A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. Yeshivas have existed in various forms for thousands of years and are very important to Judaism. Originally, the term referred to academies in Israel and Babylonia in which the Mishnah was studied by the amoraim. Today, yeshivas are Jewish schools or colleges where students study religious texts. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim.

In the United States and Israel, different levels of yeshiva education have different names. In the U.S., elementary-school students enroll in a cheder, post-bar mitzvah-age students learn in a mesivta, and undergraduate-level students learn in a beit midrash or yeshiva gedola (Hebrew: ישיבה גדולה, lit. large yeshiva or great yeshiva). In Israel, elementary-school students enroll in a Talmud Torah or cheder, post-bar mitzvah-age students learn in a yeshiva ketana (Hebrew: ישיבה קטנה, lit. small yeshiva), and undergraduate-level students learn in a yeshiva gedola.

Yeshiva students study the Talmud and the Torah, as well as other religious books, and often take additional nonreligious classes. The scholarship at these schools varies between Orthodox and non-Orthodox branches, as well as between age groups.