1846 kheder list sent to research group members

A list of kheders in the district in 1846 has been sent to District Research Group members. This gives for every shtetl a list of kheders - the name of the teacher and where they were - usually in someone's house.

Olga Zabludoff has prepared the following note from a Russian language encyclopedia and Dov Levin’s book "The Litvaks".

All Jewish communities in Lithuania had at least one melamed [teacher] for boys aged 3 to 13. If there was a group consisting of more than five boys, the community organized a kheder. A Jew who didn’t enroll his son to study could be exiled from his community.

Wealthy families sent their sons to study in large towns, and the boys returned home only for holidays. For kheders with more than 25 students, an additional melamed assistant was hired.

First Importance kheders were for the wealthiest people; tuition was high. Second Importance Kheders for less wealthy Jews charged more moderate tuition fees. There were also kheders for poor students with minimal tuition. Both primary- and secondary-level kheders existed within the three categories of kheders.

The Bulletin of Jewish educational institutions combines the various types of kheders into dated lists by district.

Primary-level kheder was for 3- to 7-year-old boys; secondary-level kheder was for boys to age 13. The curriculum in the primary kheder started with the Hebrew alphabet, moved on to the Pentateuch with Rashi’s basic commentary, and soon thereafter concentrated on selected portions of the Talmud with the traditional commentaries. At a slightly later stage, when the pupil reached Bar Mitzvah age, he moved on to a deeper study of the Talmud in a small group taught by a melamed who was a recognized scholar. This system was aimed theoretically at giving the student the ability to continue his studies on his own and become a Talmudic scholar. He could also, if he was able, continue his studies at a small yeshiva. However, students in kheders for the poor had to be exceptionally gifted in order to study in a yeshiva.