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Beth midrash (or Beit Midrash or Bais Medrash or Bais Medrish) (plural 'battei midrash') literally means a "House of 'Interpretation' or 'Lecturing' or 'Learning' " in Hebrew. It may refer to a synagogue, yeshiva, or kollel, and refers specifically to the central "study hall" (and/or also the "place of worship"), which is a place dedicated for Torah and Talmud study. It is also often used as an alternate name for a yeshiva.
Structure
Generally, there are either benches or chairs, and lecterns (shtenders in Yiddish), or tables, on which books are placed, and chairs for seating.
A characteristic Beth midrash has at least several copies of the Talmud, Torah, siddur (for prayers), and at least one or two copies of the Shulkhan Arukh, Mishneh Torah, Arbaah Turim and some other oft-consulted works.
Origin
In the times of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and the Mishna, most Torah study probably took place in the Beth din (Rabbinical court), where religious law was delibrated as part of the judicial process. Nevertheless, the Mishna makes mention of the beth midrash as a separate institution. The Talmud (Shabbat 127a) holds that there is no time limit for attending the beth midrash to engage in study, but does hold that one should attend twice daily. Similarly, the Shulkhan Arukh (Orach Chayim 155) maintains that one should spend a few hours in the beth midrash after the morning prayers.
Yeshiva
While a beth midrash generally serves a community, it is also the physical abode of a yeshiva (college of higher Jewish study) and kollel (Torah study institute for married men). The location and institution of study are often interchanged, so in popular parlance, yeshivot are sometimes referred to as battei midrash. Many battei midrash originally serve the community but attract a yeshiva in the course of their existence.
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