I shall never forget his matter-of-fact reply, as if I had just pitched a suggestion even more idiotic than vanilla coke.
W
hy did I begin learning daf yomi? To be honest, it wasn’t for the most exalted of reasons. It’s impressive to say that you learn daf yomi, and it’s complimentary to be associated with men who carve out a regular portion of their day for talmud Torah. When you travel internationally and domestically, as I do, it’s a lot more ego-gratifying to ask about the timing and location of the local daf than about the local money transfers.
And when your host informs you of the local daf yomi opportunities and you have to reply, “Thank you, no thank you” you’re forced to consume a generous portion of humble pie.
It gets worse. Three daf yomi cycles ago, I was in Poland leading a seminary tour at the time of the Siyum HaShas. Naturally we celebrated this milestone in Rav Meir Shapiro’s yeshivah, Chachmei Lublin. After the dancing, many students congratulated me on my achievement. I was forced to correct them and then consume industrial-sized helpings of humble pie.
I resolved not to go through this humiliation again, which has got to be one of the most unprecedented reasons for joining daf yomi. But it is quite one thing to make a commitment and yet another to fulfill it.
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