Young men attend yeshivas when they become Bar Mitzvahs (“son of commandment”; bar mitzvah ceremony includes leading specific prayers during Shabbat services, reading from the torah during Shabbat etc). At the yeshivas, they begin an in-depth study, analysis, and memorization of the Talmud.

Scholars would sit in pair and spend their time questioning each other on the meaning of a specific passage in the Talmud. The method used was called pilpul (pepper) which was the term for meticulously looking for contradictions between the Bible and the commentaries, multiple meaning of words, and hidden puns. Doing this might lead to further truths and other interpretations.