In Jewish practice, Torah study often takes on a ritualized role
similar to that of prayer. A specific place—the beit midrash, or
"house of study"--is a designated room set aside in many Jewish
communal buildings. Many Jews carve out set times during the day
or week for Torah study. Torah study may begin with the
recitation of a prayer thanking God for “commanding us to occupy
ourselves with the words of Torah” and another asking God to
enable us and our descendants to enjoy knowledge of God through
the study of Torah. The Talmud even records specific prayers for
entering and leaving a beit midrash. Jewish study focuses not on
simple absorption of material, but on a dialogue among students
and between students and text. This dialogical mode of study is
exemplified by the standard page layout of many classical texts.
Generally, the focus text--which may be Talmud, Bible, midrash,
or a law code--stands at the center of the page and is
surrounded by two or more levels of commentary: one or more
commentaries on t