ABSTRACT
In the discussion of the various dramatic aspects of lernen, the author have tried to demonstrate that it is the group that carries out and appreciates the cultural performances. Although not completely documented, the beginnings of the havura as a concept in Jewish life antedates the formation of study fellowships. The earliest havurot were apparently organized as burial societies and were perhaps modeled after similar societies in Greco-Roman civilization. Jerusalem is closer to the traditional Jewish milieux in which havurot first developed. Among Orthodox Jews, a tradition that discourages the mixing of sexes during religious activity is deeply ingrained in their consciousness. Without the haver with whom one joins to play out the dialogues, debates, and narratives of the text, the Talmud rests in silence, and Judaism and Jewish feeling remain unexpressed. The religious Jew, Orthodox in his orientation, feels a historical and personal religious obligation to lern Torah.
