In my excitement to share “Daf Yomi”, I failed to say what it is…
Literally, the words mean – a daily page. It refers to the effort to learn one of the 2,711 (Babylonian) Talmud pages per day, which is actually two sides of any given page. The initiative began in the 1920’s by Rabbi Meir Shapiro and by now, involves tens of thousands of participants the world over. Each cycle takes 7 years and 5 months; the last one ended on August 1, 2012, so you can figure out when is the next. The good news is-no wait time is needed; you can jump in anytime. Warning: The water is deep! It takes a while to get used to the language and style of the Talmud and can seem overwhelming, but – it’s good, fresh, exciting, thought-provoking and yes, even fun.
Today’s daf – Sanhedrin 39: