As with any siyum, the Siyum HaShas is both an end and a beginning. Dozens and even hundreds of
Gedolei Torah (Torah leaders) attend each Siyum HaShas. A distinguished
Rav is honored with the recital of the last topic on the last page of Talmud and the saying of the
Hadran ("We will return") prayer. The Rav then delivers a scholarly lecture. Another honoree begins the new Daf Yomi cycle with the recital of the first topic on the first page of Talmud. Other rabbis are invited to deliver speeches on the Talmud and on the significance of the event. A special
Kaddish, the
Kaddish Hagadol, is also said. The program is rounded out with spirited singing and dancing.
1st Siyum HaShas The 1st Siyum HaShas took place on 2 February 1931 (15
Shevat 5691) in several cities in Europe and in
Jerusalem, with the main venue being the newly opened Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva in
Lublin, Poland. Tens of thousands of Jews attended these events. Rabbi Meir Shapiro presided over the Siyum in his yeshiva in the presence of many leaders of
Polish Jewry. In the United States, Siyumim were held in
Baltimore and
Philadelphia.
2nd Siyum HaShas The 2nd Siyum HaShas was held on 27 June 1938 (28
Sivan 5698). Again the main venue was the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, but the founder of that yeshiva and the Daf Yomi program, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, was not present, having died suddenly in 1933 at the age of 46. An estimated 15,000 In the United States, Siyumim were held in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
Brooklyn. A Siyum HaShas was also held in the
displaced persons camp in
Feldafing, Germany, by a small group of survivors. In the United States, the Siyum was commemorated in the
Boro Park section of Brooklyn, on
Manhattan's West Side, and in
Detroit. Thousands attended the Siyum HaShas in Tel Aviv and danced afterwards at the central bus station. Well-attended Siyums also took place in Bnei Brak,
Petah Tikva,
Haifa, and
Tiberias. Other Siyums took place in New York City and Baltimore. In London, the Agudath Israel of Britain organized a Siyum HaShas at the Town Hall in
Stamford Hill, attended by groups from
Manchester,
Gateshead, and
Sunderland, and Agudath Israel leaders from Europe. Other Siyums were held in New York City in
Washington Heights, the Bronx, the West Side of Manhattan, and Bensonhurst; Baltimore;
Boston;
Chicago; and
Los Angeles. In the United States, the 7th Siyum HaShas was held on 15 June 1975 at the
Manhattan Center in New York City, drawing an audience of over 5,000. According to Agudath Israel, close to 250,000 people worldwide participated in the 8th Siyum HaShas. The largest attendance was in Israel, with 10,000 attendees at the
Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv on 21 November 1982 (5
Kislev 5743), 10,000 at Jerusalem's International Convention Center, thousands in Bnei Brak at Wagschal Hall, and hundreds in Haifa, Petah Tikva, and, for the first time, in
Ashdod. At the Jerusalem event, a special certificate was awarded to four men who had completed all eight cycles of Daf Yomi. Enormous crowds were seen at the 9th Siyum HaShas in Israel's main cities on 24 April 1990 (29 Nisan 5750). These included a Siyum in Tel Aviv at the
Yad Eliyahu Arena, a Siyum in Jerusalem in the spacious Bais Yaakov High School courtyard, and a Siyum in Bnei Brak. Special children's Siyums were also held in Jerusalem (with students from 84
Talmud Torahs and schools in attendance) and in Bnei Brak (with 5,000 children together with leading rabbis and educators in attendance). The 9th Siyum HaShas in
London drew a large audience and lasted six hours, followed by a festive meal. Smaller events took place in Manchester, Gateshead, and among local Daf Yomi groups in England. In
Melbourne, Australia, home to eight regular Daf Yomi
shiurim, the central Siyum HaShas drew 1,000 people. Siyums also took place in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec in Canada, and Melbourne, Australia. In England, the central Siyum HaShas was held in the Sobel Center in London, drawing thousands of attendees. Over 2,500 attended the
seudat mitzvah (celebratory meal) hosted by Agudath Israel in London. Another thousand attended Siyums in Manchester and Gateshead. The largest celebrations were held on 1 March 2005 in three locations in the New York area: Madison Square Garden, the
Continental Airlines Arena in
New Jersey, and the
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, with a combined 45,000 attendees. Portions of each program were telecast to the other sites and to more than 50 locations countrywide, The programs were also broadcast to 20 overseas locations. In Israel, 10,000 tickets prepared for the central Siyum HaShas at Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv on 1 March 2005 (20
Adar I, 5765) sold out immediately. The proceedings were viewed by live satellite hookup in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Ashdod. Siyums were also held in Jerusalem at the International Convention Center, in the
Zikhron Moshe synagogue, in the
Pinsk-Karlin beis medrash, in
Kiryat Belz, and at the
Erlau yeshiva. An English-language Siyum at the Jerusalem Convention Center was attended by the Rebbes of
Boyan,
Karlin-Stolin,
Kaliv, and
Pittsburg, as well as by English-speaking roshei yeshiva Rabbi
Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Rabbi
Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Rabbi Yitzchak Sheiner, and Rabbi
Mendel Weinbach. Other Siyums were held in Bnei Brak, Haifa, Ashdod, Netanya, Petah Tikva,
Rehovot,
Tel Zion, and
Kiryat Ata. The scope of celebrations marking the 11th Siyum HaShas was described in one newspaper account as follows: Among the [U.S.] cities where Siyums were held were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Des Moines, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Lakewood, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, St. Louis, Seattle, Cincinnati, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago. Siyums were also held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Caracas, Venezuela; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lublin, Poland, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Odessa in the Former Soviet Union; Hong Kong, China; and Sydney, Australia.
12th Siyum HaShas , site of the 12th and 13th Siyum HaShas
MetLife Stadium in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, which has seating for 82,500, was the main U.S. venue for the 12th Siyum HaShas on 1 August 2012. An additional 8,500 folding chairs were placed on the playing field, and a dais of approximately 500 seats accommodated
Admorim,
roshei yeshiva, and distinguished rabbis. An additional section of 1,000 seats was reserved for teachers of Daf Yomi
shiurim. All 92,000 seats were sold out. A total of 2,200
plasma screens were set up inside the stadium and four
Jumbotron screens were positioned outside the stadium for overflow attendees. Female attendees, who constituted an estimated 20 percent of the crowd, were seated in the upper deck of the stadium behind a high, long
mechitza (curtain divider) that was drawn during prayers. Satellite broadcasts and web feeds were piped to over 100 locations, including those in Chicago, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Lublin, Poland. This event featured lectures on various aspects of both the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, and participation by female Torah scholars. Tens of thousands attended Siyums in Israel. These included the
Dirshu World Siyum at the
Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv, the National Siyum HaShas in
Petah Tikva, a Siyum organized by Agudath Israel and
Degel HaTorah in the
French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem, and a Siyum organized by the
Shas political party at
Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. There were two English-language Siyums at
Jerusalem's International Convention Center, one sponsored by Dirshu on 31 July and one organized by Kollel Iyun Hadaf on 5 August. The various Religious Zionist organizations sponsored a separate siyum at the same Convention Center on 2 August, and there was another English language siyum at Jerusalem's Great Synagogue on 9 August. A new edition of the Talmud was launched to coincide with the 12th Siyum HaShas by
Koren Publishers. Known as the Koren Talmud Bavli, this edition features translation and commentary by Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz. The project, slated to be 42 volumes, is overseen by Rabbi Dr.
Tzvi Hersh Weinreb who serves as editor-in-chief.
13th Siyum HaShas Siyum HaShas on 9 February 2020, in the
Prudential Center,
Newark, New Jersey For the 13th Siyum HaShas, whose study cycle concluded on the 7th of
Tevet 5780 (4 January 2020), celebrations were scheduled to take place in locations in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and other countries, in January and February 2020. The main event in the United States, staged by
Agudath Israel of America, took place on 1 January at
MetLife Stadium, which has capacity for 92,000 seats, with a second location at
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn, New York. and
Vienna. In Israel, the Hadran organization organized a Siyum HaShas celebration focusing on women's learning and teaching of Talmud in general and the Daf Yomi in particular.
Dirshu held their own Siyum in the
Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey on 9 February 2020. The Siyum in the UK took place on 9 January at Wembley Arena, with an attendance of approximately 7,000.
14th Siyum HaShas The main 14th Siyum HaShas, organized by Agudath Israel of America, will take place on June 6, 2027, in MetLife Stadium. ==Return to Lublin==