Why is the completion of a maseches such a joyful
occasion? What do the words hadran aloch mean? Should
a festive meal be prepared for the completion of a
maseches? Why is it customary for a hadran to
be delivered? The completion of a maseches is an
auspicious time for prayer.
Yomo Tovo Lerabbonon is the name of a special volume
that deals with every aspect of completing masechtos
and the attendant celebrations, as reflected in halochoh and
aggadah. A new edition has just appeared, in time for
the approaching siyum haShas of Daf Yomi.
It is a Great Mitzvah to Participate in a Siyum
Maseches
Teshuvos Maharam Mintz writes (siman 119),
"When a rov or rosh yeshiva learns a masechta with his
colleagues or talmidim and they get towards the end,
he should wait a little before ending for a suitable time
— a day when a festive meal can be prepared in honor of
the Torah and its scholars. It is correct to gather everyone
together as they are about to end. Therefore, all the
householders have the custom of going to the yeshiva at the
first session at the beginning of a zman."
Yam Shel Shlomo writes (at the end of the seventh
perek of Bava Kama): "Even for someone who is
not completing this masechta, it is a great mitzvah to
rejoice with the mesayeim." This is how the Shach
rules in Yore Deah at the end of siman 246.
A Festive Meal upon Completing a Masechta
The medrash (at the beginning of Shir Hashirim)
notes, "This is the source for making a meal upon completing
the Torah." Benayohu Ben Yehoyoda explains that this is to
intimate that our extra consumption of food and drink comes
to us through Torah. It is not unlawful gain since we merit
it through Torah. A meal is thus held when completing a
maseches because it is part of the Oral Torah.
Another reason he cites is that the gemora contains
halochos and aggodos which are compared to food
and drink respectively. We thus have a meal where we eat and
drink. Teshuvos Rav Yedidiah Tiah Weil writes that the
meal should contain meat and wine. In Mishnas
Chachomim, Rav Meir Chagiz zt'l writes that wine
should be drunk at a siyum maseches. HaRav Shach
zt'l is quoted as having said that in Lithuania the
custom was to wear Shabbos and Yom Tov clothes for a siyum
maseches.
Delivering a Hadran Discourse at a Siyum Maseches
HaRav Yechezkel Abramsky zt'l said that it is common
to deliver a hadran in which the end of the
maseches is connected to its beginning through
intricate reasoning. HaRav Zelig Reuven Bengis zt'l
(Liflagos Reuven cheilek II, p. 298) writes that this
is based on the custom that upon completing one
maseches one immediately begins another. Since we
discuss halochoh, we occupy ourselves with whichever halochoh
is at the end of the maseches that we are completing.
And since we begin a new maseches we have to develop
some new understanding of its first sugya. We thus
bind the two together permanently.
HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt'l is quoted as having
given the reason that we should not mistakenly imagine that
our learning has finished, thus providing an opportunity for
the Soton to argue against us. With the hadran we show
that the end of the maseches is connected with its
beginning.
It is a Mitzvah to Complete a Maseches
The Yerushalmi (Pesochim 10:2) writes that someone who
starts a mitzvah is told to complete it. Rav Chaim Kanievsky
is quoted as saying that it is a mitzvah to complete a
maseches. He heard from his father, the Steipler
zt'l, that it is a mitzvah to complete every
maseches that one is learning because starting and not
finishing for one thing may involve an unfulfilled vow and
second, it shows disrespect for the maseches.
Reciting the Names of Rav Pappa's Sons at a Siyum
The recitation of the names of Rav Pappa's sons as part of
the hadran said at a siyum is cited in Sefer
Ha'eshcol (Hilchos Sefer Torah, cheilek II) as being an
aid to memory that prevents a person from forgetting what he
has learned. Teshuvos HaRamo writes that it is akin to
mentioning the aseres hadibros and that Rav Pappa was
a wealthy person who supported Torah scholars and thus
merited having his sons mentioned.
In his notes, HaRav Yosef Zecharya Stern zt'l, rov of
Shavel, writes that it is an aid to memory because we learn
their Torah. Teshuvos Mayim Chaim writes that they
were very wealthy and that they used to donate large sums to
the talmidim at every siyum maseches and that
is why their names are mentioned at every siyum.
The Tepliker Rov zt'l is quoted as having said that
these ten names correspond to the ten statements that Rav
Pappa made about differences of opinion between the
rabbonon. This gave him the merit of having his sons
mentioned at every siyum maseches. This is also said
in the name of the Chasam Sofer zt'l.
A Siyum Maseches is a Time of Divine Favor
The Chasam Sofer completed the entire Shas as a boy
and he asked his rebbe HaRav Nosson Adler zt'l what
celebration he should make. His teacher told him to fast with
a break over three days. On the third day of the fast he
encountered a gentile who wanted to kill him. He raised his
hand and delivered a blow to the gentile that felled him
dead. (He said at the time that the gentile had been a
descendant of Amolek and that in the merit of completing
Shas he had been given the opportunity to fulfill the
mitzvah of wiping out Amolek. I heard this from Rav Y.M.P.
zt'l.)
The gaon and tzaddik HaRav Mordechai Oshminer
zt'l was associated with many miracles. In 5676 (1916)
there were terrible pogroms against the Jews and people came
to Rav Mordechai asking him to liquidate the leader of the
marauding bands. Rav Mordechai made a siyum maseches
and they said Tehillim and at that time, the leader
died without anyone knowing why. Rav Mordechai remarked, "The
time of a siyum is a time of Divine favor."
A childless woman approached the Brisker Rov asking for a
blessing that she have children. She arrived while a
siyum was being conducted and the Rov said, "Hashem
will help her." With Heaven's help she had children.
In Mishnas Yosef, HaRav Yosef Leiberman explains that
Divine judgment is attenuated at the time of a siyum
and it is a time when prayers for children, health and
sustenance can be effectively offered (Droshos
Uma'amorim, maamar 69).
Some Questions and Answers
The sefer Yomo Tovo Lerabbonon contains Rav Chaim
Kanievsky's replies to questions about completing a
maseches that were put to him. Here are some of the
questions and Rav Chaim's answers:
Q. In order to make a siyum, must one actually say the
words?
A. It's better to say the words.
Q. When should the actual siyum be made — in the
middle of the meal or before it starts?
A. Some make it in the middle, some beforehand. One can
follow either custom.
Q. Does saying the mnemonics in the gemora affect the
siyum?
A. It is said in the name of the Shloh that one should say
the mnemonics because they contain Torah secrets but it
doesn't appear that this affects completing the
maseches.
Q. Can one delay a siyum maseches?
A. For a day or two yes, but one can't complete a
maseches today and make the siyum a long time
later.
Q. A maggid shiur who completes the maseches in
the course of his preparation for the shiur —
when is he considered to have completed it?
A. The siyum is only when he completes the
maseches with the members of the shiur.
