9

What are some good mnemonics for remembering Talmud and Mishna? The Talmud refers to it as making simanim for what you learn.

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    What sort of techniques have you learned, and why cant they be applied directly to Jewish texts?
    – mevaqesh
    Dec 2, 2016 at 3:32
  • 1
    I am not sure that this is on topic. It might be better suited for cogsci.stackexchange.com or perhaps lifehacks.stackexchange.com.
    – mevaqesh
    Dec 2, 2016 at 3:33
  • youtube.com/watch?v=9ebJlcZMx3c this explains these techniques
    – teach me
    Dec 2, 2016 at 3:51
  • 1
    Could you summarize its contents, and specifically what about them is insufficient when applied to Torah studies. Alternatively, what is significant about remembering Torah as opposed to remembering anything else, (and by extension, why is this relevant to this site)?
    – mevaqesh
    Dec 2, 2016 at 3:55
  • 2
    but I'm generally looking for any techniques that anyone uses to memorize Talmud or Mishna
    – teach me
    Dec 2, 2016 at 3:55

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
5

R Jonathan Rietti has an excellent book on Torah learning called the One minute masmid. In appendix D (p. 241) he brings 43 strategies recommended by Chazal to improve memory - with their sources. Here are the first 10 of those, see the book for more

  1. Constantly review your learning
  2. Read your learning out loud
  3. Sing your learning
  4. Engage your mind in the words as you speak
  5. Write down your own insights
  6. Make your own summary of your learning and then make a code work to represent that information
  7. Under-eating and avoiding food that does not support your health
  8. Learn in a modest way (without trying to impress others)
  9. Learn in a beit hamidrash or shul
  10. Learn lishma - with intent to apply what you learn

etc.

Improve this answer
1
  • Good answer, I was looking for a specific strategy using mnemonics for memorizing Talmud. The sefer listed in the first answer was the answer.
    – teach me
    Feb 25, 2018 at 19:47
3

Rav Arieh Yehuda from Modena wrote a wonderful book called Lev Haarie about the issue and in his introduction he addressed the midrasdim examples, Tora niknet besimanim etc..

The Shaar in Hebrew books

He uses a technic called zikaron hamekomi, which is not a Jewish/torah royalty

The better mnemonics are always the mnemonic you invented yourself.

To hear yourself and a good pronunciation. Learn again even if you already know it, endlessly, all this is in Talmud. In gemara, there are also sgulot, things that lead to forgetness or to rememberness

article summarizing his views and approach here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254157698_Jewish_Traditions_on_Strengthening_Memory_and_Leone_Modena's_Evaluation

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .