Turning Heaven and Earth: a Source Book and Study Guide for Chavruta Learning

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Chavruta, also spelled chavrusa (Hebrew: ???????????, Arabic: ???????????, from the Aramaic for "friendship"[1] or "companionship"[2]), is a traditional Rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a pair of students independently learn, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method in yeshivas and kollels, where students often engage regular study partners of similar knowledge and ability. The traditional phrase is to learn b'chavruta (Hebrew: ?????????????, "in chavruta"; i.e., in partnership); the word has come by metonymy to refer to the study partner as an individual, though it would more logically describe the pair. In Orthodox parlance, a chavruta always refers to two students, but Reform Judaism has expanded the idea of chavruta to include study groups of up to five individuals.
Chavruta-style learning is also popular in women's yeshivas which study Talmudic texts. More recently, it has been extended to telephone and internet Torah study partnerships.