avreichim

Avreichim (singular avreich) is a Yiddish term used in Orthodox Jewish communities to describe married men who devote themselves to full-time Torah study, typically within a kollel or yeshiva program. The word is used to distinguish these married students from unmarried yeshiva students and from secularly employed individuals. Avreichim usually study Talmud and related rabbinic texts in a structured daily schedule that may include advanced study, analysis, and discussion of halakhic issues.

Most avreichim participate in a kollel, an organized program for married scholars, where they receive stipends or subsidies from their institutions, donor organizations, or community funds. Their households are frequently supported by these stipends, by savings, or by the income of their wives, and in many cases housing is provided by the community or the yeshiva.

The avreichim model is a central feature of many Haredi and Hasidic communities, especially in Israel and North America, but variations exist across different groups. The term emphasizes marital status as part of the social and educational structure of Orthodox Talmudic study, and while the specifics of stipends, housing, and duties vary, the core is full-time Torah study with a family life integrated into that commitment.