Melamed

A distinction was made between the village melamed, who was engaged as a private tutor by a Jew living in a village, and one who teaches the child in the house of its parents, and the melamed in a town, who teaches in his own home, which serves at the same time as a schoolroom (see cheder).

The former would teach children of both genders to read and write Hebrew, and also a chapter or two of each weekly lesson from the Torah, and he generally has one or more assistants (Yiddish: בעלפֿער, romanized: belfer).

The gemara melamed, on the other hand, teaches Bible and Talmud to the boys, and, when they are older, the Shulchan Aruch as well.

Among the Karaites, the term denotes, like "rav" among the Rabbinites, "teacher" and "master," and is regarded as a title of honor.

Pinsker, "Liḳḳute Ḳadmoniyyot", Index; Gottlober, "Biḳḳoret le-Toledot ha-Ḳara'im", pp.