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.
Janine Rubens
Virginia, United States
After reading the book, “ If All The Seas Were Ink “ by Ileana Kurshan I started studying Talmud. I searched and studied with several teachers until I found Michelle Farber. I have been studying with her for two years. I look forward every day to learn from her.
If you study Talmud, you please God even more than you do by praying or fasting.
Other
Read more
אילת-חן ודלר
לוד, ישראל
התחלתי מעט לפני תחילת הסבב הנוכחי. אני נהנית מהאתגר של להמשיך להתמיד, מרגעים של “אהה, מפה זה הגיע!” ומהאתגר האינטלקטואלי
Read more
יעל אשר
יהוד, ישראל
התחלתי ללמוד בסבב הנוכחי לפני כשנתיים .הסביבה מתפעלת ותומכת מאוד. אני משתדלת ללמוד מכל ההסכתים הנוספים שיש באתר הדרן. אני עורכת כל סיום מסכת שיעור בביתי לכ20 נשים שמחכות בקוצר רוח למפגשים האלו.
וילכו מחיל אל חיל
מועד קטן
Read more
אולגה מזרחי
ירושלים, ישראל
ראיתי את הסיום הגדול בבנייני האומה וכל כך התרשמתי ורציתי לקחת חלק.. אבל לקח לי עוד כשנה וחצי )באמצע מסיכת שבת להצטרף..
הלימוד חשוב לי מאוד.. אני תמיד במרדף אחרי הדף וגונבת כל פעם חצי דף כשהילדים עסוקים ומשלימה אח”כ אחרי שכולם הלכו לישון..
אין הברכה מצויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין
תענית, ח
Read more
Marsha Wasserman
Jerusalem, Israel
Hadran entered my life after the last Siyum Hashaas, January 2020. I was inspired and challenged simultaneously, having never thought of learning Gemara. With my family’s encouragement, I googled “daf yomi for women”. A perfecr fit!
I especially enjoy when Rabbanit Michelle connects the daf to contemporary issues to share at the shabbat table e.g: looking at the Kohen during duchaning. Toda rabba
Read more
Carolyn Hochstadter and Margo Kossoff Shizgal
Merion Station, USA
Beit Shemesh, Israel
Margo
I started my Talmud journey in 7th grade at Akiba Jewish Day School in Chicago. I started my Daf Yomi journey after hearing Erica Brown speak at the Hadran Siyum about marking the passage of time through Daf Yomi.
Carolyn
I started my Talmud journey post-college in NY with a few classes. I started my Daf Yomi journey after the Hadran Siyum, which inspired both my son and myself.
Margo:
חוּמְרָא דְּאָתֵי לִידֵי קוּלָּא הוּא
I love it, because it portrays the machmir as being foolhardy, and it is often used to help women in the halachic realm.
Carolyn:
גָּדוֹל כְּבוֹד הַבְּרִיּוֹת שֶׁדּוֹחֶה [אֶת] לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה.
I love it, because it is used as halachic grounds for the performance of ritual activities by women.
Other
Read more
Shoshana Ruerup
Berlin, Germany
I learned Mishnayot more than twenty years ago and started with Gemara much later in life. Although I never managed to learn Daf Yomi consistently, I am learning since some years Gemara in depth and with much joy. Since last year I am studying at the International Halakha Scholars Program at the WIHL. I often listen to Rabbanit Farbers Gemara shiurim to understand better a specific sugyiah. I am grateful for the help and inspiration!
ואמר רבי יצחק: אין הברכה מצויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין
תענית ח׳
Read more
Yael Merlini
Berlin, Germany
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more
Judi Felber
Raanana, Israel
Read more
בקי גולדשטיין
Elazar gush etzion, Israel
A life-changing journey started with a Chanukah family tiyul to Zippori, home of the Sanhedrin 2 years ago and continued with the Syum in Binanei Hauma where I was awed by the energy of 3000 women dedicated to learning daf Yomi. Opening my morning daily with a fresh daf, I am excited with the new insights I find enriching my life and opening new and deeper horizons for me.
ואמר רבי שפטיה אמר רבי יוחנן:
“כל הקורא בלא נעימה ושונה בלא זמרה, עליו הכתוב אומר: “וגם אני נתתי להם חוקים לא טובים וגו”
Megillah
Read more
