The Orthodox Union’s (OU) Torah Initiative hosted a siyum, an event commemorating the completion of a unit of Torah, at its headquarters in downtown Manhattan. The siyum marked the ending of the study of a unit of Seder Zeraim.
The siyum, which took place in November, was sponsored by the Orthodox Union in honor of Jack Jacobowitz, z”l, father of Shlomo Jacobowitz, a main benefactor of Torah Initiative’s All Mishnah app. OU executives presented a plaque of appreciation to Shlomo Jacobowitz at the siyum to express their gratitude.
The event coincided with a worldwide celebration by thousands of people doing the same study. This culmination of the Mishnah Yomi cycle follows participants having learned two mishnayos a day for approximately six years.
Attendees at the OU’s siyum heard speeches from President Moishe Bane and Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer. Many Mishnah learners also spoke about their experiences and to express their appreciation of the program.
“Having started and stopped Daf Yomi many times, Mishnah Yomi is the first long-term daily commitment that I was able to keep up with successfully,” said a participant who spoke at the siyum. “The All Mishnah app provided me with the resources I needed to stick with it.”
Critical to the Mishnah Yomi program is the All Mishnah online platform – a complete resource for Mishnah study. Made by the creators of the popular All Daf and All Parsha platforms to learn Daf Yomi and parsha respectively, it includes recorded classes and videos, a personal learning tracker and more. The app includes free access to the Artscroll Hebrew-English mishnayos; Artscroll also generously donated free copies of mishnayos and calendars to all Mishnah Yomi participants who requested them.
“What Artscroll has done for the written word, All Daf, All Parsha and All Mishnah have done for the digital word,” said All Mishnah participant Rabbi Mordechai Kaminetzky and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva of South Shore. Rabbi Kaminetzky was honored by reciting the last Mishnah at the siyum – referring to the app’s general accessibility and how it is a resource to make Mishnah more available to a greater number of people.
“We congratulate all participants who committed to consistent Mishnah learning to achieve this impressive accomplishment,” said Rabbi Moshe Brandsdorfer, Executive Director at Torah Initiatives. “The siyum was a joyous celebration of another successful Torah learning cycle.”
For more information or to learn Mishnah Yomi, visit AllMishnah.org or download from the app store.
