A new web site grants worldwide access to daily classes in Talmud, the compendium of Judaism’s oral law. The web site, called HaDafHayomi.co.il, was launched only a short time ago but has revolutionized the Daf Yomi (literally, ‘page-a-day’) movement.
“HaDaf HaYomi was launched in response to the growing movement toward Talmud study among Jewish professionals in an increasingly fast-paced world,” HaDaf HaYomi’s webmaster told Arutz-7.
The web site explains its purpose as bringing knowledge to the heirs of Jewish tradition. ”Thousands of years ago the Creator chose us as a special people and gave us the Torah,” reads the welcome page, “since that day at Mount Sinai, Jews have never ceased learning the Torah.”
Web surfers are offered a brief history of the oral law. “There’s no doubt that the Jews have undergone the most fascinating history of all peoples. We have achieved both astounding victories and experienced almost devastating defeat. A Jewish kingdom once ruled most of the then-known world whereas sometimes it seemed that nearly all the world held sway over us. We were exiled, dispersed, returned to our land and exiled again. Where have we not been? Remnants of our people were tossed to corners of Yemen, Iberia, Poland, the Caucasus and a thousand more places. When members of different communities met, however, they knew they belonged to one people. Throughout the ages and in every situation we adhered to the Torah and the Torah watched over us. It strengthened the Marranos to defy the Inquisition and cry out Shema’ Yisrael [The Jewish prayer declaring God’s one-ness] at the stake, gave faith to the starving to believe in the return to Zion and encouraged our mentors to lead us in stressful times. Ragged pages of the Talmud that survived Auschwitz, Birkenau or Dachau clearly evidence being passed from one prisoner to another, from the hungered to the ill to the wounded. We survived as the People of the Book.”
”Each of us had a forefather in some remote village,” reads the introduction to the audio section of the site, “on cold winter nights, after an exhausting day working in a nobleman’s field or inn, he would soothe his wounds, salve the welts from his lashes and sit down to study by the light of a small candle. The gates of Eden then parted before him. He studied the words of our greatest scholars and grasped the hem of the robes of the geniuses of past centuries who explained the Talmud. Peering out the window, he saw his neighbors doing the same. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, a myriad of tiny flames kindling the light of the Torah. The Jewish People lives on!”
”Businessmen, housepainters, judges, plumbers, lawyers, shopkeepers, accountants, toiling laborers and members of the upper echelons meet in their neighborhoods and for a brief while stop dealing with the hectic environment and deal with the eternal Torah. Ask religious acquaintances. Everyone knows about Daf HaYomi, a concept that has become a basic element in the routine lives of countless homes the world over. Go to Australia, France, the US or Argentina. Everywhere you’ll find a Daf HaYomi lesson. The scope is simply astounding.
”Please don’t say you have no time. That’s why we’re here. As a group meeting daily to learn a daily Daf, we’ve come to realize that the unexpected pace of modern life sometimes disturbs plans and if anything can go wrong, it will. We cancel our original schedule and race against the clock till the wee hours. Now you can take a breather and enjoy the unpolluted air of our Torah, hear new ideas and store interesting and important knowledge just like your forefathers in the village. Both of you are tired. There’s no lesson going on now anywhere but sometimes we can open a window for half an hour. Looking for a lesson in Calgary, Stockholm or Perth? We’re the solution! We’ve decided that even if you’ve gone through such a day, you don’t have to forfeit life’s true happiness. That why we’ve established this site, where you can enjoy a clear, comprehensible lesson each day delivered by someone trained to explain the contents to a variety of audiences. Sit comfortably at home or the office whenever you want and your screen will show you a fluent teacher willing to explain each line of the Gemara.”
“Considerable financial resources were invested in this project,” HaDaf HaYomi’s designer told Arutz-7. “In order to offer the best Talmud lesson in the world a number of scholars and rabbis work together to survey and arrange the Talmudic discussions, making them understandable to everyone. Our institute funds the training and expenses of first-rate lecturers in Hebrew and English and plans call for more lecturers in Russian, French and other languages. The institute has a skilled technical staff to edit audio, video and Internet programs and eliminate bugs that may disrupt the continual broadcast of lessons. We also sometimes need to replace or update equipment to offer you the best viewing quality and we have hired an international firm to supply us with special software for the best editing.”
“Everything is provided for free,” said the page’s designer – who said his name was Hayyim and did not give a last name, “for the sake of perfecting the world as a kingdom for the Almighty.”
“HaDaf HaYomi was launched in response to the growing movement toward Talmud study among Jewish professionals in an increasingly fast-paced world,” HaDaf HaYomi’s webmaster told Arutz-7.
The web site explains its purpose as bringing knowledge to the heirs of Jewish tradition. ”Thousands of years ago the Creator chose us as a special people and gave us the Torah,” reads the welcome page, “since that day at Mount Sinai, Jews have never ceased learning the Torah.”
Web surfers are offered a brief history of the oral law. “There’s no doubt that the Jews have undergone the most fascinating history of all peoples. We have achieved both astounding victories and experienced almost devastating defeat. A Jewish kingdom once ruled most of the then-known world whereas sometimes it seemed that nearly all the world held sway over us. We were exiled, dispersed, returned to our land and exiled again. Where have we not been? Remnants of our people were tossed to corners of Yemen, Iberia, Poland, the Caucasus and a thousand more places. When members of different communities met, however, they knew they belonged to one people. Throughout the ages and in every situation we adhered to the Torah and the Torah watched over us. It strengthened the Marranos to defy the Inquisition and cry out Shema’ Yisrael [The Jewish prayer declaring God’s one-ness] at the stake, gave faith to the starving to believe in the return to Zion and encouraged our mentors to lead us in stressful times. Ragged pages of the Talmud that survived Auschwitz, Birkenau or Dachau clearly evidence being passed from one prisoner to another, from the hungered to the ill to the wounded. We survived as the People of the Book.”
”Each of us had a forefather in some remote village,” reads the introduction to the audio section of the site, “on cold winter nights, after an exhausting day working in a nobleman’s field or inn, he would soothe his wounds, salve the welts from his lashes and sit down to study by the light of a small candle. The gates of Eden then parted before him. He studied the words of our greatest scholars and grasped the hem of the robes of the geniuses of past centuries who explained the Talmud. Peering out the window, he saw his neighbors doing the same. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, a myriad of tiny flames kindling the light of the Torah. The Jewish People lives on!”
”Businessmen, housepainters, judges, plumbers, lawyers, shopkeepers, accountants, toiling laborers and members of the upper echelons meet in their neighborhoods and for a brief while stop dealing with the hectic environment and deal with the eternal Torah. Ask religious acquaintances. Everyone knows about Daf HaYomi, a concept that has become a basic element in the routine lives of countless homes the world over. Go to Australia, France, the US or Argentina. Everywhere you’ll find a Daf HaYomi lesson. The scope is simply astounding.
”Please don’t say you have no time. That’s why we’re here. As a group meeting daily to learn a daily Daf, we’ve come to realize that the unexpected pace of modern life sometimes disturbs plans and if anything can go wrong, it will. We cancel our original schedule and race against the clock till the wee hours. Now you can take a breather and enjoy the unpolluted air of our Torah, hear new ideas and store interesting and important knowledge just like your forefathers in the village. Both of you are tired. There’s no lesson going on now anywhere but sometimes we can open a window for half an hour. Looking for a lesson in Calgary, Stockholm or Perth? We’re the solution! We’ve decided that even if you’ve gone through such a day, you don’t have to forfeit life’s true happiness. That why we’ve established this site, where you can enjoy a clear, comprehensible lesson each day delivered by someone trained to explain the contents to a variety of audiences. Sit comfortably at home or the office whenever you want and your screen will show you a fluent teacher willing to explain each line of the Gemara.”
“Considerable financial resources were invested in this project,” HaDaf HaYomi’s designer told Arutz-7. “In order to offer the best Talmud lesson in the world a number of scholars and rabbis work together to survey and arrange the Talmudic discussions, making them understandable to everyone. Our institute funds the training and expenses of first-rate lecturers in Hebrew and English and plans call for more lecturers in Russian, French and other languages. The institute has a skilled technical staff to edit audio, video and Internet programs and eliminate bugs that may disrupt the continual broadcast of lessons. We also sometimes need to replace or update equipment to offer you the best viewing quality and we have hired an international firm to supply us with special software for the best editing.”
“Everything is provided for free,” said the page’s designer – who said his name was Hayyim and did not give a last name, “for the sake of perfecting the world as a kingdom for the Almighty.”