Teachers’ intertextual responses in 'havruta' to reading an ancient Hebrew text
Submitted by:
Esty Teomim-Ben Menachem
Abstract:
The study examines the role played by intertextual connections suggested by teachers engaged in an interpretive dialogue on a 6th-century Hebrew text. The participants were 26 Hebrew-as-L1 teachers in secular schools in Israel, who were asked to study the text in havruta (a traditional Jewish approach to studying sacred texts, involving a dyad of students who debate their meanings). The teachers were also asked to assess its suitability for their own classes. The findings suggested significant variance in the number and content of intertextual connections between the groups, given the teachers’ religiosity or previous experience with traditional Jewish texts. The connections suggested shaped the processing of the text, the teachers’ attitudes’ thereto, and their willingness to teach it. The main conclusion is that studying in multicultural havruta groups where intertextual connections emerge helps interpret the text, view it as relevant for classroom teaching, and soften opposition to it, if any.