Take Your Learning to the Next Level
You Are NOT Stuck
You CAN Grow Your Skills in Chumash or Gemara
There’s a corny joke that I’m sure you’ve heard before.
A man is walking down the street in New York and asks a stranger, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice, practice, practice.”
In our context, a person may ask, “How do I become an expert in learning Chumash with Rashi? How do I master Gemara?”
The only real answer is, “Practice, practice, practice.”
However, it’s not enough just to practice. It is also necessary to practice the right things in the right way.
The type of practice that you need is called “deliberate practice” – working diligently on mastering a subject by focusing on areas of weakness.
How do you get deliberate practice?
If you wanted to master tennis, you would look for a coach who is able to teach tennis skills.
It’s just the same with Chumash and Gemara. You want to find a coach (tutor) who has spent time learning the “sport” and is able to teach learning skills.
Looking for a few serious tutoring clients
Do you want to learn Chumash?
Do you want to learn Gemara?
Do you struggle with your learning?
Do you want to improve your skills so that you can learn independently?
Are you now in college and want to maintain your learning skills?
Do you attend a shiur but know that your skills are not improving?
Do you have kids in day school and you want to be able to help them with their homework?
A skilled tutor can evaluate your current skill level and help you grow to the next level.
Who am I?
My name is Shlomo Skinner. I’m originally from Los Angeles. My wife and I have been living in Jerusalem since 1995.
In the States, I worked as a financial analyst for several real estate firms and state government agencies. Because I enjoy teaching and helping students grow, I also taught mathematics at the community college level.
After we moved to Israel, I was able to devote my time to learning Torah. I eventually earned semicha from Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg and the Israel Chief Rabbinate.
I spent about ten years teaching Chumash and Gemara at Yeshivat Darche Noam in Jerusalem.
Now that I’m no longer teaching at a yeshiva, I’m able to accept a few private tutoring clients.
Here is what one of my current tutoring clients has to say:
Testimonial by Samuel T.
I always look forward to my learning sessions with Shlomo! He’s an incredibly patient, supportive, and creative teacher, who really motivated me to push the boundaries of my Torah studies. Learning with him is always convenient, engaging – and when he throws in his straight faced humor – highly entertaining.
This is from a former tutoring client:
Testimonial by Jason H.
I’ve been learning from Rabbi Skinner since the time I was a student [at Yeshivat Darche Noam] in 2009. He is a fantastic teacher. He has a methodical approach, good sense of humor and a great ability to help the student learn the skills, not just give the answer. Our weekly sessions have helped my Rashi skills tremendously — it is continually one of the highlights of my week. I would highly recommend him to any prospective person interested in gaining learning skills from a talented teacher and mentor. – Jason H
This is from a former chevruta of mine:
Testimonial by David S.
I have known Rabbi Skinner for about 15 years. During my time as a student at Darche Noam, I had the privilege of learning with him one-on-one (chavruta). In addition, I have attended many of his shiurim. Rabbi Skinner has an analytical approach and is able to clarify complicated subjects. He has also given novel insights on the material that we studied together.
I highly recommend Rabbi Skinner as a teacher and spiritual guide whose students can gain much insight and understanding of Judaism. – David S
Here is what a former tutoring client has to say:
Shlomo is a warm, patient, and extremely knowledgeable teacher who brings out the best in his students.
– Yehoshua L
Here is from one of the rabbis I worked with at Darche Noam:
I have known Rabbi Shlomo Skinner for over a decade. As well as being a colleague of his at Yeshivat Darche Noam in Jerusalem, I oversaw R. Shlomo in his work as a teacher for www.torahtutors.org. Shlomo is talented at stimulating the thought processes and existing skill sets of his students and taking them to the next level. His easy-going manner and pleasant disposition nicely complement his skills as a teacher of content and skills. – Rabbi Meir
This is what you get
Each tutoring client receives a free one-hour evaluation.
- We will talk about your learning goals.
- We will determine your strengths and weaknesses.
- We will assess your skills and how to grow them.
- We will discuss what to learn together.
- We will discuss how many learning sessions we should have per week.
Each tutoring session will consist of:
- Review of material covered in the prior session.
- Overview of new material.
- In-depth coverage of the new material.
- Review of new material.
- Assignment of what to do to prepare for the next session.
All sessions are interactive.
This is not a passive lecture format. Rather it is interactive learning together as chevrutas.
We will work together to achieve your goals with deliberate, focused practice. By identifying your weaknesses and working on them, your skills will grow.
Is this for you?
This could be a good fit for you if you are:
- A serious high school student
- A college student
- An adult who wants to sharpen your learning skills
I’m not interested in working with you if you are:
- A student only interested in cramming for exams
- Not self-motivated to learn Torah
- Only doing this to please someone else
- Not interested in devoting time to your skill development.
Let’s face it. Learning Torah is tough and progress doesn’t happen overnight. I will give preference to potential clients who can make a minimum time commitment.
Testimonial by Justin L.
Rabbi Shlomo is a fabulous educator. I found our learning to be rewarding and energizing. He is a kind man who cares about his work and invests himself in the success of his students. — Justin L from NY, 2022
What’s the fee for personalized tutoring?
Each tutoring session is for one academic hour.
The fee per session for one client is only $60, but for a limited time is discounted to $35. For a chevruta pair, there is a discounted fee of only $60 per session.
All tutoring is done online.
Get started now
Fill in the form below with your details. I’ll set up a 15-minute Zoom call.
We’ll chat about your background and what you want to accomplish with your learning skills.
Interested? Let’s Talk!
Sorry, but at this time I’m not accepting new students.
When tutoring is open again, I will announce it in my weekly email.
P.S. – A friend of mine tutors organic chemistry and charges $75 an hour. I’m sure that you will agree, Torah is more important and I really should charge even more. However, I realize that in today’s economy, many people will refrain from paying more than my reasonable rate of just $60 $35 per session.
P.P.S. – I know that you want to learn Torah independently. I also know that the best way to develop skills is with a teacher in an on-going, one-on-one relationship rather than from a book.
P.P.P.S. – I only have room in my schedule for 2 or 3 clients. The number I accept depends upon how many hours we need each week to accomplish your goals.
Testimonial
When it came to my learning skills, I had felt for a long time that I was “stuck” at a certain plateau. Then I contacted Shlomo. First and foremost, he is an superb pedagogue – he’s patient, he genuinely cares about his students, and he helps you identify where you’re strong and where you can improve. Shlomo gave me the skills I needed to be able to unlock Jewish texts on my own with greater ease and because of that I’ve been able to do more on my own, decrease my level of frustration and increase my level of enjoyment! But he’s not only a great teacher – he is also a wonderful learning partner. I enjoyed the discussions that arose from our learning and I came to look forward to our time together every week, just as I would learning with a good friend.
Zach M, PhD