How to prepare/give a shiur?

amother

Turquoise

Tue, May 14 2024, 2:21 pm

If you want to give an ongoing shiur that progresses through Chumash or Nach, then that is pretty self-explanatory. You have all the mefarshim to work with, plus any discussions by chazal, for each passuk. Plus you can weave in more contemporary views.

If you want to discuss a topic of machshava or halacha, it is less straightforward. Personally, as someone who cannot easily and quickly read Tanach or gemara or sefarim in their original language, I like to orient myself to the topic by listening to or reading a few shiurim or articles first and identifying the most fundamental sources that must inevitably be cited in any discussion. Then, I may dig into the most important 2 or 3 sources in depth, through listening to shiurim specifically on those sources. I try to put together what I learn, and maybe add more contemporary views.

The Har Etzion Virtual Beit Midrash has a wealth of written shiurim, with copious footnotes that I find very helpful. https://etzion.org.il/en

Also, torahweb.org has some good contemporary takes in writing.

There are lots of audio and video resources, but I find it most efficient to start with a text one if one can be located. A lot of YUTorah shiurim have sourcesheets attached.

Finally, make sure to credit the authors of the shiurim you used, even if you just mined their work for sources and didn't quote them at all.

Edit: I prefer not to speak on practical halacha personally, but the one time I did, I gave a big disclaimer at the beginning that I was just sharing a survey of approaches and not recommending anything and everyone should ask their own rav what to do and not change anything based on our discussion.

amother

Turquoise

Tue, May 14 2024, 2:36 pm

Also, there are a lot of great resources available for free on HOW to prepare a shiur.

How to Prepare (and deliver) a Shiur -https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/798982

How to Prepare a Halacha Shiur
- Part 1, https://www.yutorah.org/lectur.....36384
- Part 2, https://www.yutorah.org/lectur.....36560
- Part 3, https://www.yutorah.org/lectur.....36895

Preparing Shiurim and Source Sheets - https://rabbimanning.com/audio.....pics/ (scroll down)

amother

Tue, May 14 2024, 2:48 pm

Wow, this is a wealth of valuable and helpful info! Thank you so much!

I also get overwhelmed because there are so many different styles of shiurim - from starting off with questions on a topic and then going through different sources to weave it all together and answer all the questions, or just talking about a bunch of things that connect, or elaborating on just one or two ideas in depth.

How do I pick my style, and how do I structure the shiur once I've chosen? I guess I'll take a look at some of these resources you've sent to hopefully get some clarity.

amother

Turquoise

Tue, May 14 2024, 2:57 pm

amother OP wrote:

Happy to help! I think you should think about what the goal, the frequency, and audience for your shiurim will be, and that will help you pick the style.

For example, I give a weekly shiur for early elementary children, of about 35-40 minutes, the goal of which is primarily to cover ground in Nach, to give over the material as close to the actual text as possible and reasonable, and to include some content about mitzvos as it comes up organically in the narrative. The audience, frequency, and time, inform how I prepare and what I deliver.

A while back, I was asked to give a one-time 45 minute shiur to adults on any topic of my choosing, that would be given in a lineup with other totally unrelated shiurim of similar length. I wound up choosing the topic of nazirus, its costs and benefits, whether it can ever be a good thing to do and when. There are a lot of interesting sources directly on point and some that weren't on point but I was able to relate to the topic. But my preparations and whole approach were totally different than for the first one.

amother

Turquoise

Tue, May 14 2024, 3:30 pm

amother Cornsilk wrote:

I think people who give shuirim give them because they enjoy learning and have talent for giving them over. With the exception of a rav or rebbetzin who may be obliged due to their job.

Maybe this is true in large communities. In smaller communities, it is often that a shiur is needed or desired, and there is nobody who wants to give it. So somebody steps up.

But also, a person can have a desire to share their learning, but just not know how best to go about it. OP said she loves to learn, it sounds like she just doesn't know how best to channel that.