A Cycle of Life
Although the following took place over three weeks ago, I have not yet had the opportunity to write about it since then, and I was so moved by the experience that I wanted to write about it now.
If you had not heard about it, on January 1 there was an event called the “Siyum Hashas.” This was a celebration marking the completion of a program that consists of the study of a page of the Talmud every day. There are 2,711 pages (double-sided, by the way) in the voluminous Talmud so at the rate of a page a day one can complete the whole Talmud in 7 ½ years.
This program was the brainchild of a great Rabbi by the name of Rabbi Meir Shapiro who, at a convention of rabbis in 1923 in Vienna, introduced the concept. His vision was that Jews all over the world would a. engage in Torah study every single day (there are literally no “off-days” in the Daf Yomi program), and b. would unify Jews all over the world as no matter where one finds themselves throughout the world they will find fellow Jews studying the exact same page as they themselves are learning.
Over the decades this program has increased in popularity, and even those who do not study along the curriculum are excited to participate in celebrating the accomplishment of those who do. In order to accommodate the expected crowds the venue chosen was MetLife Stadium, where the NY Giants and NY Jets play.
Approximately 90,000 Jews congregated on New Years to celebrate. In addition, the Barclays Arena in Brooklyn was procured to accommodate the overflow of some 15,000 more who were unable to get a ticket to MetLife. Finally, the event was simulcast throughout the world so that approximately 1,000,000 more people tuned in to the event to be inspired and to rejoice. As one rabbi observed, this marked the largest gathering of Jews coming to hear the Word of G-d since the actual giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai some 3300 years ago! (It was also, remarked one person wryly, the largest gathering of Toyota and Honda minivans in one parking lot in history!)
I had the good fortune of attending the event in MetLife together with my father-in-law and two of my sons. Despite the cold weather that night, I was warmed by the inspiration I received and it ranks up there as one of the highlights of my entire life. I could literally write pages on my thoughts and sentiments from that night but this format does not afford me that luxury. Allow me to share with you a few brief takeaways that I had and that I would pass on to the reader.
Look at the power of what one person can accomplish! Rabbi Shapiro had a dream, one that would elevate the spiritual status of the entire Jewish people. I am certain that even in his wildest imagination he never envisioned the degree to which his dream would take root and the scale upon which it would be commemorated. Literally millions of people have studied Torah as a result of his plan.
He had a vision and aspired to something great and G-d assisted him with his dream. We may not have the stature or abilities of Rabbi Shapiro, but we can all accomplish certain things if only we refuse to be deterred and discouraged from even trying. We need to do what we can and G-d will assist us in accomplishing more than what we thought was possible.
Contemplate the power of consistency. The prospect of studying 2,711 pages of Talmud is daunting, to say the least. Seven years is a long time. I realized this more fully when I returned from New York and was relating my experience to my two youngest children, ages seven and four. As I spoke with them I realized that when this past cycle began, neither of them was even born yet! Considering how they are such a large part of my life (as anyone who has read my articles is surely familiar with!), it hit home just how long the cycle truly is.
Many people are scared away from undertaking the program because they can’t envision sticking with it for so long and think, “I will never finish.” While it is true that many people don’t finish, there is still inestimable value in whatever was learned, even for part of the program. Furthermore, if you do actually finish you realize how one (relatively) small act of learning a page a day eventually, through grit, perseverance and consistency leads to the completion of the entire Talmud. In fact, this approach applies to whatever learning or area of spiritual growth a person tries to grow in. A little bit at a time with consistency will eventually amount to scaling great heights.
Just start! I have participated in the Daf Yomi program for 20 years already. I actually began it on a whim. It was summer vacation and the program was about to begin a new tractate. I figured I would join for just those few weeks in the summer and then go back to my regular Torah study regimen. After trying it I fell in love with the program as several aspects of the program resonate with me in particular. After the summer I decided to stick with it “just a little longer.”
This went on and here I am 20 years later and having completed the entire Talmud 2 2/3 times already! Each cycle I try to increase and enhance my study so that I am constantly finding higher quality and new nuances and depth in my learning. It does not have to be Daf Yomi, it can be any area of spiritual growth. The most important thing is to make a small commitment and just start. As Confucius wisely said, “The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.”
The Jewish nation is indestructible! There were two particularly poignant and moving moments of the siyum. First there was a program in which tens of thousands of Jewish children from all over studied various parts of the Torah in advance of the siyum and was commemorated at the event. Second, there was a heart-stirring video tribute to the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. There were even survivors (a group of people that is sadly shrinking by the day) that were in attendance.
Throughout the millennia of the Jewish exile there has been nothing that has ensured our survival as much as the Torah has. The study of Torah transcends any location and situation and has been the lifeblood of our people. Take a look around you. Any American city that established a Jewish school has not only survived, it has thrived. Conversely, those cities that did not have a Jewish school, teeming as they may have once been with Jewish life, are now mere shells of what they formerly were and Judaism is nearly extinct.
Being surrounded by 90,000 Jews as we danced and felt the joy of Torah study and witnessing how our future generations are as invested in this holy endeavor, as well as watching the emotions of those who once faced extinction but survived to see an unprecedented rebirth, filled me with the warmest sentiments that no amount of cold weather could chill. I realized that no matter what the future may hold we will survive.
With the unfortunate rise of anti-Semitism, it is reassuring to know this. While we can never be complacent about living in foreign lands, as long as we study the Torah we will survive as a nation. I am still on a high and hope to retain those feelings as I move along towards my goal of once again completing the Talmud in June 2027.
Hopefully that celebration will take place in a rebuilt Jerusalem with the arrival of the Messiah. In case we are not that fortunate, I invite you to join me at MetLife, or wherever the venue is, the next time we finish. In the meantime I urge you to give some thought about one area of learning that you can commit to DAILY – not taking any days off – and surprise yourself with how much that consistency will add up to over time.
Remember - just start!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
