The Programmer Who Discovered the Talmud: "I Felt Like Rabbi Akiva Learning the Alphabet"

Completing the entire Talmud is undoubtedly a challenging task. Even when it's done by a large group, sharing the responsibility requires dividing the tractates among learners (including some of the more difficult ones many hesitate to accept), tracking each person's study pace, and ensuring the texts are studied as required.

Ohad Kimchi, a programmer by profession, became familiar with these facts when his community rabbi asked him about a year ago to be responsible for distributing the Talmud among synagogue attendees. "It was a surprising proposal for all the attendees," Kimchi shares, "The rabbi knew we could take this on, and simply announced to us, 'We'll begin completing the Talmud regularly, once a year.' We all understood that we were taking on a significant challenge, but for me, it was an even greater one, as in addition to the texts I took upon myself, I also received the important role of managing the distribution."

The Journey to the Talmud

Kimchi's connection to the Talmud wasn't self-evident at all. "As a child, I didn't know what learning was or what the Talmud was, but I was fortunate enough to become a ba'al teshuva after the army, and then I gradually became acquainted with the Jewish bookshelf," he recounts. "For years, I had a strong desire to study Talmud, but I could never connect with it. It saddened me, but there wasn't much I could do. Meanwhile, I advanced significantly professionally, working at the software company Exlibris and promoting many programming projects."

During the coronavirus era, a change occurred in Kimchi's life when he accidentally joined a class where Tractate Ta'anit was being studied, considered the easiest tractate in the Talmud. "Everything was new to me, I felt like Rabbi Akiva in kindergarten," he admits, "I needed everything explained to me in detail, but since then, thank God, everything has opened up and become clearer. In the period that followed, there were long days of being at home due to the coronavirus, and I found myself experimenting more and more with studying the Talmud. Consequently, after the coronavirus ended and the world returned to normal, I decided to commit to consistent study, and thus I participate in a regular Talmud class every evening after work."

Ohad Kimchi

When Kimchi was given the opportunity to be responsible for the "Talmud division," he took on the task with utmost seriousness. Initially, he used 'Excel' and crafted organized tables indicating who was studying each tractate, but soon realized that when breaking down tractates into chapters, it became complicated. Throughout the year, he noticed it wasn't convenient to repeatedly search for the learner's 'row' and check whether they kept up with the study pace or if things weren't progressing as required.

"The rabbi knew I was a programmer, and even then he said to me, 'Develop us a group study Talmud software.' It sounded logical and very efficient, but of course, I postponed the task and continued to suffice with Excel. By the second time we divided the Talmud, I understood that a creative development initiative was needed, and thus I set out, taking on the task of developing a suitable website."

"For about a year, I worked on developing the project, dedicating the only free time I had—Saturday nights—so it wouldn't come at the expense of study or work. After a year of development, the software was ready, and this year we began using it in our synagogue, 'Together in Length.'"

"One Goal: To Expand Torah"

Does the software really help and contribute?

"Certainly, first and foremost it helps me as an organizer. I can, through the central page at my disposal, allocate to each person the tractates they need to study and see in an organized and straightforward manner which tractates have been taken and which are still available. Later, I can also see the overall study pace—how many percent have been studied, and how much still remains. With a click of a button, I can also contact any of the learners in their preferred way—a phone call, message, or WhatsApp, and there are additional tools that greatly aid in organizing the topic."

Unlike the organizer, the learners, according to Kimchi, are not exposed to the centralized data; instead, each of them receives a personal link through which they see only their own study status and receive recommendations regarding how to divide the material based on the days remaining, alongside a graph illustrating their progress.

Can this software be suitable for other learners, or is it tailored just for you?

"Of course it can be suitable because from the outset I built it in a way that fits any group interested in completing the Talmud, whether it's a small family group, a yeshiva with hundreds of students wanting to complete the Talmud multiple times, or any other group. The system's sole purpose is to expand and glorify Torah; there is no profit motive here, and anyone interested is welcome to contact me via email, and I will ensure, with God's help, to provide them with the software. I believe that in challenging times like the one the Jewish People are in today, this is a project that must spread and will be very helpful."

According to Kimchi, at this stage, sextons and various synagogues and organizations have already approached him. "I did the 'small work' by developing the software," he says with a smile, "Now the real important work remains—to study the Talmud. For this is our life's mission, on the way to completing the Talmud with divine aid."

Impression of the site: https://siumshas.co.il

To contact Ohad Kimchi: ohkimhy@gmail.com