": "סְעוּדָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A festive meal — especially one of the three meals of Shabbat or the celebratory meal of a holiday or life-cycle event.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shiur": {
        "term": "shiur",
        "hebrew": "שיעור",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Torah class or lesson (plural shiurim), from a word meaning 'measure' or 'portion.' Attending a weekly shiur is one of the most common ways Jews learn together.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shiva": {
        "term": "shiva",
        "hebrew": "שבעה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'seven' — the seven-day mourning period observed at home after the burial of a close relative, during which the community visits to comfort the mourners.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shul": {
        "term": "shul",
        "hebrew": "שול",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Yiddish word for synagogue, used warmly across the Jewish world for the house of prayer, study, and community.",
        "moreSlug": "community-finding-a-shul"
      },
      "sukkah": {
        "term": "sukkah",
        "hebrew": "סוכה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The temporary booth, roofed with cut branches, in which Jews eat (and some sleep) during the seven days of Sukkot, recalling the Israelites' wilderness dwellings.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-judaica-sukkah"
      },
      "zug": {
        "term": "zug",
        "hebrew": "זוג",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A 'pair' — in the world of Jewish learning, the two partners of a chevruta who study a text together.",
        "moreSlug": null
      }
    }
  },
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "parent",
      "title": "Community",
      "href": "/sections/community.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Your First Shul Visit",
      "href": "/articles/where-to-start-your-first-shul-visit.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Finding a Shul",
      "href": "/articles/community-finding-a-shul.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "What to Expect on First Visits",
      "href": "/articles/community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Conversion to Judaism",
      "href": "/articles/community-conversion-to-judaism.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "What to Expect on First Visits",
      "href": "/articles/community-what-to-expect-on-first-visits.json"
    }
  ]
}