This past Sunday, January 5, 2020, at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, IL ,the Chicago community celebrated the 13th completion of the “Daf Yomi” Talmud program.  The Daf Yomi program was founded in 1924 by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin.  In this program, Jews worldwide study one folio of the Babylonian Talmud  daily until completion of the Talmud.  It takes approximately seven and a half years to complete the Talmud when studying one page a day.

Organized by Agudath Israel of Illinois, thousands joined to celebrate those 400 individuals in the Chicagoland area who completed the Talmud. The crowd was graced with the presence of Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, Shlita, who heads the cRc’s Rabbinical Court.  Rabbi Yona Reiss, Av Beth Din of the cRc, was honored to begin the 14th Daf Yomi Cycle. Many cRc member Rabbis joined the cRc’s illustrious leaders on the dais, and many more found themselves among the crowd.

One highlight of the evening  was the communal dancing that took place after the Talmud was completed. Young and old, parents and children spilled into the aisles to express their unbridled joy, and immense appreciation for the Torah learning and the sanctification of G-d’s name that was taking place at that moment.