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Jan. 1st, 2020 01:31 pmThe 7 year Daf Yomi cycle is ending this week, with many marking the end of the cycle with a Siyum HaShas today in various large venues around the world, including tens of thousands of people up the road in Giants Stadium.
I'm having conflicted feelings about it. I kicked off the last cycle with a lot of enthusiasm back in 2012, and I kept it up for about three months, through all of Masechet Berakhos and the first week or two of Masechet Shabbos. Then Hurricane Sandy hit and I lost the rhythm. I've dipped in and out throughout the cycle- I kept up for all of Makkos and all of Chullin, about half of Avodah Zara and half of Kerisos, and parts of Sanhedrin and Shevuos. Mostly I've not kept up.
It would be amazing to participate in a Siyum HaShas having actually studied all of Shas, even at the elementary and cursory level that I am able to study Talmud. That requires an amount of discipline and time that I don't seem to have, which is disappointing, even though I am proud of the amount of time I did dedicate to Talmud study over the past seven years, and even though I have undoubtedly grown in Torah and knowledge in the process. Three full masechtos that I studied from beginning to end! So I am trying my hardest to see the Siyum HaShas in the most positive light I can.
And I'm going to try again with the new cycle, which starts in a few days with Masechet Berakhos again. And I'll try blogging it again, to whatever degree is possible and useful.
I'm having conflicted feelings about it. I kicked off the last cycle with a lot of enthusiasm back in 2012, and I kept it up for about three months, through all of Masechet Berakhos and the first week or two of Masechet Shabbos. Then Hurricane Sandy hit and I lost the rhythm. I've dipped in and out throughout the cycle- I kept up for all of Makkos and all of Chullin, about half of Avodah Zara and half of Kerisos, and parts of Sanhedrin and Shevuos. Mostly I've not kept up.
It would be amazing to participate in a Siyum HaShas having actually studied all of Shas, even at the elementary and cursory level that I am able to study Talmud. That requires an amount of discipline and time that I don't seem to have, which is disappointing, even though I am proud of the amount of time I did dedicate to Talmud study over the past seven years, and even though I have undoubtedly grown in Torah and knowledge in the process. Three full masechtos that I studied from beginning to end! So I am trying my hardest to see the Siyum HaShas in the most positive light I can.
And I'm going to try again with the new cycle, which starts in a few days with Masechet Berakhos again. And I'll try blogging it again, to whatever degree is possible and useful.