Mesivta

Mesivta (also 'metivta'; Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades 9 through 11 or 12; alternately, it refers to the religious studies track in a yeshiva high school that offers both religious and secular studies.^[1][2]

The comparable term in Israel for the former is Yeshiva Ketana (Hebrew: ישיבה קטנה, lit. "small yeshiva"),^[3] for the latter Yeshiva Tichonit (ישיבה תיכונית, "yeshiva high-school").^[4] This article focuses on the US; see Chinuch Atzmai and Mamlachti dati for respective discussion of these Israeli institutions.

After graduation from a mesivta, students progress to a beth midrash, or undergraduate-level, yeshiva program.^[5] In practice, yeshivas that call themselves mesivtas are usually a combination of mesivta (high-school) and beth medrash (post-high-school) programs.^[6] Students in the beth medrash program are often called upon to mentor those in the mesivta.^[7]