Siyum

Torah Study Siyum – 3/15 R. Marder

A Siyum - A siyum (“completion”) means the completion of any unit of Torah study, or book of the Mishnah or Talmud in Judaism. A siyum is usually followed by a celebratory meal, or seudat mitzvah, a meal in honor of a mitzvah, or commandment. Siyum also refers to the celebration. (wikipedia)


She read those last words from our Torah that survived the Holocaust. As the sun glittered through tiny holes in the parchment she read of Moses’ death. Some of the letters were faded and difficult to read. She read it and translated it along the way. It was a siyum to remember.

And Moses died by the mouth of God. Some say with a “Kiss from God” which is said to be an easy death.

Moses was buried but no one knows exactly where – which makes it so there is no memorial or shrine to Moses, only a memory of the prophet like no other prophet.

The 7th of Adar is Moses’ Yhartzeit.

And Israel mourned for 30 days. The period of shloshim.

And again there was discussion of who wrote the Torah and especially who wrote this part.

Moses was like no other after him. And after 10 years of this class we read the end and as is our tradition we also read the first few words of Genesis...

This week - “In the beginning...”