Making Talmud Come Alive with a Game of Jewish Monopoly

Rabbi Avremi Zacks has been living in Moscow for the past six years. For those who don’t know, Moscow is home to the largest Jewish community in Russia. It’s a thriving center of Jewish life, with over 100 Chabad families serving as emissaries, and many organizations helping young Russian Jews reconnect with their roots. The city is also home to the Chief Rabbinate of Russia, a Jewish orphanage, a Jewish university, and even a special institute for young women becoming religious.

"I came to Moscow right after my wedding," Rabbi Zacks shares. "Soon after, I began teaching eighth grade in the local Talmud Torah, where about 150 students learn. Teaching Talmud to this age group has been one of my biggest challenges."

Why?

"My job as a teacher is complex because the students come from very different backgrounds. Some come from fully observant homes, while others have parents who only recently became more connected to Judaism and decided to send their children to our cheder (Jewish elementary school). The gap in knowledge is huge, which makes things tough."

"Our goal is to get the boys ready to continue learning in the local yeshiva or even in a holy yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael. That means we need to make sure they leave our class with a strong foundation in Torah learning."

How do you do that?

"When it comes to teaching Halacha (Jewish law) or Mishnah, it’s usually not a problem. Those subjects are more relatable. I can explain how to build a sukkah, choose a kosher etrog, or find a proper shofar. These things feel real to the boys because they see them in their lives."

"But the Talmud is a different story. The Gemara is full of concepts the kids have never heard of. It describes life in ancient times, and the students often ask, frustrated, 'Why should we study these back-and-forth arguments? Why should we care about discussions from Babylon thousands of years ago?'"

"Also, the Talmud’s unique logic built around questions and answers, doesn’t always follow a clear order. And the language is hard, too. Some kids are still getting used to Hebrew, and now they have to learn Aramaic on top of that?"

The Solution: A Talmudic Monopoly Game

Rabbi Zacks is a creative soul. Before becoming a teacher, he worked in graphics and advertising, and that background helped him come up with a new idea. "In my first few years teaching, I started a classroom newspaper with stories from the Talmud. Sometimes we rewrote modern stories in Aramaic. We even created 'news reports' from the time of the Amoraim (Talmudic sages). The kids liked it, but it still didn’t give them the tools to actually learn Talmud."

"Then one day, Hashem put a new idea in my mind. I decided to make a classroom game just like Monopoly but with street names from the Talmud."

Rabbi Zacks was already familiar with the names of streets and cities mentioned in the Gemara. "The Talmud says that Rav had a neighborhood in Sura, Babylon, where he ran his yeshiva. So we added that neighborhood to the game. Another place, Mechoza, had a market, so we added that, too. Slowly we built a whole board with cities and streets from Talmudic times."

Then came the mission cards—just like in Monopoly. But these were based on real Talmudic stories. "For example, one card says: ‘Your ox gored for the third time, go pay damages to the nearest player.’ Another card: ‘Go to the home of Mar Ukva, known for his medical wisdom, and learn a profession.’ One even says: ‘Complete a minyan (prayer quorum) at the synagogue in Hutzal,’ or: ‘Go buy a house on a street in Pumbedita.’ That’s how the kids absorb stories and background from the Talmud while playing."

And there was more. "We included Aramaic phrases on the cards. Instead of ‘Go to,’ we wrote ‘Zil’, the same word the Talmud uses. The Monopoly money? We replaced it with the currency used back then: mana, dinars, and gold dinars. So now, when they learn the sugyah (topic) of ‘one who betroths a woman with money,’ they really understand what that means."

Best of all, there’s no “jail” in this version of Monopoly. Instead, kids are sent to "Yarchei Kallah."

"The Talmud tells us that in Babylon, during the months of Adar and Elul, Jews from all walks of life would gather to study Torah in one place called Yarchei Kallah. So in the game, if a student lands on that square, we say: 'Go study at Yarchei Kallah.' There they get a card with general knowledge, like: ‘How does a Talmudic question begin?’ or: ‘Which masechta (tractate) is the longest in Shas?’"

Rabbi Zacks adds with pride, "The kids helped build the game. Not every idea made it in, of course, but the process itself helped them absorb the Talmud in a powerful way."

Bringing It to Families Everywhere

Four years have passed since Rabbi Zacks created the game, which he named “Bavli.” Every year, he and his students added more missions and improved the board. Eventually, he realized: "If my students love this game, why not make it available to everyone?"

His wife supported the idea, and so did the school principal. So he launched a Headstart campaign to raise funds and now, the game is being released to the public.

"I hope this game will be used by kids who are just starting to learn Gemara, by those already studying, and even by yeshiva students. It's really a family game," he says with emotion. "My goal is simple: to help children overcome one of the hardest challenges today, learning Talmud with real understanding and joy."