A celebration of Talmud

WHILE many Jews around the world will be focusing on sporting marathons at the London Olympics in coming weeks, Melbourne will lead the Jewish world in a marathon of the ­intellect.

A celebration marking a new cycle of Talmudic study is expected to draw around 1000 participants to Docklands tonight (Monday).

Most of the community’s Orthodox organisations will take part in a Siyum HaShas at the Peninsula reception centre, which will celebrate the 12th completion of the Talmudic cycle, since the tradition was begun by Rabbi Meir Shapira, head of the Lublin yeshivah, in 1923.

Rabbi Shapira, the Lubliner Rov, conceived the process of learning daf yomi – a daily page of Talmud – so that the full Shas – the six-parts of the Talmud – can be completed in a seven-and-a-half year cycle.

Rabbi Yossi Fromer, chairman of Australia’s Daf Yomi Commission, said an active core of some 150 scholars in Melbourne study their daily page of Talmud. “After seven-and-a-half years of study, day in and day out, weekends and holidays also, they’re about to finish their marathon.

“It’s not exclusively linked to one group. There are groups learning in a lot of shuls around Melbourne, with about 15 shiurim on any given day,” he told The AJN. “All different kinds of people are learning – professionals, pensioners. Some are finishing the cycle for the first time.”

Melbourne’s event next Monday night will be the first in the world, timed so that local scholars can make it to the New York event. Siyum HaShas is a worldwide event, with learning sessions taking place across North America and Europe. In Greater New York, some 100,000 participants are anticipated at a siyum at MetLife Station in New Jersey on Wednesday night (US time), which will be beamed live to Australia. There will also be events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

A special guest at the Melbourne siyum will be acclaimed American rabbinical authority Rabbi Fischel Schachter, known for his webinar shiurim on TorahAnytime.com.

Enquiries: Rabbi Yossi Fromer

(03) 9528 4627; book online at trybooking.com/23812.

PETER KOHN