Bagrut Oral Torah & Talmud study plan

Read one full daf of untranslated Gemara aloud daily, marking every word you cannot translate without looking.

Build a personal vocabulary list of 40 recurring Talmudic terms (e.g. תניא, איכא דאמרי, קא משמע לן) with a one-line definition and one example from your daf.

Map the sugya structure of your assigned daf by labeling each unit as question (קושיא), answer (תירוץ), proof (ראיה), difficulty (דחייה), or resolution (תירוץ).

Translate three consecutive lines of Aramaic into fluent English without consulting a translation, then check and correct.

Trace the logical function of every מקשן/מתרץ exchange on a new daf and write the argument in plain prose as a numbered chain.

Identify and list all proof-texts (פסוקים) and their role: support, refutation, or mere mnemonic (סימנא).

Practice distinguishing between a genuine contradiction (סתירה) and a merely apparent one resolved by reinterpretation (אוקימתא).

Read the same daf in a second, independent sitting and note which structural markers you missed the first time.

Identify where the Gemara's question is answered by a Mishnah, a Beraita, or an Amoraic statement, and note how the source's authority level affects the resolution.

Read one Rishon on your sugya (e.g. Rashi's commentary on the key line) and paraphrase his explanation of the difficulty in your own words.

Compare Rashi's and Tosafot's treatment of the same passage and state the precise point of disagreement.

Compose three questions of your own that the sugya leaves unresolved.

Trace how one Rishon's reading of the sugya generates a practical halakhic conclusion (נפקא מינה).

List the decisory factors used in your source (e.g. majority, leniency in doubt, precedent of earlier authorities) and cite where each appears.

Read one Acharon who summarizes the halakhic outcome and extract his ruling in a single sentence.

Draft a short responsum-style answer to a practical question arising from the sugya, citing at least three sources.

Compare the Mishnah's formulation with the Tosefta's parallel on the same topic and note additions, omissions, and disagreements.

Identify one midrashic passage (halakhic or aggadic) that bears on your sugya and state how it is used.

Classify three halakhic disputes by type: textual (גירסא), conceptual (סברה), or traditional (קבלה), and justify each classification.

Apply a rule of pesak (e.g. individual vs. majority, or the principle that later authorities may not overturn earlier ones) to one dispute and defend the application.

Identify the underlying conceptual question (חקירה) that the sugya's details are resolving, and state it as a single clear dichotomy.

Trace how one abstract concept (e.g. the nature of ownership, intent, or agency) is developed across at least three separate sugyot.

Return to a daf read in week 1 and re-translate it cold; mark every improvement and every remaining gap.

Write a conceptual thesis about your topic and test it against two passages that seem to challenge it.

Select an independent topic and assemble a source sheet of at least eight primary texts with full citations.

Write a structured essay draft with a thesis, source-based argument, counter-argument, and conclusion.

Verify every citation against the original text, correcting quotation and reference errors.

Have a study partner read the draft and list every unsupported claim; revise to address each.

Revise the essay for argument clarity, tightening each paragraph to one claim supported by one source.

Rehearse an oral defense: explain your thesis and defend it against three anticipated objections.

Review your vocabulary list and structural outlines from weeks 1-6, re-testing the weakest 30 items.

Complete two timed practice translations of unseen Gemara and self-assess accuracy against a published translation.