The Complete and Moving List: Where the Talmud Will Be Completed This Week

There is great excitement across the country as the series of Talmud completion events kicks off. These events will celebrate seven years of intensive and consistent daily learning of the Daf Yomi, day after day.

So where are the events expected, and what will they include? We will not mention the private and limited events, so we will focus on the impressive ones, those planned over months and are set to include tens of thousands of participants. These events will be broadcast live to numerous centers across the country.

Rabbi Kanievsky recites Kaddish at a previous Dirshu Talmud completion. Photo: Dirshu

Saturday Night of Chanukah: Dirshu Event in Jerusalem

Yesterday (Saturday night) a large central Dirshu event was held at the Binyanei HaUma in Jerusalem. During the assembly, new and emotional melodies were sung in honor of the Torah, with the composer Mona Rosenblum presenting a new masterpiece called "When the Heads of the People Gather" performed by Motti Steinmetz and Zanvil Weinberger.

During the assembly, a special and moving presentation called "Behold, Days are Coming" was also screened, depicting the great blow that befell the majestic Jewry of Europe and poignantly presenting the special story of a father and son who were at the grand assembly in Vienna in 1923, journeying through different stops in the history of European Jewry before its great destruction.

Meanwhile, a special "House of Torah" assembly was held for the women of learners, a special evening of recognition for their dedication to Torah study, with the participation of "A Woman of Valor" - the wives of the great rabbis of the generation who expressed honor and appreciation for those who dedicate themselves all year round for the holy Torah.

Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Tevet: Begin and Finish in One Day

A special Talmud completion takes place on Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Tevet, at the Binyanei HaUma in Jerusalem. This completion is so special because its purpose is to allow participants to begin and complete the Talmud in one day, collectively. This is a joint program with Radio Kol Berama and the 'Itim' organization – a network of study groups in synagogues to encourage regular Torah study.

Participants gather in the morning, and each receives four or five pages of Talmud to study over the next seven hours. Then, towards the evening, the grand Talmud completion event will take place, followed by the lighting of the eighth Chanukah candle.

Monday, Motzei Zot Chanukah: The Central Shas Event

On Motzei Zot Chanukah, the central event by Shas will be held at the Arena Stadium in Jerusalem by the 'El HaMaayan' organization. The event will feature leading figures of the generation and members of the Council of Torah Sages, led by Rabbi Shalom Cohen.

Additionally, Arie Deri and the Mayor of Jerusalem will participate. The event will be enhanced by Avraham Fried along with the Andalusian Orchestra accompanied by tens of musicians. The cantor Haim Louk will also participate along with Moshe Louk and the Nitzanei Adas Children's Choir. Tickets for the event are still available for purchase.

Photo: Dirshu

4th of Tevet: The Great Completion in America

On Wednesday, the 4th of Tevet, the world's largest Talmud completion by Agudath Israel in America is expected to occur. Over one hundred thousand people will participate in the event. As for tickets, they are already sold out.

Simultaneously, there will be a Talmud completion event in Israel intended for English speakers, with participation from heads of the Daf Yomi examination group under the leadership of Rabbi Meir Kornfeld. The event will be held at the Binyanei HaUma, with a special hall for the women of the learners.

5th of Tevet: The Event at Arena Hall

The central Talmud completion event in Jerusalem will be held on Thursday, the 5th of Tevet, at Arena Hall in Jerusalem. The organizing committee announced that they are currently working on the final logistical preparations for the immense gathering, which will include Daf Yomi instructors and veteran learners completing the Talmud. Additionally, organized groups from around the world have expressed their wish to attend the event.

Great rabbis are expected to attend and inscribe letters in the deluxe Torah scroll written in memory of Rabbi Wosner, one of the eminent students of the Daf Yomi initiator - the Maharal Shapira.

The musical production also reaches its peak, and currently, there are nightly rehearsals by artists for the elaborate musical production, with new compositions created especially for the event.

Organizers report that due to the high demand for tickets, creating an impossible challenge for them, a special force has been allocated in the production framework to locate strategic points for live broadcasts for thousands more eager to take part in this great event, if not physically, then visually and emotionally. In the coming days, a first list of centers where the event will be screened will be published.

8th of Tevet: Event in Manchester

Preparations are currently being finalized for the 'Dirshu' Talmud completion event in Manchester, England, but due to unexpected demand, tickets sold out in the first few hours of sale. Currently, enormous efforts are being made to find a solution for at least 1,000 more Jews who wish to attend the completion but have no available seats.

The magnificent completion event will be held on the 8th of Tevet, at "Event City," the largest and most luxurious venue in Manchester, with thousands of seats. The guest of honor will be Rabbi Aharon Schiff, Chief Rabbi of the "Machzikei Hadath" community in Antwerp, and participation from Rabbi Nisan Kaplan, head of Yeshivat Da'at Aharon in Har Nof, and Rabbi Pinchas Schneebalg from London.

Photo: Dirshu

15th of Tevet: Conclusion in Paris

Every Jew in France knows the Jewish bookstore chain "Kol Yehuda" owned by the Cohen brothers in Paris. However, it turns out that the Cohen brothers are not only shrewd business entrepreneurs but also people who initiate actions in the field of expanding and increasing Torah study.

In an extraordinary initiative currently led by the Cohen brothers along with the 'Dirshu' organization, they are organizing a process that will significantly strengthen the study of Daf Yomi among the entire Jewish community in France. It is an event where the Talmud will be completed in one day, as multitudes of Jews from Paris and its surroundings complete the entire Talmud in an emotional assembly with the participation of great Torah scholars from France and the Jewish world.

As part of the initiative, they launched an online platform where every Jew can register and choose a page or pages from the Talmud to study, with all Talmud pages distributed among learners.

Learners were asked to leave a few lines to complete on their page, and to finalize the study at the central Talmud completion event that will be held at the "Dome de Paris" on the 15th of Tevet, allowing not only a Talmud completion for those who have studied over the past seven years but another completion by thousands of Jews who have taken upon themselves to collectively complete the Talmud once more.

As part of the initiative, the Cohen brothers undertook to distribute vouchers to the learners for book purchases at their bookstore chain. Rabbi Naftali Levy of Dirshu in Paris says that the initiative excites the entire Jewish community of France. “This is an initiative that demonstrates the love of Torah in France and shows that there is a large community of scholarly young men who engage in Torah throughout the year, and responded to this special challenge, demonstrating the unity of the entire Jewish people with the Torah of Israel.”

The Canceled Event

To conclude, it is impossible not to mention the grand event that was supposed to occur this week on Tuesday (the 3rd of Tevet) in a joint production of all Haredi parties. It was widely discussed, and until about a week ago, it was clear it would take place at the Em HaMoshavot site. However, when it came to the final moments, it turned out that due to bad weather that does not allow the gathering under the open sky of so many participants and due to other reasons, the event will be postponed and possibly even canceled altogether.

Want to start studying the Daf Yomi and don't know where to start or with whom to study? Call the Consultation and Guidance Department at Hidabroot, 073-2221230