“Zug” is Hebrew for “pair.” When two people (or a “zug”) study texts together, they are studying in “havruta.” Your learning partner is called your “havruta.”

During four times of year that we call “learning cycles,” you can register for a course and be paired with a new havruta. You’ll be matched with someone based on information you provide in your registration such as: course preference, learning partner preferences, your bio, and more. Our team takes special care to match you with someone we think will be a great fit!

Absolutely. Project Zug is a wonderful way to learn and connect more deeply with a friend, colleague or family member. You can register for a course at any time and invite your havruta, which will send them an email with a link to set up their own account. Once you are both registered, you’ll have access to the course materials on your dashboard, and your Project Zug journey begins! 

When you receive your course materials and have confirmed your havruta, you and your havruta will schedule a weekly time to meet and learn together, either in person or online. We recommend dedicating one hour per week. The timing is entirely up to you both, offering the flexibility to fit learning into your schedules. This is one of the unique advantages of learning with Project Zug!

We recommend dedicating one hour each week to learning. You may learn in person or via video chat. Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Skype are all great options if you are not meeting in person.

Our courses tend to be 4 to 10 sessions long and we recommend a pace of one session per week. 4-session courses take approximately four weeks to complete, while 10-session courses take approximately 10 weeks to complete. The course content includes four short instructor videos featuring the creator of the course and a source sheet with explanations and discussion questions for each learning session. The source sheets are self-guided and designed to be learned by you and a partner. You may watch the instructor videos before your learning or during your time together.

No, you do not need to prepare in advance of learning sessions. The material is designed to be studied together. You may choose to watch the instructor videos before or during your learning sessions. 

Our study sheets include 3-5 selections of text, along with explanations and guiding questions. We provide guidance in the study sheet so that you can learn during your meetings and without having to do any prep work.

You do not need to know any Hebrew to access our courses. We provide English translations for all of the texts. If you are interested in learning Hebrew, contact us and we can give you guidance on how to start!

If you’re following the materials, answering the guiding questions, and having good conversations with your havruta, you are on the right track! The videos from the course educator also provide framing and direction. If you have any questions about the material, you can post them in our discussion forum, where other learners of the course may respond or ask their own questions. If you are really stuck, contact us and we can help you.

Besides the short instructor videos, Project Zug courses are designed to be learned independently with a havruta and there is no live interaction with the course educator. At certain times per year, like before the High Holidays and Passover, we offer special live learning sessions via Zoom with the course instructor to kick off a course; we'll send you an invitation to join if you're taking a course with a live lecture.

Not at all. All you need is a reliable internet connection and, if you are meeting virtually with your havruta, a computer or tablet with video-conferencing (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). If you and your learning partner happen to be local, you can print off the source sheets and learn in person! You will be able to access your course materials easily through the weekly course emails or directly from your dashboard.

Signing up for Project Zug is easy. First, create an account with a login and password. If you have a havruta, you can register for any course at any time. If not, check back when registration opens for the next learning cycle, so we can pair you with a great havruta! 

Go to www.projectzug.org and click “Sign in” on the upper right corner. For your username, use the email address tied to your Project Zug account. You can also use your Google or Facebook accounts. If you are not sure which email address that is, it is likely the email from which you receive Project Zug communications. Type in your password and click “continue.”

Go to https://www.projectzug.org/user/password. Fill in the email address that you’ve been receiving Project Zug communications. Click “E-mail new password.” You will receive an email with a link to create a new password. Click on the link as soon as you receive the email, and set a new password.

Four times a year Project Zug offers Learning Cycles. These cycles are for anyone who needs to be paired with a learning partner. Each learning cycle starts with an open registration period, which is when you will sign up, letting us know your course and havruta preferences. Once registration closes, we spend about a week matching everyone up with their havruta and courses. When we’re done matching, we’ll send you an email introducing you to your havruta and your course materials. Our learning cycles take place during Fall, Spring, Summer and the Hebrew month of Elul, right before the High Holidays.

Project Zug participants pay a sliding rate of $36-$180 per course. We invite you to pay what you can within that range, but if cost is a barrier to your participation, please let us know. If you would like to sign up a group from a synagogue, school, Hillel, or other organization, please contact us about group rates and the option to become an official partner.

Take a look at our course listing page to browse all of our courses. Are there any topics that look especially intriguing? Educators you’re excited to learn from? Click through the titles to explore course descriptions and watch video trailers so you can get a sense of what piques your interest. We’ve highlighted the most popular courses and a few that are particularly good for beginners.

It is possible, but we don’t typically recommend it. Remember that you are accountable to learning each week with your havruta. Many of our users who have tried have found that learning more than one course at a time is not always feasible or successful. 

If you already have a havruta, you can access the content from your dashboard as soon as you have both registered. Otherwise, once the learning cycle begins, you will receive an email with your havruta’s information and instructions to access the content. That day, you will also be able to log into your Project Zug account, go to your dashboard, and access your havruta and materials. Please see our home page for up-to-date information on cycle start-dates.

Not necessarily! We welcome non-Jewish participants in many circumstances. Please reach out to [email protected] before signing up so that we can work together to find the right fit for you.

Find a quiet, distraction-free place to meet with your havruta, either in person or online. If meeting virtually, use a platform like Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, WhatsApp or Skype, and ensure you can both see your learning materials and hear each other clearly."