Siyum HaShas, Mishna Yomi, and Puns

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  • #589670
    chofetzchaim
    Member

    This morning after Birchas HaChama, I made a siyum on Shisha Sidrei Mishna. I would like to take this opportunity to publicize the Mishna Yomi program. The Chofetz Chaim writes in “Kol Kisvei HaChofetz Chaim” that when we get to Olam Habba, we can only learn subjects which we learned while we were on this Earth. It is therefore a good idea to learn through all of Shisa Sidrei Mishna in order to learn all the various topics.

    The Mishna Yomi program involves learning 2 or 3 mishnayos per day, in which all of Shisa Sidrei Mishna can be completed in about six years. I have not been following the official Mishna Yomi schedule but for the past many years I have been making a siyum on a seder of mishna almost every Erev Pesach.

    When I was about to leave for Yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel after high school, my brother told me that the Yeshiva davens very slowly and that I should make sure to use any extra time I have waiting for the tzibbur to finish Shmoneh Esrei to learn. I decided that I would use that time to learn mishnayos. I started Seder Taharos and the following Erev Pesach I finished it. Since then, I have tried to learn 1 or 2 sedarim per year and today I finished Shisa Sidrei Mishna for the 3rd time. I encourage everyone to try to learn Mishna Yomi. It only takes a few minutes per day and in 6 years you will have finished all of Shas.

    The pocket-size Kehatis are very helpful. You can carry them around wherever you go. I keep one in my jacket pocket. There is also an English translation of Kehati. I’m not sure if they have the entire Shas in the pocket-size edition but they do have it in the full-size. Artscroll has full-size and pocket-size editions of their mishnayos for the first 5 Sedarim and a lot of Taharos. If you start now with Zeraim, by the time you get to Taharos they will probably have the set completed. As you can see, there are a lot of options for peirushim on mishnayos both in Hebrew and English.

    This happens to not be an easy time to join the official Mishna Yomi program as they are currently in the middle of Keilim. But you can set your own schedule. Choose a time that you want to finish by (such as Erev Pesach) and figure out how many Mishnayos you have to learn per day to finish by then. Then set a time when you think you can learn it and try to keep to it. Besides the breaks during davening I also try to learn mishnayos while waiting around at the airport or doctors office.

    I will now PUNish you by going through the names of the various mesechtas in Shas.

    I was blessed, 5 years ago to start Shisa Sidrei Mishna with BERACHOS. After that I cornered the market on PEAH. I’m not sure how I got through DMAI. After that I got mixed up in KILAYIM. I then took a year off to learn SHVIIS. (After chazering it 7 times I was jubilant). I gave TRUMOS to someone else and I got a tenth of the way through MAASEROS.

    I’ll start the 2nd tenth of these puns with MAASER SHENI. (I’ll skip the pun for CHALAH since it is already past the zman for eating chametz, although I learned it twice because it was Shabbos.) Come back to me in 3 years for a pun about ORLAH. The fruits of my labors were then realized as I finished Seder Zeraim with BIKURIM.

    Next I learned Seder Moed. First I worked on Shabbos. I was then able to string together some puns for ERUVIN, I felt like I was surrounded by them. (I kept the pocket-size mishnayos Eruvin in my carry-on.) I didn’t pass over PSACHIM (I know, that was Baaaad). I only paid attention to half of SHKALIM. I learned YOMA in a day, and then I covered SUCCAH. BAITZAH was egggcellent. ROSH HASHANA was sweet. It was a great way to start off the new year. I learned through TAANIS pretty fast. I then scrolled through MEGILLA. MOED KATAN was like a small holiday. I then celebrated finishing Seder Moed by making a CHAGIGA.

    Next came Seder Nashim. YEVAMOS gave me a lot of Tzarros. I wrote off KSUBOS and swore off NEDARIM. I pulled my hair out over NAZIR. I then had a drink of pure unadulterated korbanated SOTAH water. I was too unattached to GITTIN. I felt I needed to Get a life. After finishing KIDDUSHIN I made a kiddush, it was a marry occasion as I was half way through Shas!

    Next came Seder Nizikin. BABA KAMA was brutal. I found BABA METZIAH too hard to do at once so I split it in two. I then got a partner for BABA BASRA. SANHEDRIN then taught me about PUNishment. I hit up MAKKOS next, I whipped right through it! I spent a few weeks before swearing off SH’VUOUS. EDIYOS was telling. After that I did AVODA ZARA. It was strange. My father then helped me with AVOS. I was going to rule out HORIYOS but I made it through and finished Seder Nizikin.

    Next came Seder Kodshim. I sacrificed a lot to learn ZVACHIM. I only learned MENACHOS in the afternoon. I totally butchered CHULIN. I got through BECHOROS unblemished. ARACHIN was totally worth it! I wouldn’t exchange it even for TMURA. I thought that KREISUS would help me cut out these puns. MEILA was a steal. TAMID is always fun (it only takes a day to learn). MIDDOS measured up nicely. I then got a chavrusa for KINIM but he got all mixed up. It should be a kappara. I then felt very holy as I finished Seder Kodshim.

    Next came Seder Taharos. KAILIM was pretty self-contained. OHALOS was deadly intense, but I covered it. I then touched on a spot of NEGAIM. Holy cow was PARAH mooooving. I red through it pretty quickly. I then learned Maseches TAHAROS – pure and simple. I then immersed myself in MIKVAOS. Although it was hard to learn it without a shiur, I was able to draw something from it. I really NEEDA stop these puns or this might get bloody. MACHSHIRIN was pretty kosher. ZAVIM flowed into TVUL YOM, which I washed down in a day. Next I washed my hands of YADAYIM. I was able to handle it. Then comes today’s Siyum which stems from finishing UKTZIN.

    Mot sure how this will come out but here is a list of the number of Mishnayos in each masechta:

    Berachos 57 Shabbos 139 Yevamos 128 Baba Kamma 79 Zvachim 101 Kailm 254

    Peah 69 Eruvin 95 Kesubos 111 Baba Mitzeia 100 Menuchos 93 Ohalot 133

    Dmai 53 Psachim 91 Nedarim 90 Baba Basra 86 Chulin 74 Negaim 115

    Kilayim 77 Shkalim 52 Nazir 60 Sanhedrin 71 Bechoros 73 Para 96

    Shviis 89 Yoma 61 Sotah 67 Makos 34 Arachin 50 Taharos 92

    Trumos 101 Succah 53 Gittin 75 Shvuous 62 Tmura 35 Mikvaos 71

    Maasros 40 Baitza 42 Kidushin 47 Ediyos 74 Kriesos 42 Nida 82

    Maaser Sheni 57 Rosh Hashana 35 Avoda Zarah 50 Meila 38 Machshirin 54

    Chala 38 Taanis 34 Avos 108 Tamid 34 Zavim 32

    Orlah 35 Megilla 33 Horyos 20 Middos 34 Tvul Yom 26

    Bikurim 39 Moed Katan 24 Kininm 15 Yadayim 22

    Chagiga 23 Uktzin 28

    655 682 578 684 589 1005 4193

    (I have this list in a spreadsheet and each year it calculates how many mishnayos I have to learn per day in order to finish by Erev Pesach. Every few weeks I enter how many I have actually completed and it recalculates it.)

    #1072868
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Wow! Mazel tov! You should imy”h finish shas – this time gemara!

    #1072869
    David S.
    Member

    Mazel Tov! By the way, great puns chofetzchaim 😉

    Mazel Tov, Good luck learning the gemaros,

    David S.

    #1072870
    tzippi
    Member

    Mazel tov.

    I had to check this out. The title of the thread reminded me of a winner for a book title contest – Non Sequiturs: Their Use, Misuse, and Fried Oysters.

    #1072871
    Josh31
    Participant

    Learning and the outside world interact.

    When I learned Eruvin, every Lechi, Mavui, Kora, Chatzer in Bavel was destroyed in Desert Storm. When I studied Bnei HaIr in Megillah, the shul I went to split into 2. When a certain legal case flooded the news, it got me fascinated with the legal process and I decided it was time for Sanhedrin.

    When I studied Kilayim I wondered why 4 Amos were needed between rows of vines. Just then I had some business trips to Tuscanny in Italy, and sure enough, vines are spaced to allow a car to pass between the vines.

    #1072872
    reenmasheen
    Member

    Wow amazing puns Chofetz Chaim and Mazal Tov! How do you think up puns like that?? Really I want to know. By the way if anyone needs cizuk in doing mishnayos they should take a masechta or two whenever chas veshalom a person is niftar and they want to finish shisha sidrei mishnah. It’s a good way to make sure that you will finish that masechta in a month plus you are doing a good thing for the niftar.

    #1072873
    chofetzchaim
    Member

    The Misha Yomi program just started a new cycle this past Sunday.

    Now would be a good time to join. Just learn 2 mishnayos per day and you will finish Shas in about 6 years.

    http://www.mishnahyomit.com/

    #1072874
    chofetzchaim
    Member

    From an email I received:

    1 – e-mail [email protected] to receive the daily mishna in English with Kehati commentary

    2 – You can listen each day to the Mishna on line at http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/mishna/

    3 – You can read the text in Hebrew at – http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/b/h/h11.htm

    “The exiles will be ingathered in the merit of Mishna”

    Midrash Rabba

    “The Arizal writes learning Mishna is before everything and through this, one merits connection to one’s Neshama”

    Beer Hativ in Shulachan Aruch I

    #1072875
    tomim tihye
    Member

    There is a certain Rebbi in a certain Yeshiva somewhere in this world who begins learning Mishnayos one-to-one with any boy who wishes a few years before his Bar Mitzva with the goal of making a siyum on Shas at the Bar Mitzva. It’s a beautiful way to begin adulthood!

    #1072876
    chofetzchaim
    Member

    Here we are 3 years later and I have once again B”H finished Shas Mishnayos for taanis bechorim.

    #1072877
    BHTWIA
    Participant

    For those who have not yet started and are interested, the official mishna yomi cycle (two mishnayos a day) is starting a new seder this week. Nezikin starts with the first two mishnayos of Bava Kama this Friday.

    #1072878
    BHTWIA
    Participant

    Seder Kodshim starts tomorrow with Maseches Zevachim. Start now and finish the seder in less than 10 months at 2 mishnayos a day.

    Hatzlacha!

    #1072879
    funnybone
    Participant

    You are an inspiration, chafetzchaim! Keep up the good work!

    #1072881
    YiF
    Member

    to chofetzchaim: I am interested in the speadsheet that you are using. How can I get it?

    #1072882
    147
    Participant

    This week we conclude the Nach Yomi program @5 Pesukim daily, which we commenced On Sukkos 2005, and here we are 9&1/2 years later about to be Mesayem Nach on Iyyor 3rd, and commence next cycle of Nach Yomi on Yom ha’Atzmaut Mukdom this Thursday, so great time to jump on bandwagon, and IY’H cover entire Nach by late 2024.

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