Community Magazine June 2014

42 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Yeshivah... Uploaded. How one website is improving Torah life for Jews around the world O n August 1, 2012, 90,000 Jews came together for one of the most extraordinary events ever seen in Jewish history: the 12th Siyum Hashas. These were just some of the hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world who are linked together by the learning of the daily daf , one page of Gemara which they study each day, completing the entire Talmud every seven years. The enthusiasm surrounding the Daf Yomi program is unlike that of any other Torah learning phenomenon. Men from all walks of Jewish life sit diligently each day studying with commitment and rigor. They study in shuls, schools, offices and homes. Daf Yomi classes are delivered in bateh midrash as well as in airports. Hundreds of cars, buses and planes have been transformed into makeshift study halls through the study of the daily daf . As the interest in Daf Yomi continues to grow, so does the innovation in facilitating the daily study. Among the most unique and ambitious new Daf Yomi projects is RealClearDaf.com, the brainchild of Rabbi Shmuel Wise, a student of the Rochester Yeshiva, and a joint project of the Manhattan Beach Kollel. The Online Daf Yomi Experience RealClearDaf.com is a website specifically dedicated to the online Daf Yomi learner. The user logs onto the site, chooses his preferred shiur (or that day’s daf ), and is then ushered into a virtual world of Torah study. Rabbi Wise teaches each daf with masterful clarity, explaining the intricate concepts in a lucid and engaging style. While most recorded Daf Yomi classes are given to a live audience, Rabbi Wise’s shiur is given especially for the benefit of the online listener. And thus the recording is high quality, the presentation flows without interruption, and the material is being taught directly to you – the online student. But Rabbi Wise’s classes are just the beginning. With the help of web developer Peninah Adler, RealClearDaf.com offers Daf Yomi students the opportunity to engage in lively discussion about the material, expanding their Daf Yomi experience well beyond their 45-minute daily routine by participating in an all-out yeshivah learning environment. Users can discuss the day’s daf with other users in an open online forum, where they can ask questions, answer questions, debate issues that arise, and share and gain knowledge. In addition, Rabbi Wise makes himself available to participants via live chat, email, and even by phone to offer assistance and answer questions. Real Clear Daf is THE online yeshiva for Daf Yomi students. Drawing Inspiration From Hero The project was launched in memory of Rabbi Wise’s brother, AryehWise, whom he describes as “a Daf Yomi hero,” a person who overcame enormous obstacles to learn Daf Yomi. “Although my brother suffered from learning disabilities, he devotionally attended an hour and a half Daf Yomi shiur and learned independently until he finished Shas ,” Rabbi Wise recalls with great admiration, “Shortly before his passing, which was just after this last Siyum Hashas, Aryeh told us that when he finishes again he would be going with his shiur to Yerushalayim to celebrate. Though the heavens summoned Aryeh before he could be granted this wish, I hope this project, which is inspired by him every day, will be a great source of merit for his special neshamah .” CJ SEROUYA