Israelis from all walks of life came together Wednesday to celebrate the completion of a round of Talmud study, known as the Shas. Those studying learned one page of the Talmud per day for seven and a half years.
Among those celebrating were rabbis and IDF commanders in the IDF rabbinate training program. A party was held at the Tzrifin base in honor of the occasion.
Another event took place in the “hi-tech city” Modiin. More than 1,000 attended a celebration organized by the local Garin Torani (“Torah seed group”). Speakers included Rabbi Dov Lior, chief rabbi of Hevron, and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Tzfat.
“With Torah study there’s no such thing as finishing. A person who completes the Shas does not stop, rather, he studies it again, and a third time,” said Rabbi Dov Lior. He rejected the modern concept of “leisure culture – how to waste time,” saying, “Really, there’s no such thing. A person who learns and does positive things uses his time.”
David Einhorn, who completed the study of the Mishnah, spoke to Arutz Sheva about his experience. Einhorn completes the Mishnah each year in honor of his son Yehonatan, who fell in battle during the Second Lebanon War.
“The letters of ‘Mishnah’ are the same as those of ‘neshama’ [soul – ed.], and the learning connects me each day to Yehonatan,” he said. “It also gives me a lot of peace and calm, because with all the work and community work, it is an opportunity to stop, sit, and learn holy works. It is the calm that comes from holy work.”