Daf Yomi

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Daf Yomi (Heb. דף יומי "page [of the] day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen undertaken to study the entire Talmud Bavli one daf (i.e. two actual pages), one day at a time, so that it can be completed in a a cycle of seven and a half years.

1 Impact
2 Process
3 Current progress
4 External links

[edit] Impact

Thousands of Jews worldwide participate in the Daf Yomi program as part of a monumental program that was initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923 at the First World Congress of the World Agudath Israel in Vienna. It has been recognized by the Jewish establishment as a major contribution to Judaism and also has been recognized as having a major impact on the Baal Teshuva Movement.

[edit] Process

With 2,711 pages in the Talmud, one cycle takes about 7 years, 5 months. Daf Yomi started its 12th cycle of study on 2 March 2005. The completion of the cycle is celebrated in an event known as Siyum HaShas ("completion [of] the Shas" -- Shas, an acronym for shisha sidrei (mishnah) or "Six Orders of the Mishnah" -- is another name for the Talmud). The last Siyum took place on 1 March 2005 with an estimated 120,000 in attendance, worldwide. It was organized by Agudath Israel of America. The next Siyum HaShas will take place on 2 August 2012.

[edit] Current progress

As of 1st November 2006, participants are learning the Tractate Beitzah, which largely deals with the generic laws pertaining to Jewish festivals (ie not specific laws e.g. for Passover, but issues such as cooking on festivals).