Looking Back: 100 Years, to the Day, Since the Founding of Daf Yomi

Exactly a century ago, on the 9th of Elul 5683 (1923), Rav Meir Shapiro took the podium at the Knessiah Gedolah in Vienna. An air of anticipation permeated the room as he began his speech.

At 36 years old, Rav Shapiro possessed a captivating charm, a sharp wit, and was celebrated globally as an orator. His rabbinical journey had led him through diverse locales in Poland and Galicia, such as Piotrkov and Lublin, while his involvement with Agudas Yisroel and advocacy for Polish Jewry’s needs in the Sejm remained notable.

In this moment, Rav Shapiro proposed an innovative concept that aimed to unite the global Jewish community around the study of the Daf Yomi – a single folio of the Talmud Bavli  each day. He invoked Rabi Akiva’s narrative to illustrate his idea.

In the tale, Rabi Akiva, cast into a tempestuous sea after his ship wrecked, was deemed lost. He recounted his miraculous rescue to Rabbon Gamaliel, describing how a single plank from the ship materialized as salvation, allowing him to weather the waves (Yevamos 121a).

Rav Shapiro ingeniously correlated the symbolic significance of this story to the Daf Yomi: “A ‘daf’ serves as the instrument of our survival amidst today’s tumultuous seas. If we steadfastly hold onto it, the waves of adversity will pass over us.”

In his depiction, Rav Shapiro outlined his vision for how the Daf Yomi could unify the global Jewish population:

“Picture a Jewish traveler, clutching a Gemara Brachos, sailing for 15 days from Eretz Yisroel to America. Each evening, he opens the Gemara to study the daf of the day. Upon arriving in New York, he enters a bais medrash and finds fellow Jews engrossed in the same page he studied, enabling him to seamlessly join their study group. This unity extends even further – when another Jewish traveler departs from the United States to Brazil, upon returning, he discovers individuals deeply immersed in the very daf he studied that day. Can there be a more profound unity of hearts?”

However, the realization of this vision was far from straightforward. Novel ideas in the Torah leadership of the time encountered skepticism. Concerns were raised: Would the Daf Yomi compromise the depth of study due to the daily volume? Would it engage lay Jews and yeshiva students alike? How accessible were Gemaros for study? The early 20th century saw Jews swayed by ideologies beyond Talmudic study, making the success of this venture uncertain.

Despite the Gerer Rebbe’s symbolic initiation of the Daf Yomi on the first day of Rosh Hashana 5684, embracing the first daf of Brachos, the concept’s universal adoption remained uncertain. Certain gedolim opposed it, contending that no sugya concludes neatly at the end of a daf, thus potentially causing learners to be left mid-topic.

Rav Shapiro witnessed only one siyum of Shas, celebrated with grandeur in 1931. By the second siyum, he had passed away, and by the third in 1946, much of European Jewry, including many daf learners, had perished.

Several modest siyumim were held worldwide, including at the DP camp in Feldafing. The Daf Yomi took time to gain momentum in the US, with attendance figures ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. Yet, in time, the initiative’s popularity grew. Madison Square Garden was reserved for a future siyum as the movement expanded.

As the years progressed, thousands filled arenas for these events, symbolizing the remarkable realization of Rav Shapiro’s dream. The availability of various Gemaros with translations and explanations made the daf accessible to all, and the global community’s attachment to it has grown exponentially.

This phenomenon of united Torah study stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Rav Meir Shapiro’s idea. It remains a unifying force for Jews spanning continents, even amid diverse beliefs. This resilient spirit, akin to Rabi Akiva’s plank, has withstood the test of time.

{Matzav.com}