Question
When in history did the study of Torah in groups begin – like we have today?
Answer
I am not sure what you mean by “in groups like we have today.” But I will try to give you some historical background. When the Torah was taught by God to Moses, Moses would then go and teach it to the people in large groups. Also we find in Exodus that the nation was divided into groups of tens, and hundreds and thousands for the purposes of judging. In all probability the role of the judge was also that of lead educator of the group. Finally, the Talmud is replete with admonition, based on verses in the Bible, that Torah should not be studied alone but in groups with others.