The Siyyum in Israel

While communities across the world will be joining together in Global Day events, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz will be celebrating the Global Day of Jewish Learning by holding a Siyyum (completion ceremony) in Jerusalem, Israel. A live telecast of the Siyyum will be available for all communities to access. Details for the Siyyum event will be forthcoming.

Lecture Series in Israel

Rabbi Steinsaltz will mark the completion of his life’s work on the Talmud with an historic siyyum – completion ceremony – on Sunday, November 7^th in Jerusalem. This evening is the culmination of the Global Day of Jewish Learning.

To celebrate this unique achievement, the Shefa Institute in Israel is launching a lecture series on Tractate Ta’anit, taught by Israel’s leading writers, artists, musicians and intellectuals.  Every week will showcase a new lesson from a new speaker teaching one page of the tractate (in Hebrew.) All the classes will be recorded and loaded onto the Shefa Website, http://hashefa.co.il/.

The series will be launched at the Steinsaltz Center (4-6 Iraqi Street Nachlaot, Jerusalem) on Wednesday, 21 April 2010, at 7:00 pm, with classes by Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Brandes and Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Partial list of speakers:

Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Brandes – Talmud researcher, Beir Morasha, Jerusalem

Prof. Ariel Hirshfeld – Culture and Literature researcher, senior lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and columnist at Ha'aretz daily newspaper

Prof. Yehuda Libes – Kabbalah researcher, will be teaching jointly with Rabbi Menachem Fruman, the Rabbi of the settlement of Teko'a

Writer Aaron Appelfeld – recipient of the Israel Prize for Literature

Kobi Oz – Israeli musician and writer

Writer Chaim Be'er – writer and Professor of Hebrew Literature at Be'er Sheva University

Udi Leon – script writer, one of the leading personalities in Israeli film-making and television, creator of the TV series Me'orav Yerushalmi ("Jerusalem Mix") and Avodah Aravit ("Arab Labor")

Rabbi Yuval Cherlow – head of the Hesder Yeshiva of Petach Tikvah

Dr. Yechiel Schlesinger – specialist in pediatrics and head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Sha'arei Tzedek hospital, Jerusalem

Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein – one of the founders and leaders of the Tzohar Organization (whose aim is to help shape the Jewish character of the State of Israel)

Rabbi David Halivni – Talmud researcher and Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recipient of the Israel Prize for Talmud for 2008

Rabbi David Bigman – head of the Ma'aleh Gilbo'a Yeshivah, active in helping women whose husbands deserted them (agunot) or refuse to divorce them (mesoravot get)

Rabbi Dr. Beni Lau – head of the Beit Midrash for social justice, columnist at the Ha'aretz daily newspaper

National events will celebrate the completion of each chapter in the tractate

The Siyyum of Chapter One will take place on the 1^st of Tammuz 5770, 27 June 2010, at the Talmud Convention at Heichal Shlomo, Jerusalem

The Siyyum of Chapter Two will take place on 10-12 Tammuz 5770, 21-23 July 2010, at the "Not in Heaven" Festival of Judaism at Kfar Blum

The Siyyum of Chapter Three will take place on the 18^th of Tishrei 5771,26 September 2010, at the Hakhel Festival at Sapir College, which this year will be devoted to the completion of the Steinsaltz Talmud

The Siyyum of Chapter Four will be celebrated as part of the main event marking the completion of the Steinsaltz Talmud, at Binyanei Haoomah, Jerusalem.