Community Magazine September 2012

T he streets surrounding the majestic Yad Eliyahu Stadium, in the heart of secular Tel-Aviv, was swarming with thousands of kippa -clad men and children on the afternoon of July 30, 2012. They came not to cheer for Tel-Aviv’s Maccabi basketball team, but rather to celebrate the serious study of millions of pages of Talmud by outstanding scholars across the world. Braving the scorching Israeli heat, the throngs of men, yeshiva students and children of all ages and backgrounds came and stood with radiant smiles and palpable enthusiasm as they waited to get through the security checkpoint and into the arena. For the 12 th time since Rav Meir Shapiro, z.s.l., instituted the Daf Yomi program in prewar Poland, Jews around the world are beginning anew the gargantuan task they just completed – the study of the entire Babylonian Talmud, one page a day. But for the thousands of participants of Dirshu’s Kinyan Torah program, this celebration was especially meaningful. The worldwide Dirshu organization offers numerous learning programs and financial incentives to serious Torah students across six continents who learn and are tested on Daf Yomi, halachah and various other fields of Torah study. Students participating in Dirshu’s Kinyan Torah program take tests on every 30 pages of Daf Yomi, and then take a cumulative test every four months on 120 pages. A total of six million pages of Talmud have been studied through this program since its inception. Students in Dirshu’s flagship Kinyan Shas program are tested cumulatively at several stages during Daf Yomi and then again on the entire Shas at the end of the cycle. Approximately one million pages have been studied in the framework of the Kinyan Shas program. On that Monday afternoon in late July, 13,000 people – not including the thousands viewing the event through live hookup in Israel, Europe and other locations – came to pay tribute to these outstanding scholars who did not just complete the Talmud, but mastered it. Is There a Greater Joy? Among the most moving moments of the event was the recitation of kaddish after Minha by six-year-oldYossi Glasner. Yossi’s father, Rav Yaakov Betzalel, z.s.l, was an esteemed scholar who took over 90 Dirshu tests, but tragically passed away just weeks before he could realize his dream of attending the Dirshu Siyum HaShas. The sight of little Yossi reciting kaddish for his father exemplified the depth and dedication of the Dirshu participants, and the impact that their commitment has upon their families. The event’s energetic master of ceremonies, Rabbi Shlomo Rozenstein, opened the evening by welcoming the attendees and noting how Dirshu fulfills the dreams of Torah students of all ages and of all kinds. He encouraged the audience to learn more SHIMMY BLUM WOW! THE AWESOME KIDDUSH HASHEMOF DIRSHU'S SIYUMHASHAS AT YAD ELIYAHU STADIUM 50 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE