Some Orthodox Jews Use Smartphones, Websites to Complete Talmud Cycle
Want to study the Talmud with thousands of other Orthodox
Jews? There’s an app for that.
Twenty-first century Internet technology makes it easier
than ever for thousands of people worldwide to participate in Daf Yomi, a
7.5-year program to study the Torah’s rabbinical commentary.
Wednesday (Aug. 1) marks Siyum HaShas, the end of the
12th Daf Yomi cycle. More than 90,000 Orthodox men and women will commemorate
the day with prayer services, speeches, and dancing at a celebration at MetLife
Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., home of the New York Giants and Jets.
In all, 150,000 people will participate as the
celebration is broadcast live in 80 cities from Santiago to Melbourne. Rabbi
Labish Becker, who led the team that coordinated the local celebrations, said
it will be the biggest celebration yet, and attributes much of the growth to
the access new technologies allow.
Literally “a page a day,” Daf Yomi breaks down the Talmud
into 2,711 daily lessons. Participants study alone or meet for nightly lessons
in synagogues, schools and homes.
With the advent of smartphone apps, podcasts and mass
e-mails, Orthodox Jews can now access lessons anywhere in the world, at any
time of day.
For those who can’t read the ancient languages, services
like DafNotes.com offer a daily English translation, complete with an
explanation of the text.
Rabbi Avrohom Adler started the free website as a blog
with his brothers six years ago to elucidate the text’s message for those who
want to learn but don’t have the time or inclination to learn a new language.
“They don’t just want to read it, they want to understand it,” he said.
Adler says he has already added hundreds of members to
his 3,000-strong mailing list in recent weeks as Jews prepare for the 13th
study cycle.
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