Program for Siyum Hashas Unveiled Ahead of Big Day

Rutherford, N.J. – The 2,711th daf in the seven-year cycle will be recited by the zkan roshei yeshiva in the United States, Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky, followed by an address by guest speaker Rav Aharon Schiff, the chief rabbi of Antwerp.

The final schedule, released Tuesday afternoon, shows a packed program for the 13th Siyum Hashas beginning at 11 a.m. and going until the evening hours. It features profiles of ArtScroll founder Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz z”l, Yoel Gold stories streamed in, video tributes to people who finished Shas, a siyum on Shisha Sidrei Mishna, and a concluding commemoration of the six million Yidden killed in the Shoah.

The schedule at the Barclay’s Center will be similar to at MetLife, with several differences. Rav Yeruchim Olshin will recite the siyum and Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel will begin the 14th cycle. Rav Elya Brudny will recite the kaddish, compared to Jay Schottenstein at MetLife.

The weather appears to be cooperating so far. There is a zero percent chance of rain, weather aficionado Shaya Glick tells boropark24.com, and temperatures will be in the upper 30s to the low 40s. The skies will be mostly sunny but the wind chill will make it feel like 25 to 30 degrees.
With so many people waiting to enter a limited space at one time there is bound to be delays. Siyum organizers are asking people to cooperate with security and not to bring in banned items such as opaque bags and, large purses or umbrellas.
The stadium was declared a national no-fly zone for the day. Any type of drone is prohibited.

Doors will open at the MetLife Stadium, where 90,000 people are expected to gather, with another 10,000 people in the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, at 11 o’clock when a pre-siyum program will feature video presentations of daf yomi around the world.

The formal program will begin at 1 p.m. with Mincha, Tehillim, divrei bracha by Rav Malkiel Kotler and a pesicha by the Novominsker rebbe. Speakers such as Rav Yissachar Frand and rav Uren Reich will be interspersed with video presentations and live entertainment.
Of the estimated 100,000 people present at both locations, about 20 percent of them will be making a siyum on Shas.