The Preparatory Committee working to coordinate the various
Shas siyum events held a series of meetings on Sunday
to finalize arrangements in advance of the event scheduled to
take place at Yad Eliyahu. At the end of last week meetings
of the executive committees were held to put into place the
final details on the charter buses, arrangements for ticket
distribution, the complex logistics at the event hall,
security and maintaining order and numerous other technical
and organizational details for which agreements were reached
in an atmosphere of close cooperation among all of the
figures working to organize the respective events.
The decision to hold the major Shas siyum events by
all streams of yirei'im in Eretz Hakodesh, and with
cooperation between all segments of Torah Jewry, was reached
to the great satisfaction of the general Torah-observant
public. The calls to the Preparatory Committee offices have
increased in number and activists and public figures note a
marked rise in the demand for tickets among all streams of
chareidi Jewry as well as the public at large from all parts
of the country, particularly among the thousands of Daf Yomi
participants eager to take part in the major events. Priority
will be given to maggidei shiurim and regular Daf Yomi
participants.
On the last day of the Daf Yomi cycle, 20 Adar Alef,
maranan verabonon gedolei Yisroel will be on hand at
the central siyum to be held at Yad Eliyahu in Tel
Aviv. During the course of the following week local events
will be held in every city. The closing event, scheduled to
take place on 27 Adar Alef at Binyanei Ha'Uma, is also
expected to draw gedolei Yisroel.
At the recent series of Preparatory Committee meetings
decisions were also made regarding seating arrangements at
Yad Eliyahu, group seating, the location of the central dais,
the seating arrangements for the rabbonim and other
dignitaries, the placement of the stage for the orchestra,
entry gate arrangements to allow participants to reach their
seats without delay, special entry points for gedolei
Torah and fine details regarding the event program.
Arrangements were coordinated with the police, private
security guards, Magen David Adom and Hatzoloh.
The public relations staff, headed by Rabbi Binyomin
Rabinowitz and Rabbi Menachem Gasheid, presented a detailed
report on the widespread interest shown as the major events
approach, as well as large companies interested in sponsoring
the happy day for thousands of lomdim around the
country. They also reported stepping up the pace on efforts
to produce a special booklet to be released shortly before
the event.
Representatives of the Dirshu administration met with
representatives of the Preparatory Committee and conducted a
tour of the hall to facilitate arrangements to receive
hundreds of the organization's representatives arriving from
Europe and the US, as well as their seating arrangements in
the hall.
Dirshu, which is heavily involved in organizing the events,
has also completed the groundwork to accommodate the large
delegation of its supporters arriving from abroad. The
organization plans to hold a banquet at Nof Yerushalayim
Halls on Monday, 19 Adar Alef, at which delegation members,
Dirshu kollel members and the testing staff from
testing centers around the country will be in attendance. The
wives of the Dirshu kollel members will also be on
hand as a show of appreciation for the opportunity to be
partners and share the burden of Torah study with their
husbands.
Final preparations are also being made for the major event at
Binyanei Ha'Uma. Event spokesmen say ticket sales begin this
week. In light of the enormous demand to participate in the
event, all of the halls at Binyanei Ha'Uma have been rented
with plans to transmit a live video feed to a portion of the
halls. The event will also be transmitted live to women at
Tamir Halls.
An orchestra and choral group conducted by R' Chaim Benet
will play in honor of the event, including songs composed by
Daf Yomi founder, HaRav Meir Shapira zt"l.
