"Either a Hevruta Partner of Death" A Critical view on the Interpersonal Dimensions of Hevruta Learning

How might one perceive the role of his or her hevruta partner in
the hevruta learning relationship? Drawing on recent developments
in the scholarship of rabbinics, this article offers an
interpretation of a Talmudic legend that discusses three forms
of interpersonal relationships in hevruta learning. Rather then
considering hevruta learning as a formal setting meant to serve
the learner's own learning, this interpretation offers a dialogic
view of hevruta learning in which the learner carries a responsibility
for the learning of his or her hevruta partner as
well. The article concludes by suggesting further considerations
of the interpretation of Talmudic legends as a resource for
Jewish education and of hevruta learning as a locus for moral
education.