A Monastic-Like Setting for the Study of Torah: Sefer Huqqei ha-Torah

Abstract

Sefer Huqqei ha-Torah (The Book of the Statutes of the Torah; hereafter referred to as SHH) is a detailed treatise describing a bilevel educational system. Problems in education on both the elementary and advanced levels are identified and addressed. The most novel provision of this document calls for the establishment of quasi-monastic study halls for perushim (lit., those who are separate), dedicated students who would remain totally immersed in their Torah studies for a period of seven years. Elementary-level students would be taught in separate structures for a period of up to seven years, in preparation for their initiation into the ranks of the perushim. The formal initiation took place when the student was thirteen, although it could be postponed (or perhaps renounced) until age sixteen.