From Finish to Start

Managing to pull coordinators of three large-scale siyumim away from their last minute preparations for just a few minutes, Mishpacha spoke with Shmuli Rosenberg of Agudath Israel of America’s Siyum; Rabbi Aharon Gobioff, American director of Dirshu; and Gidon Katz of Kollel Iyun HaDaf’s English Siyum Hashas. What’s on their minds and what stirs their hearts as they put the finishing touches on the historic gatherings?

What are some of the most notable contrasts between this year’s siyum and those of the past?

Shmuli Rosenberg:  On a technical level, the program will be enhanced with additional programming including audio-visual presentations, while the physical configuration at the stadium has also been changed, with a raised center stage with four podiums ensuring that every seat will offer a great view.  And having seen how many people left the 12^th Siyum HaShas inspired to learn Daf Yomi, we started encouraging people to step up their learning more than two years ago, with 36,000 children learning through Masmidei HaSiyum and 12,500 thousand individuals taking part in Chavrei HaSiyum.  With so much hisorerus already in place before The Siyum, we can’t even begin to imagine how much inspiration will be achieved this time around.

 Rabbi Aharon Gobioff:  In America alone, the Dirshu siyum has undergone an enormous expansion. Our last siyum was a weekend event with 500 people coming for Shabbos and another 1,500 joining the program Motzoei Shabbos; this siyum quickly outgrew its original location and we had to add on two more venues. The number of misaymim has grown with this Daf Yomi cycle and we will have eight different siyumim taking place over several months in the United States, Israel, Europe and South Africa.