Senior Girls Top Finishers in National Talmud Competition

Three girls in Ida Crown Jewish Academy honors girls’ talmud class finished among the top four spots nationally in the Yeshiva University’s High School Girls Bekiut Competition. More than 530 students participated from over 30 schools across North America in YU’s daf and amud competitions this year. This added up to over 16,000 pages of gemara learned this year.

Rabbi Matanky’s honors girls’ gemara class completed the tractate of Megilla in the Talmud for the senior girls honors talmud course and the competition. Three of the girls placed in the top four, the strongest representation of any school nationally. Tzippy David finished first place and Ruby Grant and Molly Stein tied for third place.

First-place winner Tzippy David says, “Up until this year I had never attempted to learn any gemara on my own. Because of this competition, I learned that I did have the ability to learn gemara, and I found a new inspiring way in which I could enjoy connecting with my Judaism.”

Molly Stein says, “I had the opportunity to learn an entire mesachet, which is something I had never done before. As a result, I was able to enrich my learning and challenge myself in ways I never thought possible.”

Competitors complete one page of talmud per week to cover a section per year. There are five tests over the course of the year, each covering a number of pages. Students receive book store gift certificates for each test score above 75, plus an additional gift certificate for a score above 75 on all five tests. Three overall grand prizewinners receive $5000, $2500 and $1000.