Community Magazine April 2012

History in the Making And now, with less than four months left to the Twelfth Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi, the Jewish community is preparing to witness the grandest fulfillment yet of Rabbi Shapiro’s vision. With the help of Hashem, on that night more than 250,000 Jews around the world will join together to commemorate the culmination of 2,711 consecutive days of Talmud study by participants in the Daf Yomi program. The primary North American celebration, which is dedicated to the memory of the eminent Torah patron Jerome Schottenstein, a.h. , is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, August 1 (13 Av) at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With over 90,000 seats, the recently constructed stadium is by far the largest single venue ever to host the national Torah celebration. “After the Eleventh Siyum HaShas in 2005, we were determined to find an arena large enough to accommodate all the celebrants at the next Siyum,” says Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin, Agudath Israel’s Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Operating Officer of the Twelfth Siyum HaShas. “And judging by the dramatic increase in Daf Yomi participation that followed each past celebration, we knew the twelfth Siyum would require a really enormous venue. So we are extremely fortunate and grateful to be able to host the upcoming simha at MetLife Stadium.” At the contract signing ceremony held at the stadium last October, Rabbi Gertzulin recalls, special guest speaker Rabbi Nosson Scherman, general editor at Artscroll/Mesorah Publications, noted that the ultimate purpose of everything in the world – including MetLife Stadium – is to increase Hashem’s glory. The speaker illustrated his point by recounting a conversation with Thomas M. Steinberg, President of Tisch Family Interests (owners of the New York Giants), and one of the guests at the signing event. Mr. Steinberg mentioned that for 12 long years he was involved in the planning, design and construction of the new stadium, and it is only now that he understands why: so that tens of thousands of Jews would have a place to gather for an unprecedented celebration of learning. In addition to its size, the new location has the advantage of being easily accessed from anywhere in the Tri-State Area and along the eastern seaboard. The stadium is also close to Newark’s Liberty Airport – an added convenience for the thousands of participants who are expected to fly in for the event. While the prospect of filling 90,000 seats would give most event planners pause, the Siyum organizers are unfazed. “This is no ordinary event,” observes well-known philanthropist and Siyum Hashas Chairman Elly Kleinman. “A ticket to the Siyum is nothing less than a ticket to history in the making. Not only will the Siyum unite Jews in numbers not seen since before the destruction of the Second Bet HaMikdash, it will further fuel the explosive spread of Daf Yomi study, in particular, and Torah learning, in general, throughout the Jewish people.” Since tickets became available back in mid-February, says Rabbi Gertzulin, seats – even entire blocks of seats – have been selling at a brisk pace. Yet the Agudah leader, who has been at the helm of Siyum preparations since 1982, is hardly surprised by how quickly the stadium is filling up. “Agudath Israel conducts dozens of important projects and programs for the Jewish community. But none of them elicits a greater desire to be part of a nationwide event than does this mass celebration in honor of Torah.” To be continued next month... Finally, a kosher restaurant with a delicious variety of organic, healthy choices. Wishing our customers a Happy Passover! 2 Avenue I Brooklyn, NY 11230 347-492-5337 bkolive.com Vaad Harabim of Flatbush - Chalav Yisrael, Pat Yisrael All Natural Fusion Cuisine 40 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE