| Siyum HaShas סיום הש"ס | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the main Siyum HaShas organized byAgudath Israel of America | |
| Status | Active |
| Frequency | Every 2,711 days |
| Venue | International |
| Years active | 102 |
| Inaugurated | 2 February 1931 (1931-02-02) |
| Founder | RabbiMeir Shapiro |
| Most recent | 1 January 2020 (2020-01-01) |
| Next event | 7 June 2027 |
| Attendance | 93,000[1] (2012) |
| Organized by | World Agudath Israel |
Siyum HaShas (Hebrew:סיום הש"ס, lit. "completion of the Six Orders [of the Talmud]") is a celebration of the completion of theDaf Yomi (dailyTalmud folio) program, a roughly seven-and-a-half-year cycle of learning theOral Torah and its commentaries, in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud are covered in sequence – one page per day.[2] The first Daf Yomi cycle began on the first day ofRosh Hashanah 5684 (11 September 1923); the thirteenth cycle concluded on 4 January 2020 and the fourteenth cycle began the following day, to be concluded on 7 June 2027. The Siyum HaShas marks both the end of the previous cycle and the beginning of the next, and is characterized by celebratory speeches, as well as singing and dancing. The next day, the new cycle begins again.
For Jews for whomTorah study is a daily obligation, the publicity and excitement surrounding the Siyum HaShas has resulted in more participants, more Daf Yomishiurim (lessons), and more Siyum locations with each cycle.[3] Since 1990, attendance at the main Siyum HaShas in America, organized by theAgudath Israel of America, has increased dramatically, necessitating the booking of larger arenas and stadiums.[4] The 13th Siyum HaShas on January 1, 2020 took place inMetLife Stadium inNew Jersey with a sellout crowd of over 90,000. Other organizations, such asDirshu, and neighborhood groups andsynagogues in cities around the world, also hold Siyum HaShas events expected to attract tens of thousands of participants.
The novel idea of Jews in all parts of the world studying the samedaf[5] each day, with the goal of completing the entire Talmud, was put forth at the First World Congress of theWorld Agudath Israel inVienna on 16 August 1923 by RabbiMeir Shapiro, thenRav ofSanok, Poland, and futurerosh yeshiva of theChachmei Lublin Yeshiva.[6] In those years, only some of the 63 tractates of the Talmud were being studied regularly, such asBerachot,Shabbat, andEruvin, which deal with practicallaws, while others, such asZevachim andTemurah, were hardly studied.[6] Shapiro also viewed the program as a way to unify the Jewish people.[7][8] His idea was greeted enthusiastically by the nearly 600 delegates at the Congress, including manyTorah leaders from Europe and America, who accepted it as a universal obligation for all Jews.[6][9] The first cycle of Daf Yomi commenced on the first day ofRosh Hashanah 5684 (11 September 1923).[6]
With 2,711 pages in the Talmud, one Daf Yomi cycle takes about 7 years, 5 months. The completion of each tractate is typically celebrated with a smallsiyum, and the completion of the entire cycle is celebrated at an event known as the Siyum HaShas.
Daf Yomi can be studied alone, with achavrusa (study partner), in a dailyshiur (class) led by a rabbi or teacher, via a telephoneshiur,CD-ROM, or audio and online resources. Typically, Daf Yomishiurim are held insynagogues, yeshivas, and offices.[10] They also take place in theUnited States Senate,Wall Street board rooms,[11] and on theLong Island Rail Road, in the last car of twocommuter trains departingFar Rockaway at 7:51 am and 8:15 am, respectively, forManhattan.[10][12][13][14] Daf Yomishiurim have been piped into the in-flight sound system ofEl Al flights.[12][15] A typical Daf Yomishiur lasts one hour.[16] Participants study the text together with the commentary ofRashi.[17]
TheSchottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, an English-language translation and interpretation published in 73 volumes between 1990 and 2004 byArtScroll,[18] has been credited with significantly increasing the number of English-language participants in the Daf Yomi program.[19] The Schottenstein Talmud has also been translated into Hebrew. Additional resources to assist those endeavoring to complete the cycle for the first time are audiotapes, online websites, andiPods preloaded with lectures covering every page of the Talmud.[20] The Dafyomi Advancement Forum, founded byKollel Iyun Hadaf in 1996, is a free resource center offering English-language translations, outlines, charts, analyses and lectures on everydaf, as well as answers to any question by email.[7][21] Meoros HaDaf HaYomi, founded in 1999, disseminates a weekly Daf Yomi study sheet in both Hebrew and English available by email and regular mail. It has recordedshiurim on thedaf on CD-ROM in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and French.[22]
As with any siyum, the Siyum HaShas is both an end and a beginning.[23] Dozens and even hundreds ofGedolei Torah (Torah leaders) attend each Siyum HaShas. A distinguishedRav is honored with the recital of the last topic on the last page of Talmud and the saying of theHadran ("We will return") prayer. The Rav then delivers a scholarly lecture. Another honoree begins the new Daf Yomi cycle with the recital of the first topic on the first page of Talmud. Other rabbis are invited to deliver speeches on the Talmud and on the significance of the event. A specialKaddish, theKaddish Hagadol, is also said. The program is rounded out with spirited singing and dancing.
The 1st Siyum HaShas took place on 2 February 1931 (15Shevat 5691) in several cities in Europe and inJerusalem, with the main venue being the newly opened Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva inLublin, Poland. Tens of thousands of Jews attended these events. Rabbi Meir Shapiro presided over the Siyum in his yeshiva in the presence of many leaders ofPolish Jewry.[24] In the United States, Siyumim were held inBaltimore andPhiladelphia.[25]
The 2nd Siyum HaShas was held on 27 June 1938 (28Sivan 5698). Again the main venue was the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, but the founder of that yeshiva and the Daf Yomi program, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, was not present, having died suddenly in 1933 at the age of 46.[26] An estimated 15,000[27] to 20,000[28] Jews came from all over Poland to celebrate the milestone together with many Torah scholars, including the Rebbes ofBoyan-Cracow,Sochatchov,Sadigura, andModzhitz, RabbiMenachem Ziemba, and RabbiDov Berish Weidenfeld. So many Gedolim were gathered in one place that manyhalachic queries were sent directly to Lublin. The two-day event culminated with the completion of aSefer Torah in memory of Shapiro.[27]
In the United States, Siyumim were held in Baltimore, Philadelphia, andBrooklyn.[25]
InMandatory Palestine, organizers planned to hold a Siyum in the Zikhron Meir neighborhood ofBnei Brak (named for Rabbi Meir Shapiro). It was cancelled at the last minute by the British mandatory government, which banned all mass gatherings for fear of "anti-government demonstrations".[27]
The 3rd Siyum HaShas was held on 19 November 1945 (14Kislev 5706), with the main venues inTel Aviv,Haifa, and Jerusalem. (The Siyum in Tel Aviv, attended by more than 3,000, was delayed one day due to the British-imposedcurfew.) Coming as it did after theHolocaust, this Siyum was dedicated to the memory of the millions of Jews who had perished.[29] A Siyum HaShas was also held in thedisplaced persons camp inFeldafing, Germany, by a small group of survivors.[29][30]
In the United States, the Siyum was commemorated in theBoro Park section of Brooklyn, onManhattan's West Side, and inDetroit.[25]
The 4th Siyum HaShas on 13 April 1953 (28Nisan 5713) also had its main venue in Israel. An estimated 10,000 gathered for the main event inMea Shearim, following local siyums and speeches by leading rabbis in over half a dozen Jerusalemsynagogues.[31][32] Thousands attended the Siyum HaShas in Tel Aviv and danced afterwards at the central bus station. Well-attended Siyums also took place in Bnei Brak,Petah Tikva,Haifa, andTiberias.[31]
In New York City, the 4th Siyum HaShas was celebrated at theYoung Israel ofBorough Park, as well as inBensonhurst,Brownsville,West Side of Manhattan, andthe Bronx.[25]
The 5th Siyum HaShas took place on 5 September 1960 (13Elul 5720). In Jerusalem'sKikar HaShabbat, an open-air square at the intersection of the Mea Shearim andGeula neighborhoods, distinguished Torah leaders addressed the thousands of attendees. In Bnei Brak, police estimated an audience of between 12,000 and 15,000 in an outdoor field. Over 5,000 attended the Siyum in Tel Aviv, where RabbiYosef Shlomo Kahaneman, thePonevezher Rav, delivered ahadran that lasted nearly two hours.[31]
In the United States, RabbiAharon Kotler presided over the 5th Siyum HaShas at the Zeirei Agudas Yisroel convention in New York.[25][33] Other Siyums took place in New York City and Baltimore.[25]
The 6th Siyum HaShas was celebrated in many venues in Israel. The largest gatherings were at Jerusalem'sInternational Convention Center on 29 January 1968 (28Tevet 5728), the Wagschal Hall in Bnei Brak, and theCulture Palace in Tel Aviv (home of theIsrael Philharmonic Orchestra) on 30 January 1968. At the Tel Aviv event, the choirs ofGer,Vizhnitz,Modzhitz, andChabad, together with aSephardi boys choir and a Haredi Yerushalmi choir, performed between speeches.[34]
In London, the Agudath Israel of Britain organized a Siyum HaShas at the Town Hall inStamford Hill, attended by groups fromManchester,Gateshead, andSunderland, and Agudath Israel leaders from Europe.[34]
The largest Siyum HaShas to date in the United States took place on 28 January 1968[34] at theBais Yaakov ofBoro Park with 300 people in attendance.[35] Other Siyums were held in New York City inWashington Heights, the Bronx, the West Side of Manhattan, and Bensonhurst; Baltimore;Boston;Chicago; andLos Angeles.[34]
Tens of thousands of participants attended the 7th Siyum HaShas in Jerusalem, which was held on 23 June 1975 (14Tammuz 5735). The event, which took place in the large courtyard of the Bais Yaakov High School, attracted thousands of religious schoolchildren wearing a special Daf Yomi badge, together with their teachers. Three hundred members of theMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah were seated on the huge dais. The central celebration in Tel Aviv, again held at the Culture Palace and again featuring numerous choirs, also drew a huge attendance. In Bnei Brak, more than 10,000 people pressed into the Great Synagogue; the doors and some furnishings buckled under the crush of the crowd. After the ceremony and speeches, the crowd spilled out onto Rabbi Akiva Street for dancing. The Siyum was also marked inNetanya,Safed,Ramat Gan, and, for the first time, inGiv'atayim.[3]
In the United States, the 7th Siyum HaShas was held on 15 June 1975 at theManhattan Center in New York City, drawing an audience of over 5,000.[3][33] At this Siyum, theCouncil of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel of America permanently dedicated the Siyum HaShas to the memory of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.[32] Other Siyums took place in Philadelphia andCleveland. Around the world, Siyums were held inEngland,Belgium,Switzerland,Brazil, andMexico.[3]
The mid-1970s and early 1980s saw an increase in theHaredi population worldwide, fueling the growth of the Daf Yomi program and an increase in locations for the Siyum HaShas beginning with the 8th Siyum.[36] At the conclusion of the eighth cycle of Daf Yomi,The New York Times estimated that 40,000 individuals worldwide had participated in the seven-and-a-half-year learning cycle.[37] According to Agudath Israel, close to 250,000 people worldwide participated in the 8th Siyum HaShas.[36] The largest attendance was in Israel, with 10,000 attendees at theYad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv on 21 November 1982 (5Kislev 5743), 10,000 at Jerusalem's International Convention Center, thousands in Bnei Brak at Wagschal Hall, and hundreds in Haifa, Petah Tikva, and, for the first time, inAshdod. At the Jerusalem event, a special certificate was awarded to four men who had completed all eight cycles of Daf Yomi.[36]
The main Siyum HaShas in the United States was celebrated on 14 November 1982 at theFelt Forum in New York City, with over 5,000 participants.[4][32] This program was broadcast to gatherings in Chicago, Los Angeles,Toronto, and Montreal. Other Siyums took place in Detroit; Cleveland; andMonsey, New York.[36]
At the Agudath Israel of America convention following the 8th Siyum HaShas in New York, Agudah chairman RabbiMoshe Sherer announced that he wished to bookMadison Square Garden for the next Siyum HaShas, to be held on 26 April 1990. Many were skeptical that the stadium, seating 20,000, could be filled, considering that the 8th Siyum HaShas in New York had attracted only 5,000. But Agudath Israel of America went ahead and paid a nonrefundable deposit two and a half years in advance of the Siyum, and attendance met all expectations, with over 20,000 in attendance.[4][35][38] Tickets on the main floor, priced at $100 apiece, were sold out for weeks in advance, and the women's section was also sold out.[32] Other Siyums were held in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, and Tel Aviv.[39]
Enormous crowds were seen at the 9th Siyum HaShas in Israel's main cities on 24 April 1990 (29 Nisan 5750). These included a Siyum in Tel Aviv at theYad Eliyahu Arena, a Siyum in Jerusalem in the spacious Bais Yaakov High School courtyard, and a Siyum in Bnei Brak. Special children's Siyums were also held in Jerusalem (with students from 84Talmud Torahs and schools in attendance) and in Bnei Brak (with 5,000 children together with leading rabbis and educators in attendance).[38]
The 9th Siyum HaShas inLondon drew a large audience and lasted six hours, followed by a festive meal. Smaller events took place in Manchester, Gateshead, and among local Daf Yomi groups in England. InMelbourne, Australia, home to eight regular Daf Yomishiurim, the central Siyum HaShas drew 1,000 people.[38]
The 10th Siyum HaShas in the United States took place on 28 September 1997 at two New York City locations:Madison Square Garden, with an audience of 25,000, and theNassau Coliseum, with an audience of 20,000.[4] Siyums were also held inBoston, Cleveland,Chicago, Los Angeles,Pittsburgh, andPortland,[40] bringing total U.S. participation to 70,000 individuals.[41][42] Siyums also took place in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec in Canada, and Melbourne, Australia.[40]
In Israel, the central Siyum HaShas was held at Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu Arena on 28 September 1997 (26Elul 5757) with thousands in attendance, and was broadcast live to other locations. The honor of starting the new cycle of Daf Yomi went to RabbiShmuel Wosner, a student of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, who shared his memories of the first Siyum HaShas in 1931. TheShabbat preceding this Siyum was billed as "Shabbos Daf Yomi", with rabbis calling on Israelis to increase their study of Daf Yomi. Other Siyums were held inbattei medrash (study halls) in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, and in RamatVizhnitz in Haifa.[40]
In England, the central Siyum HaShas was held in the Sobel Center in London, drawing thousands of attendees. Over 2,500 attended theseudat mitzvah (celebratory meal) hosted by Agudath Israel in London. Another thousand attended Siyums in Manchester and Gateshead.[40]
An estimated 300,000 people worldwide participated in the 11th Siyum HaShas.[28] The largest celebrations were held on 1 March 2005 in three locations in the New York area: Madison Square Garden, theContinental Airlines Arena inNew Jersey, and theJacob K. Javits Convention Center, with a combined 45,000 attendees.[4][43] Portions of each program were telecast to the other sites and to more than 50 locations countrywide,[40] including theRosemont Theatre in Chicago, theWalt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and theRicoh Coliseum in Toronto.[44] The programs were also broadcast to 20 overseas locations.[40] The honor of reciting the final portion of the final page at the Continental Arena event was given to Rabbi Chaim Stein,rosh yeshiva of theTelshe yeshiva ofWickliffe, Ohio, who was making his ninth personal Siyum HaShas[40] and had participated in each of the ten preceding events, including the first one held at the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva in 1931.[45]
In Israel, 10,000 tickets prepared for the central Siyum HaShas at Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv on 1 March 2005 (20Adar I, 5765) sold out immediately. The proceedings were viewed by live satellite hookup in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Ashdod. Siyums were also held in Jerusalem at the International Convention Center, in theZikhron Moshe synagogue, in thePinsk-Karlinbeis medrash, inKiryat Belz, and at theErlau yeshiva. An English-language Siyum at the Jerusalem Convention Center was attended by the Rebbes ofBoyan,Karlin-Stolin,Kaliv, andPittsburg, as well as by English-speaking roshei yeshiva RabbiNosson Tzvi Finkel, RabbiChaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Rabbi Yitzchak Sheiner, and RabbiMendel Weinbach. Other Siyums were held in Bnei Brak, Haifa, Ashdod, Netanya, Petah Tikva,Rehovot,Tel Zion, andKiryat Ata.[40]
The 11th Siyum HaShas was also celebrated by 4,000 people in London,[40] 2,000 people in Manchester,[40] and at events inAntwerp,[40] and Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.[46] The scope of celebrations marking the 11th Siyum HaShas was described in one newspaper account as follows:
Among the [U.S.] cities where Siyums were held were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Des Moines, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Lakewood, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, St. Louis, Seattle, Cincinnati, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago.
Siyums were also held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Caracas, Venezuela; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lublin, Poland, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Odessa in the Former Soviet Union; Hong Kong, China; and Sydney, Australia.[40]
Coming as it did the day before theyahrzeit of Hasidic master RebElimelech of Lizensk, when hundreds traditionally make a pilgrimage to his grave inLeżajsk, Poland, two Siyums were celebrated in Poland, including the first at the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva since 1931 (see below). A large group from Israel traveled to the formerbeis medrash of the Gerrer Rebbes inGóra Kalwaria. A Siyum HaShas was made inMoscow by the united Jewish communities in Russia under the leadership of Chief RabbiBerel Lazar.[40]
The 11th Siyum HaShas was also marked by an event for non-Orthodox Jews called Jewish Unity Live 2005. The central venue, theNew Jersey Performing Arts Center, featuredElie Wiesel, U.S. SenatorJoseph Lieberman, and other celebrities; gatherings were also held on college campuses and military bases across the U.S.[47]
MetLife Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, which has seating for 82,500, was the main U.S. venue for the 12th Siyum HaShas on 1 August 2012.[48] An additional 8,500 folding chairs were placed on the playing field, and a dais of approximately 500 seats accommodatedAdmorim,roshei yeshiva, and distinguished rabbis. An additional section of 1,000 seats was reserved for teachers of Daf Yomishiurim.[49][50] All 92,000 seats were sold out.[51] A total of 2,200plasma screens were set up inside the stadium and fourJumbotron screens were positioned outside the stadium for overflow attendees. Female attendees, who constituted an estimated 20 percent of the crowd, were seated in the upper deck of the stadium behind a 12-foot (3.7 m) high, 2.5-mile (4.0 km) longmechitza (curtain divider) that was drawn during prayers.[49][52] Satellite broadcasts and web feeds were piped to over 100 locations, including those in Chicago, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Lublin, Poland.[51]
For the first time, aModern Orthodox Siyum HaShas was also held, on 6 August 2012, atCongregation Shearith Israel on Manhattan'sUpper West Side.[49][53][54] This event featured lectures on various aspects of both the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, and participation by female Torah scholars.[55]
Tens of thousands attended Siyums in Israel. These included theDirshu World Siyum at theYad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv, the National Siyum HaShas inPetah Tikva, a Siyum organized by Agudath Israel andDegel HaTorah in theFrench Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem, and a Siyum organized by theShas political party atTeddy Stadium in Jerusalem.[56][57][58] There were two English-language Siyums atJerusalem's International Convention Center, one sponsored by Dirshu on 31 July[59] and one organized by Kollel Iyun Hadaf on 5 August.[7][60] The various Religious Zionist organizations sponsored a separate siyum at the same Convention Center on 2 August, and there was another English language siyum at Jerusalem's Great Synagogue on 9 August.
A new edition of the Talmud was launched to coincide with the 12th Siyum HaShas byKoren Publishers. Known as the Koren Talmud Bavli, this edition features translation and commentary by RabbiAdin Steinsaltz. The project, slated to be 42 volumes, is overseen by Rabbi Dr.Tzvi Hersh Weinreb who serves as editor-in-chief.[61]
For the 13th Siyum HaShas, whose study cycle concluded on the 7th ofTevet 5780 (4 January 2020), celebrations were scheduled to take place in locations in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and other countries, in January and February 2020. The main event in the United States, staged byAgudath Israel of America, took place on 1 January atMetLife Stadium, which has capacity for 92,000 seats, with a second location atBarclays Center inBrooklyn, New York.[33] Concerned about holding an outdoor event during theNew Jersey winter, planners had proposed holding the main siyum in five different indoor venues in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia simultaneously withlive streaming hook-ups between them.[33] But theMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America opted to hold the siyum in one place based on the principle ofb'rov am hadrat melech, that God's honor is increased when a large number of Jews gather in the same place.[33]
Early Siyum HaShas celebrations also took place in December 2019 inMelbourne[62] andVienna.[63]
In Israel, the Hadran organization organized a Siyum HaShas celebration focusing on women's learning and teaching of Talmud in general and the Daf Yomi in particular.[64]
Dirshu held their own Siyum in thePrudential Center inNewark, New Jersey on 9 February 2020.
The Siyum in the UK took place on 9 January at Wembley Arena, with an attendance of approximately 7,000.[65]
The main 14th Siyum HaShas, organized by Agudath Israel of America, will take place on June 6, 2027, in MetLife Stadium.[66]
With the closure of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva by the Nazis and the conversion of the yeshiva to a medical academy, the Siyum HaShas was not held in its original venue for many cycles. In 1998 the yeshiva was returned to the Jewish community ofWarsaw, which undertook renovations.[28] In March 2005, Rabbi David Singer, an Orthodox Jew fromBrooklyn, New York, whose father, Rabbi Joseph Singer, thePilzno Rav, had been born in Poland,[67] organized the 11th Siyum HaShas in the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva.[28][68] Chaired by RabbiBaruch Taub, rabbi emeritus ofBeth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto,[69] the event was linked by satellite to the one in New York and was attended by over 200 participants,[28] including the Rebbes ofSadigura,Modzhitz,Nadvorna, andBiala; RabbiYona Metzger,Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Israeli politician RabbiMenachem Porush.[40]
Singer organized the 12th Siyum HaShas at theChachmei Lublin Yeshiva on 1 August 2012. Participants viewed a simultaneous broadcast from the event taking place that same day at theMetLife Stadium inNew Jersey.[70]
Siyum HaShas also refers to any individual's or group'scompletion of all 2,711pages of Talmud. Many rabbis and Torah scholars have completed the study of the entire Talmud one or more times in their lifetimes.[71][72] Synagogues, organizations, and community groups also complete the Talmud on a yearly basis, marking an annual Siyum HaShas.[73][74][75] An initiative known as a Shas-A-Thon brings hundreds and even thousands of participants together to study and complete the entire Talmud in one day.[76] This initiative is sometimes used as a fund-raiser, with participants collecting pledges from donors.[77]
Fifteen years ago ... and the rest is history. (For women on the 7:49 ... Tehillim..) ... Railroad personnel are well aware ... proud of the positive publicity ...
Enter the ShasPod. For $399, Mr. Shmidman sends his customers a 20-gigabyte iPod loaded with Talmud lectures given by Rabbi Dovid Grossman of Los Angeles.
"This month marks the end of the study period during which, it is estimated, 40,000 Orthodox Jews around the world clustered around the ancient commentaries on the Scriptures".
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)"The climax of the evening, the actual completion of the Talmud achieved by the reading of the last line, was performed in New Jersey by Rabbi Chaim Stein, head of the Telshe Yeshiva of Wickliffe. Rabbi Stein has the distinction of having participated in every Siyum HaShas since the very first, way back in Poland, 1931".
{{cite web}}:|author= has generic name (help)
