Who doesn’t know Rabbi Yehuda’s words from the Pesach Haggadah: “Rabbi Yehuda referred to them [the ten plagues] by the acronyms DeTzaCh, ADaSh, BeAChaB?
After publishing tens of thousands of booklets, which caused a revolution in Talmudic learning, and distributing them for free, Rabbi Yehoshua Mordechai Schmidt shlita, Rosh Yeshiva and rabbi of the community settlement of Shavei Shomron, is about to publish another hard cover volume of his work on Shitat Hasimanim, a method that he developed fourteen years ago.
Rabbi Schmidt has already published a first book on Shitat Hasimanim in which he applied the method to the tractate of Berachot, the Order of Moed (Babylonian Talmud) and Shekalim (Jerusalem Talmud). Furthermore, he published an additional booklet on the tractate of Ketubot.
Shitat Hasimanim was evolved by rabbi Schmidt when he, as a youngster, studied for the International Bible Competition. Even back then, he understood the acronyms’ ability to have an impact on memory. At the Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba, he continued to use this method. While serving as a "bkiut" (extensive rather than intensive Talmud learning) teacher , he looked for a way to memorize the Talmud and found this particularly useful. At the Hesder Yeshiva of Shavei Shomron, he decided to take on the subject of acronyms and to turn it into a project which would bring about a change in memorization in the learning process. This is how Shitat Hasimanim came into existence; today, it already covers about half of the Talmud and it is expected to continue.
Although Shitat Hasimanim was developed by Rabbi Schmidt, it is in fact not his invention. The method is based on the words of the Amora Rabbi Chisda in Tractate Eruvin 54b: “The only way to acquire Torah is with signs [i.e. acronyms].” The acronym of this daf 54b is Nun-Daleth: Nizkor Dapim). This appears in other places in the Talmud; for example, it is cited in Shabbat 104a.
Furthermore, it is mentioned by Torah giants from all times, such as the Gaon Maharatz Chajes, the Gaon rabbi Israel Lipschitz (Tiferes Yisrael), the Gaon Reb Chaim of Volozhin, the Gaon Baruch ha-Levy Epstein (Torah Temimah), the Gaon rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and others.
It is very easy to use the method.
The method is built so as to assign an acronym to each subject on a daf (two sided page of Talmud) according to the letters of the daf. For example, it says in Tractate Berachot 28a that they wanted to appoint rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah as Nasi of the Jewish people when rabbi Gamliel was expelled from his position. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah went and consulted his wife. She told him that the Sages would eventually reconcile with Rabbi Gamliel and the latter would be returned to his former position. He replied: “Let a man use a valuable goblet for one day even if it be broken the next.” The abovementioned story appears on daf 28a, i.e. Kaf-Chet. Therefore, the acronym of the subject will be Kos Chashuva (i.e. valuable goblet) from the story about rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah.
Additional examples:
1. Pesachim 49a: Daf Mem-Tet
The subject of marriage is brought up and it says: “This may be compared to [the grafting of] grapes of a vine with grapes of a vine [which is] seemly and acceptable.” The acronym for this will be either “Mishpacha Tova” (good family) or “Mazzal Tov”.
2. Ketubot 102a: Daf Kuf-Bet
“How much are you giving to your son… to your daughter?” The acronym for this is Kiddushei Banim Banot (marriage of boys, girls).
3. Ketubot 103b: Daf Kuf- Gimmel
“On the day on which Rabbi died, holiness ceased…” The acronym for this is Gmar Kedusha (the end of holiness).
Please have a look in the booklet on Shitat Hasimanim and find more beautiful acronyms there.
Yosef Avrishmi, a student at the High Yeshiva Torat Hachayim in Yad Benyamina, writes: “At the end of eighth grade, I had already been exposed to this wonderful method which worked wonders with me, in addition to the acronyms themselves which were of great service to me, and the important introductions on the issue of repetition. This project has changed my way of thinking. I understood that it’s impossible to remember without acronyms and since then I’ve been coining acronyms for each daf and almost everything that I learn. With G-d’s help, my Torah learning has greatly improved".
The method has received recommendations from all the outstanding rabbis of our generation and from all the different religious movements. Among the rabbis who gave their approval are the Rishon le-Zion Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu ZTz”L, the rebbi of Nadvorna of Bnei Brak, the Gaon Rabbi Dov Lior shlita, the Gaon Rabbi Meir Mazuz shlita, the Gaon Rabbi Avraham Yoffe Schlesinger of Geneva, the Rishon le-Zion the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef shlita, and so on.
The method is also used by teachers and rabbis in schools and yeshivas for high-school students; in haredi, Hassidic, Ashkenazic and Sephardic yeshivas. Rabbi Amir Garti, who teaches at the Talmud Torah Barkai in Karnei Shomron, says that this method changed his ambitions and transformed him from “just” a learner of Talmud into a person who also remembers and knows what he has learned. “One can see the sparkle in the eyes of the students when they remember what they are learning,” rabbi Garti adds.
When asked about his goal, Rabbi Schmidt replies that his goal is to ensure that the yeshiva bochurim will know Talmud at the same level as they know “Ashrei yoshvei beiteicha” and that they will know their way around in Shas [i.e. Talmud] in the same way as they know their way around in their prayer book.
For the past fourteen years, Rabbi Schmidt has published his booklets on shitat hasimanim for free in order to benefit the public at large. It was innovative and became an integral part of learning in many institutions. Now, as mentioned earlier, the rabbi has fulfilled another dream: the publication of his first book on Berachot, Moed (Babylonian Talmud) and Shekalim (Jerusalem Talmud). With G-d’s help, a booklet on Tractate Ketubot and a book of Shitat Hasimanim on the Order of Nashim (Women) will be published soon. (For more information, Israel Meir Schmidt 052-5994724 )