Siyum Daf Yomi

There is a popular practice among orthodox Jews to study a page of the Babylonian Talmud every day. Most are not capable of understanding the Talmud on their own, and even a teacher typically must prepare a delivery in advance. As a result it is common for a class to be held in a synagogue. Often it is a long table with the rabbi surrounded by his students. This is called the Daf Yomi literally the "daily page". It is organized with every day having a designated page. This makes it easier for people who are traveling to keep up with the material as well as fostering comradery among the participants. 

The Babylonian Talmud (תלמוד בַּבלִי) has several names. The most common one is the Gemara (גמרא). The Talmud has two components, the Mishna and the Gemara. The Mishna is a separate work in and of itself, plus it serves as a sentence outline. The Gemara follows and is a lengthy and often loquacious expansion of the Mishna. All three terms are the language of scholarship. The Mishna has 63 tractates but only 37 of them have Gemaras on them in the Babylonian Talmud. Nevertheless it is often called the Shas Bavli. Shas (ש"ס) is an abbreviation which refers to the six sections of the entire Mishna. To complicate things further there is also a Jerusalem Talmud. A page of all printed additions typically includes a number of commentaries, two of them, Rashi and Tosfos, are often lengthy. Internet websites, which have gained popularity loosely preserve this structure. These are spread in 20 separate tall books with a total 2711 pages. As a result the Daf Yomi has a siyum of Shas once every seven years.

The most recent siyum was 3 Jan 2020. A major one had 82,500 participants filling to capacity MetLife Stadium in the New York City metropolitan area. In Israel over 8,000 English speakers filled the Binyanei Hauma convention center in Jerusalem. The popular custom in Israel is for local celebrations, of which there are many, including one, which I will be attending, at the Aish Kodesh synagogue Wednesday night. I have good reason to celebrate as I read the daily essay of the Steinsaltz Daf Yomi for the entire cycle.

The Gemara is comprised of many themes but the primary one is Jewish law. A large part deals with every day observance such as prayer, the religious holidays, dietary laws, marriage and family purity. Another large section deals with criminal justice such as property damage, violence, and court procedure. The third major section deals with Temple sacrifices. The main approaches are legal discussions and illustrative stories about how wise and righteous people kept the law. 

The Babylonian Talmud strongly captures the mentality of religious Jews through the ages including orthodox Jews of today. This includes their interpretation of what the law should be, its relationship to the Tanakh, idioms, and line of reasoning. Some will make a pun on its title "Bavli" (בַּבלִי) which is similar to the word confused (מְבוּלבָּל) and point to its jumbled literary style. Others hold that it is the perfection of law and points the way to a utopian society. May it come speedily and in our days.

לע"נ  האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח

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