Learners’ Tapestry
The kallah who makes a siyum at her wedding.
The executive who does the Daf on her commute.
The retiree who revels in the new time she has for Torah.
The woman who lives in Teaneck. In Jerusalem. In Berlin. In Honolulu.
They’re all here. If you have the drive to learn, you belong.
Connect with the stories of other Hadran women like you. And share your own here.
Judi Felber
Raanana, Israel
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Deborah Dickson
Ra’anana, Israel
I started learning at the beginning of the cycle after a friend persuaded me that it would be right up my alley. I was lucky enough to learn at Rabbanit Michelle’s house before it started on zoom and it was quickly part of my daily routine. I find it so important to see for myself where halachot were derived, where stories were told and to get more insight into how the Rabbis interacted.
״גַּם וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה עָשְׂתָה מִשְׁתֵּה נָשִׁים בֵּית הַמַּלְכוּת״. ״בֵּית הַנָּשִׁים״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! אָמַר רָבָא: שְׁנֵיהֶן לִדְבַר עֲבֵירָה נִתְכַּוְּונוּ, הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: אִיהוּ בְּקָרֵי, וְאִתְּתֵיהּ
The verse states: “Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women, in the royal house, which belonged to King Ahasuerus” (Esther 1:9). The Gemara questions why she held the feast in the royal house, a place of men, rather than in the women’s house, where it should have been. Rava said in response: The two of them had sinful intentions. Ahasuerus wished to fornicate with the women, and Vashti wished to fornicate with the men. This explains the folk saying that people say: He with pumpkins and his wife
י״ב ב
א
בְּבוּצִינֵי.
with zucchinis, indicating that often a man and his wife engage in similar actions.
Megillah, 12a
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Shira Eliaser
Skokie, IL, United States
Since I started in January of 2020, Daf Yomi has changed my life. It connects me to Jews all over the world, especially learned women. It makes cooking, gardening, and folding laundry into acts of Torah study. Daf Yomi enables me to participate in a conversation with and about our heritage that has been going on for more than 2000 years.
אָמַר אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לִי דִבֶּר צוּר יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲנִי מוֹשֵׁל בָּאָדָם, מִי מוֹשֵׁל בִּי? צַדִּיק.
Moed Katan
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Medinah Korn
בית שמש, Israel
I started learning Daf Yomi inspired by תָּפַסְתָּ מְרוּבֶּה לֹא תָּפַסְתָּ, תָּפַסְתָּ מוּעָט תָּפַסְתָּ. I thought I’d start the first page, and then see. I was swept up into the enthusiasm of the Hadran Siyum, and from there the momentum kept building. Rabbanit Michelle’s shiur gives me an anchor, a connection to an incredible virtual community, and an energy to face whatever the day brings.
אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא: לְעוֹלָם יִתְפַּלֵּל אָדָם בְּבַיִת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ חַלּוֹנוֹת
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: One should always pray in a house with windows. The imagery here is of a person connecting with God through prayer, growing spiritually through a lens looking in, while at the same time maintaining a lens looking out, an awareness of the world around us, of where we have come from and where we are going, and perhaps most importantly, of where we choose to go. Our own personal connection with God is not enough; without the support and the perspective of the view outside the window, the community and beyond, we would remain stagnant. This is what Daf Yomi learning has been for me over these past two years: a window (even on zoom!) to bring perspective from all over the world, to listen to what other people hear in the words of the Talmud, and to strive toward an integrated context of learning and experience in our day to day lives. Rabbanit Michelle teaches with a focus on the human side of the text: the varieties of personalities we encounter, the world they live in, and how that can find reflection in our world today and our interactions with each other. As we learn with respect and appreciation the wide variety of viewpoints expressed in the Talmud, we learn to give the same respect and find ways to connect with each other.
Berakhot
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Sigal Spitzer Flamholz
Bronx, United States
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נעה רוזן
חיספין רמת הגולן, ישראל
הצטרפתי ללומדות בתחילת מסכת תענית. ההתרגשות שלי ושל המשפחה היתה גדולה מאוד, והיא הולכת וגוברת עם כל סיום שאני זוכה לו. במשך שנים רבות רציתי להצטרף ומשום מה זה לא קרה… ב”ה מצאתי לפני מספר חודשים פרסום של הדרן, ומיד הצטרפתי והתאהבתי. הדף היומי שינה את חיי ממש והפך כל יום- ליום של תורה. מודה לכן מקרב ליבי ומאחלת לכולנו לימוד פורה מתוך אהבת התורה ולומדיה.
“אחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט ובלבד שיכוון את ליבו לשמיים”
מסכת אחרת
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Sheila Hauser
Jerusalem, Israel
A beautiful world of Talmudic sages now fill my daily life with discussion and debate.
bringing alive our traditions and texts that has brought new meaning to my life.
I am a מגילת אסתר reader for women . the words in the Mishna of מסכת megillah 17a
הקורא את המגילה למפרע לא יצא were powerful to me.
I hope to have the zchut to complete the cycle for my 70th birthday.
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Sharon Mink
Haifa, Israel
With Rabbanit Dr. Naomi Cohen in the Women’s Talmud class, over 30 years ago. It was a “known” class and it was accepted, because of who taught. Since then I have also studied with Avigail Gross-Gelman and Dr. Gabriel Hazut for about a year). Years ago, in a shiur in my shul, I did know about Persians doing 3 things with their clothes on. They opened the shiur to woman after that!
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Pamela Elisheva
Bakersfield, United States
I started learning on January 5, 2020. When I complete the 7+ year cycle I will be 70 years old. I had been intimidated by those who said that I needed to study Talmud in a traditional way with a chevruta, but I decided the learning was more important to me than the method. Thankful for Daf Yomi for Women helping me catch up when I fall behind, and also being able to celebrate with each Siyum!
A maidservant…saw a…man…striking his mature son…she exclaimed…You shall not place a stumbling block…
Moed Katan
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Talia Haykin
Denver, United States
I heard about the syium in January 2020 & I was excited to start learning then the pandemic started. Learning Daf became something to focus on but also something stressful. As the world changed around me & my family I had to adjust my expectations for myself & the world. Daf Yomi & the Hadran podcast has been something I look forward to every day. It gives me a moment of centering & Judaism daily.
Three matters give a person comfort, and they are: A beautiful abode, a beautiful wife, and beautiful vessels.
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רונית שביט
נתניה, ישראל
“
גם אני התחלתי בסבב הנוכחי וב””ה הצלחתי לסיים את רוב המסכתות . בזכות הרבנית מישל משתדלת לפתוח את היום בשיעור הזום בשעה 6:20 .הלימוד הפך להיות חלק משמעותי בחיי ויש ימים בהם אני מצליחה לחזור על הדף עם מלמדים נוספים ששיעוריהם נמצאים במרשתת. שמחה להיות חלק מקהילת לומדות ברחבי העולם. ובמיוחד לשמש דוגמה לנכדותיי שאי””ה יגדלו לדור שלימוד תורה לנשים יהיה משהו שבשגרה. “
“תמידין כסדרם ומוספים כהלכתם”
מסכת אחרת
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Rachel Rotenberg
Tekoa, Israel
I went to day school in Toronto but really began to learn when I attended Brovenders back in the early 1980’s. Last year after talking to my sister who was learning Daf Yomi, inspired, I looked on the computer and the Hadran site came up. I have been listening to each days shiur in the morning as I work. I emphasis listening since I am not sitting with a Gamara. I listen while I work in my studio.
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