They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet how many
words does it take to paint a picture? As the sights and
sounds of the joint North West London Daf Yomi Siyum continue
to spin around in my head, I still struggle to find an
answer.
Last Wednesday night (18 Teves) saw the coming together of
Daf Yomi Shiurim from Golders Green, Hendon and Edgware en
masse. Participants, maggidei shiurim and rabbonim
from all streams were present. It was achdus in all
its splendor.
Entering the Hasmonean Boys School, I found the main hall to
be already packed to capacity. A ma'ariv was just
finishing as we took our seats. Rows of chairs were laid out
to accommodate the participants who numbered over 700. Each
chair was equipped with a small box providing sandwiches,
cake, and a small bottle of grape juice.
The Siyum began with an introductory address by the evening's
chairman, Reb Mendi Bude, maggid shiur of the
Yungerleit's Daf Yomi at the Beis Shmuel Beis Hamedrash.
Welcoming all the rabbonim, maggidei shiurim and
lomdei hadaf, he commented on the tremendous kvod
HaTorah and kvod Shomayim this event afforded. He
also mentioned a special thank you to all the ladies who
sacrificed their own time to allow their husbands to attend
the Daf.
HaRav Y. Hager and HaRav Y. Royde recited Tehillim,
after which HaRav S. Weingarten was honored with the
Hadran. Upon completing the final lines of Eruvin
the music started and the satisfaction that comes with
completion and achievement washed over us. It was indeed a
feeling of great pride to have completed a masechta of
this magnitude, one of the three most difficult masechtos
in Shas.
After this short interval, HaRav A. Bassous began the fist
mishnah of maseches Pesochim. Both he and HaRav
Weingarten before him echoed the thoughts of all those
present: the evening provided a perfect forum for achdus.
Looking around the hall, I saw that this was indeed the
case. The completion of maseches Eruvin had brought
everyone together. All had joined hands for the glory of
Torah.
Dayan Abrahams was the evening's guest speaker. In an
animated and lively fashion that is all his own, he explained
how daily learning of Torah changes a person's view of the
world. When a person dedicates himself, day-in and day-out,
to learning Torah, it provides him with a whole new
perspective on life. The Daf Yomi gives Yidden this
opportunity — to gain an insight in how to accurately
view the world and live like a Yid. The Dayan finished his
droshoh to thunderous applause.
There was now just one more speaker left. The hour was
already late, but nobody left the hall. In an atmosphere
tense with anticipation Rav Dovid Halpern introduced the
guest of honor, the Admor of Sanz. As he rose to speak a hush
fell across the hall. Some in the audience had heard him
speak before; others hadn't. You couldn't tell the
difference.
The Rebbe proceeded to deliver words of chizuk that
quite literally mesmerized us. He forged a trail through
Shas, Rishonim and Acharonim to do what is so
vital to all Jews: inspire them anew in their Yiddishkeit. He
spoke of how a Yid must live with a simchah in
ruchniyus, with a thirst for Torah and mitzvos. He
stressed that the only guard in today's world of heavy
nisyonos was for children to witness their parents
enjoying Yiddishkeit, enjoying Torah.
It was as if a new and fresh spirit permeated our souls. We
hung onto his every word. He lifted us up and painted that
brighter picture so many of us spend so much time looking
for. He spoke for over an hour, yet it seemed like it was all
over in five minutes. The resounding shkoiach he
received at the end reflected exactly the audience's
appreciation of his message.
Leaving the hall at the end of the Siyum I found myself
standing next the sole organizer of this momentous event. R'
Chaim Mordche Curtis, known to most of us as Mark, is owed a
tremendous debt of gratitude for this fantastic achievement.
May this zchus stand him in good stead for many years
to come.
In reaching the end of this article I find myself asking the
same question I started out with: how do words do justice to
an event of this caliber? How can one, in mere sentences and
paragraphs, capture the essence of the achdus that
took place that night?
The truth is I do not know. In fact, perhaps they can't.
Perhaps they can only provide a mere glimpse of this
wonderful occasion. But there is one thing I do know. The
evening might have ended after only a few hours, but its
memory and, more importantly, its message, remained with us
all long into the night.
Simche Goitein is a freelance writer based in London. He
can be contacted at simche7@yahoo.com
