Siyum HaShas

Siyum HaShas (lit. "completion of the Six Orders ") is the celebration of the completion of the Daf Yomi (daily Talmud folio) program, a seven-and-a-half-year cycle of learning the Oral Torah and its commentaries, in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud are covered in sequence. The first Daf Yomi cycle began on the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5684 (11 September 1923); the twelfth cycle concluded on 2 August 2012 and the next day began the thirteenth cycle, to be concluded on 4 January 2020. The Siyum HaShas marks both the end of the previous cycle and the beginning of the next, and is characterized by inspiring speeches and rousing singing and dancing.

For Jews for whom Torah study is a daily obligation, the publicity and excitement surrounding the Siyum HaShas has resulted in more participants, more Daf Yomi shiurim (classes), and more Siyum locations with each cycle. Since 1990, attendance at the main Siyum HaShas in America, organized by the Agudath Israel of America, has increased dramatically, necessitating the booking of larger arenas and stadiums. The 12th Siyum HaShas on 1 August 2012 took place in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, with a sellout crowd of over 90,000, the largest event ever to take place at MetLife. Other celebrations that took place in the United States, Israel, Canada, Europe, and Australia attracted hundreds of thousands.