Parshas Devarim (5778)
A siyum (Hebrew: סיו×‎; pronounced [see-yoom]; lit. “completionâ€) generally refers to the completion of any significant unit of Torah study, such as an Order of Mishnah or a Tractate (volume) of Talmud.
The Ramâ€a (YD 246:26) writes that there is a Mitzvah to make a Seudah (celebratory meal) upon the Siyum of a section of Torah, and this meal is considered a seudas Mitzvah.
There are several places in the Talmud where the concept of a Siyum is alluded to. For example, the Talmud (Shabbos 118b-119a) records that Abayei praised himself as deserving of blessing because whenever he saw that a student had completed a Tractate, he would arrange a meal for all the scholars.
During the “Nine Days†leading up to the fast of Tishah B’Av (which begins this Saturday night) one is generally prohibited to eat meat or drink wine, since this is a time of sadness and mourning for the Jewish people. However, if a siyum of a section of Torah is made, one is allowed to eat meat or drink wine as part of the celebratory meal.
The Vilna Gaon once shared a beautiful insight about the word siyum that contains within it a powerful message for all of us here today:
But first we need a little background info about the amazing Hebrew Alphabet.
In the Alphabet, each letter not only represents a specific sound but also has a Hebrew name. So, for example, the seventh letter in the alphabet - the letter×– -is pronounced like the English letter z and its full Hebrew name is זין (“zayinâ€, spelled zayin, yud, nun).
In spelling out a letter’s Hebrew name, the first letter of the spelling is the letter itself, which is called the nigleh, “revealedâ€, while the remaining letters are called the nistar, “hiddenâ€. Using the letter zayin as an example, the first letter, zayin, represents the revealed initial of the letter, while the other two letters, yud and nun, are hidden, i.e. they are not noticeable in the pronunciation of the zayin nor its written form.
The Vilna Gaon observed that in some letters of the Hebrew Alphabet the gematria (numerical value) of the revealed initial is equal to that of the hidden remainder of the name. Four of these are the letters: samech, yud, vuv, mem:
~ The letter named samech is spelled samech, mem, chuf. The revealed initial samech equals 60 as does the hidden remainder – mem equals 40 + chuf equals 20 = 60.
~ The letter named yud is spelled yud, vuv, daled. The revealed initial yud equals 10 as does the hidden remainder – vuv equals 6 + daled equals 4 = 10.
~ The letter named vuv is spelled vuv, vuv. The revealed initial vuv equals 6 as does the hidden remainder – vuv = 6.
~ The letter named mem is spelled mem, mem. The revealed initial mem equals 40 as does the hidden remainder – mem = 40.
These four letters spell the word siyum.
The Vilna Gaon comments that this interesting gematraic analogy reflects a halachah (Jewish law). Just as the revealed and hidden letters of the word siyum are numerically identical, so at the festive siyum meal which marks the conclusion of a section of Torah, two kinds of participants have equal status – the active partners who have learned the material, and the inactive partners who only attend the celebration – and both can enjoy the meat and wine together.
But hold on there just a second! Does this make any sense??! One guy spends months, if not years, studying a difficult Tractate of Talmud until he finally completes it and makes a siyum, and now you siyum – now all his friends show up for the party and the meat and wine – now you don’t – they were nowhere to be found while their friend was working hard studying the Tractate!
Of course, the answer is that when my brother celebrates a simchah (joyous occasion) in his immediate family, it is also my simchah too – since we are all one family! And if my Jewish “brother†completes a section of Torah and makes a siyum, it is my simchah as well – even if I didn’t study along with him and just showed up for the party!
We are now headed into Tishah B’Av – a day upon which we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish people from the land of Israel. The Sages taught us (in Yoma 9b) that the cause of the destruction of the Second Temple was the sinas chinam, the baseless hatred, that we had for each other.
If only we would remember and take to heart the Vilna Gaon’s insight into the word siyum – and we would realize that there is no room for rivalry and contention between us Jews because my brother’s joy is my joy - oh what a different world it would be!
[Sources: The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet by Rabbi Michael L. Munk; Artscroll Mesorah Publishing]
HAVE A SAFE AND MEANINGFUL FAST!
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