At 8:30 PM, Sunday night,
2 Shevat 5764 (January 25 '04), Kollel Iyun Hadaf celebrated its
first Grand Siyum on Shas, the culmination of seven and a half years
of learning and teaching the Daf. The Siyum was held in the Ulam
Devorah hall in Har Nof. Following the Ma'ariv prayers, Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler,
senior member of the Kollel, conducted the Siyum by publicly completing
the learning of Maseches Menachos. Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld, the
Rosh Kollel, also made a Siyum on Mishnayos, Seder Kodshim. Together
they recited the Hadran, and Rabbi Chrysler recited the special
Kaddish recited at a Siyum. In addition to the seventeen full-time and part-time
members of the Kollel, nearly a hundred people were in attendance,
including some who traveled long distances to express their gratitude
to the Kollel for all of its work in disseminating Torah. Special
guests included ha'Gaon Rabbi Berel Eichenstein shlit'a, and ha'Gaon
Rabbi Emanuel Feldman shlit'a' members of the Kollel's board of
directors, as well as Rabbi Chaim Wilshansky shlit'a, retired Rabbi
of the Hampstead Garden synagogue in London. Rabbi Wilshansky extended
his greetings to the Kollel, and read greetings sent from Rabbi
Ya'akov Homnick of Ramat Eshkol, a close friend of the Kollel. The
Kollel was also honored by the attendance of Rabbi Dovid Sheinfeld
shlit'a of Kehilas Degel Israel, Kew Gardens Hills, of New York.
Rabbi Fishel Todd of Lakewood, New Jersey, founder and director
of the ShemaYisrael Torah Network (D.A.F.'s online host), also honored
the Kollel by coming directly from the plane to wish the Kollel
Mazal Tov. Rabbi Kornfeld spoke about the meaning of the
word "Siyum" and expressed his profound thanks to his
parents, his family, the members of the Kollel, and all those who
offered financial support to the Kollel, for their help and support. Ha'Gaon Rabbi Gedalya Rabinowitz shlit'a, the
Manostrishtcher Rebbe, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
Kollel, addressed the gathering. He delivered a phenomenal "Hadran,"
relating the end of Maseches Menachos to the beginning of Chulin,
followed by a Derashah in which he explained how every change and
new development that occurs in the world is intended to be used
for the sake of serving Hashem. The members of the Kollel surprised Rabbi Kornfeld
and his wife by making an unexpected presentation of a gift to the
Rosh Kollel as a token of their profound gratitude to him for the
nearly eight years that he has given them the opportunity to learn
and to teach Torah to the world on an unprecedented scale. The event was beautifully catered by Rabbi Shalom
Katz. All attendees were presented with a copy of the Kollel's unique
"Siyum card" containing the annotated text of the prayers
recited at every Siyum and quotations from the sources that are
cited for the Siyum celebration. In addition, pages with salutations
sent from all over the world to the Kollel on the occasion of the
Siyum were laid on each table, as well as pages containing words
of appreciation from readers from around the world.
2 Shevat 5764 / Jan. 24 2004
Rabbi Kornfeld's Siyum address:
"The three Hadran's, and the etymology of
the word Siyum" (coming soon)
Manostrishtcher Rebbe's address:
"A Hadran for Menachos"; "The
Will of Hash-m Throughout the Ages" (coming soon)
