The Shiur as Theater Word from: Alieza

Today I began the intensive Talmud program at Matan, a Midrasha in Jerusalem.

During the intro shiur, I was thinking about the structure of a traditional Talmud classes. The shiur is much like a story, beginning with a set up of the problem, followed by the revelation of further details, and finally a surprise ending. Shiurim save the point for the end, unlike essays (at least the way we are often traditionally taught to write) in which some form of the thesis appears in the introduction to the essay.

Working as a Writing Fellow at Barnard, I learned that Chinese immigrants often burry their thesis because they feel it is rude or presumptuous to thrust your thesis on the reader, instead they gradually weave to the point in the end.

But the shiur structure is not motivated by modesty or the feeling that the respected audience is not to be put upon; rather, there is a sort of pageantry in the revelation of the Chap of a shiur. For example, the person giving shiur often builds up the wrong opinion, supports it, and develops it so that their ability to topple the idea will seem even more miraculous, as a denouement, the powerful aha! Our teachers are actors, magicians who delight in the stunned faces of their audience.

But it doesn't always work. The women in today's class seemed wise to the wiles of the teacher. They stopped him at every step toppling the straw-man before he had a chance to blow in the wind for an instant. I was disappointed that the teacher didn't fully relate to their challenges; he needed to play along with the script that he had prewritten- continue to support the opinion that was clearly to fall until the moment of simulated demise.

This is not the fault of the teacher. Of course all these contradictory texts exist simultaneously and if the students happen to know the cannon, how can you prevent them from jumping to the conclusion. But the wind was taken out of his climax. Now I wonder what would have happened if he had related to their comments. Would the shiur have continued? Could the material itself be interesting sans the pageantry of revelation? If we had eaten dessert first would he have lost our attention for all the other sources?