Gemara Berura offers a clear and consequential, step-by-step methodology. Each step in the learning process is designed to help the learner to process a different aspect of the text. While following these steps, the learner creates a visual representation of the sugiya which is coded with colors, indentations, flowcharts etc.

1. Step one: Divide the sugiya into separate segments
2. Step two: Functional analysis of each piskah
3. Step three: Indenting text to indicate linkage
4. Flow charts
5. Adding Comments

In order to receive assistance in carrying out the following steps, the learner can refer to the program's help tools for assistance. These tools serve as clues which signal how to break down the sugiya.

Step 1: Divide the sugiya into separate segments
The learner opens the original text of the Gemara at the page he intends to study.

He then studies the text and identifies each separate segment in the sugiya. The learner creates breaks between the segments by clicking on the appropriate icon.
View an example by clicking here.

Step 2: Functional analysis of each segment In step two, the learner is required to understand what function each segment plays in the discussion. The learner examines each segment, and tries to understand the content and what part the segment plays in the development of the discussion. He selects one of the nine categories suggested in Gemara Berura, and clicks on the appropriate icon. The segment appears on the screen in the color-code which signifies its specific function or purpose. View an example by clicking here.

Step 3: Indenting text to indicate linkage
Sugiyot do not always have a linear structure. Segments often relate to an issue which appeared much earlier in the discussion. In order to help the learner "see" how the segments relate to each other, Gemara Berura provides an automated graduation and indentation feature.
In step three, the learner is required to examine each segment in the sugiya and to identify which previous segments it relates to.
By clicking an icon , the learner links segments which relate to each other.
- The following simple rule governs the linking sequence: any subsequent segment which relates to an earlier one is indented one centimeter more to the left than the segment to which it relates, regardless of whether it appears one, or many, segments later.
View an example by clicking here.


4. Flow Charts
The learner's execution of the above three steps automatically constructs a computerized flowchart made up of colors and shapes. This chart "maps" the decisions which the learner made in step two.

By presenting a concrete, integrated representation of the sugiya, the flow chart helps the learner to see how the different parts of the discussion fit together to form a composite whole.

Presentation of the structure as an integrated whole prevents the difficulties which arise when the learner must attend to many different elements at the same time. Flow charts facilitate memory processes such as storage and retrieval of what the learner has understood of the sugiya. Flow charts thus enable the learner to revise the text quickly and effectively.
View an example by clicking here.

5. Adding Comments
While the learner is studying the sugiya, he may add comments to any segment. Two types of comments can be added:
- Commentary: these comments may include an explanation of the segment one's own words, an explanation from another source, a question that arose during the learning process etc.
- Today's application: modern-day applications of the sugiya.

We recommend that schools working with Gemara Berura require their students to use the Comments Feature to explain each segment in their own words, after they complete the above three steps.
View an example by clicking here.