Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A Siyum

Tonight we had a special event in our home. My husband made a siyum, a celebration marking the completion of a tractate of Talmud. My husband has spent the last three years studying Kiddushin in depth. This was a long term project that he put a lot of energy into, and I am very proud of him.
So friends and family gathered as he finished the last few lines and recited the prayers customary at a siyum. Then we had a festive meal cooked by yours truly.
I love the wording of the tfillot said at a siyum. They speak of a longing to learn more, to return to this tractate and others and to have a part in the "yoshvei beis hamedrash," those who are fortunate to sit in a house of study.
When we were in seminary and learned about the importance of Torah-study in Judaism, it all made a lot of sense in theory. Of course we wanted our husbands to learn and grow, to become great Torah scholars. After all, Torah is the foundation we wanted to build our home on.
Once you are married, though, it is not always as easy and self-evident. It requires sacrifice on the part of the spouse. The time that he is learning is time he could be theoretically spending with you or the children- at night, on weekends, those long afternoons in the park.
I will be the first to admit that I did not always stand up to the challenge of giving my husband enough time to learn and of respecting the times he had set aside. I could be doing much more to encourage him. Yet I do take pride in how far he has come and feel like I have a small part in his success. And hopefully, with my renewed resolve to do better, he will continue on this path of growth and continue to bring Torah into our homes and lives.

3 comments:

  1. The siyum was beautiful and very inspiring There was a feeling of kedushah Holiness in the room Its wonderful to be surrounded by words of torah and learning It was very special that Your husband dedicated the shiur to His maternal grandfather who was a rabbi and whose yahrseit was celebrated yesterday His life was dedicated to torah and maasim tovim Good deeds May hie neshamah have an aliya in the merit of his grandson siyom The food was great last night also

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know my husband has started waking up an hour early to do daf yomi online since he started working. He was trying to do it at night, but he already goes to mincha and maarive every night, plus two classes at the shul. he was starting to feel like he didn't have any time to spend with us, so he made the decision to get up at 5 am. I hope he can keep it up, because it keeps us both happy and not resentful :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. you get much more then a small cheleck!!! :)

    ReplyDelete