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NEWS
English-language Daf Yomi Siyum in Jerusalem Draws Torah
Learners from Around the World
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
Thousands of seats have been reserved for the first English-
language Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi in Jerusalem, which will be
held on Wednesday evening 21 Adar I (March 2, 2005). While
most of the participants live in Israel, there are many who
will be attending from abroad.
The Siyum will feature several addresses by leading Torah
luminaries, an actual Siyum HaShas and the beginning
of the new cycle of Daf Yomi, musical intermissions and other
special features. The English language event was initiated by
Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Jerusalem, producers of the Daf Yomi
Advancement Forum (DAF). Headed by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld,
the scholars of Kollel Iyun Hadaf prepare study material on
every page of gemora in both English and Hebrew, which
is distributed free of charge to subscribers around the
world. More than 2,500 subscribers in 30 countries receive
the Kollel's material, and many others avail themselves of
the archived material, available on virtually all of
Shas.
The event is being produced and organized by International
Media Placement, and coordinated with representatives of most
Jewish publications worldwide as well as many secular
publications such as The New York Times, Daily
Telegraph, and others.
While not all of those coming to the Siyum are subscribers to
the Kollel's prodigious resources, many are. One subscriber
is flying in from California to celebrate this milestone
event in the Jewish world. He has been learning Daf Yomi with
his brother over the phone, relying on the Kollel's
comprehensive study material to help him understand the Daf.
Another participant, from New York, is a maggid shiur
of Daf Yomi who uses the Kollel's resources to help him
prepare his daily shiur. Other beneficiaries of the
Kollel's harbotzas Torah (that we know about) are
coming from Chicago, London, and Johannesburg, as well as
from all over Israel.
In addition to the Siyum itself, Kollel Iyun Hadaf has
arranged a special Siyum printing of the only English
biography of HaRav Meir Shapira zt'l, who is
considered the founder of the Daf Yomi program. The book,
A Blaze in the Darkening Gloom — the Life of Rav
Meir Shapira zt'l, has been out of print for nearly a
decade. The 408 page book, whose original publication was
brought about through the efforts of Mr. Martin Stern of
Bayit Vegan and London, was rendered into English by R'
Charles Wengrov zt'l and is based on the Yiddish
biography written by Rav Yehoshua Baumol Hy'd, a close
disciple of Rav Meir Shapira.
The book, as well as all of Kollel Iyun Hadaf's study
material, is available by contacting the Kollel at (02) 651-
5004 or at daf@dafyomi.co.il. You can also call International
Media Placement: 02-6252933.
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