A congregant sent me an article called, "Torah Is Food for the Soul: Celebrating the Completion of Learning the Talmud." I read it with great interest. For years, I've heard of this event called Daf Yomi. Perhaps it can't be called an event because it takes place over a seven and a half year period. The idea is that every day you read a daf of Talmud. Recall that a daf roughly corresponds to one page, but the difference is that a page of Talmud has a A side and B side, so you're studying both sides of the page. If you learn one daf of Talmud every day, then over a seven a half year period, you can complete the entire Talmud, an incredible feat.
"Torah Is Food for the Soul: Celebrating the Completion of Learning the Talmud" explains the origin of daf yomi and tells several moving stories both about how the day was founded and how the author of the article got interested in participating.
Perhaps the part of the article that struck me the post, however, was the following:
"Anti-Semites are once again trying to destroy us. Of course, we must fight them in the halls of Congress, in the court of public opinion, with greater measures of safety and with security. But, we ultimately fight their nefarious plan when we double down on our Jewish identity, when we recommit to our Jewish mission and when we promise to keep Torah the centerpiece of our lives. We defeat them not only when we embrace Torah stronger ourselves, but when we dedicate ourselves to share it with our brothers and sisters who have never been introduced to Torah before."
I fully agree that we have to a pursue a positive response in response to persecution. Of course, taking measures to protect ourselves is important, but what is just as important is developing our Jewish selves. That is the best way to actually defeat those who seek to harm us.
Perhaps after reading this article, you will be interested in participating in daf yomi. Many editions of the Talmud are available in English, so language is not a barrier. If dedicating yourself to a seven and a half year task sounds daunting, but you are intrigued by the Talmud and want to explore it, reach out to me, and we can set up a program together to study.
"Torah Is Food for the Soul: Celebrating the Completion of Learning the Talmud" explains the origin of daf yomi and tells several moving stories both about how the day was founded and how the author of the article got interested in participating.
Perhaps the part of the article that struck me the post, however, was the following:
"Anti-Semites are once again trying to destroy us. Of course, we must fight them in the halls of Congress, in the court of public opinion, with greater measures of safety and with security. But, we ultimately fight their nefarious plan when we double down on our Jewish identity, when we recommit to our Jewish mission and when we promise to keep Torah the centerpiece of our lives. We defeat them not only when we embrace Torah stronger ourselves, but when we dedicate ourselves to share it with our brothers and sisters who have never been introduced to Torah before."
I fully agree that we have to a pursue a positive response in response to persecution. Of course, taking measures to protect ourselves is important, but what is just as important is developing our Jewish selves. That is the best way to actually defeat those who seek to harm us.
Perhaps after reading this article, you will be interested in participating in daf yomi. Many editions of the Talmud are available in English, so language is not a barrier. If dedicating yourself to a seven and a half year task sounds daunting, but you are intrigued by the Talmud and want to explore it, reach out to me, and we can set up a program together to study.
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