Daf Yomi - on Summer Break
Our weekly Daf Yomi class meets each Friday/Erev Shabbat morning at our Council office in Newton (1320 Centre Street, 3rd Floor). Just finishing its fourth year, it is led by our past-President, Dr. Jesse Hefter of Brookline. The class, led in English and accessible to everyone, is open to women and men of all backgrounds and follows the world-wide cycle of daily Talmud study. We meet from 7:30-8:30 AM. The Spring Semester ended in June 2010 and will resume in the Fall. Our discussions, much as the Talmud often does, cover a wide and stimulating array of subjects!
The International Cycle of Daf Yomi (a page of talmud studied each day) was initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of the Lubliner Yeshiva on September 11, 1923. The 2,711 pages of the talmud require about 7 and a half years for one to complete on a "page-a-day" pace. The same page of Talmud is learned around the world by thousands of Jews in dozens of languages, in synagogues, homes, buses, cars, trains, and offices, and studied via classes, audio and video tapes, iPod and Palm downloads, and over the Internet. Come join us this Winter; secure online registration is available We welcome you to just drop in one morning to try it out; there's always good coffee!
We don't know anywhere else around where Jews of so many different backgrounds are gathering for this learning. For more information, please contact our office.
To provide some background information about the development of the Oral Tradition and the Talmud, here are some relevant notes you might find of assistance. The notes include:
- Historical time chart from Moses to today...
- A chart of all the tractates of the Talmud
- Definition of Baraitot
"Daf Yomi" - Now at Hebrew SeniorLife Housing Center
We were privileged during July 2009 to have the special opportunity to bring the Daf Yomi class to residents at Hebrew SeniorLife in West Roxbury, MA. A three-week pilot, organized by Rabbi Sara Pasche-Orloff, the chaplain, together with Jesse Hefter, our Council Daf Yomi Instructor/Volunteer, brought together 15-20 residents, ranging in age from their late 80s to over one-hundred. For many of the students, this was their first time EVER learning Talmud! We continue to have the Daf Yomi every month on Sunday mornings from 10:30-11:30 AM in the Rabb Beit Knesset. Remarked Dr. Hefter, "It is simply amazing to watch the students light up as we discuss Talmudic concepts and Torah Law and hear them share practical experiences that relate to the discussion. They really get into it!"
