On Monday, November 6, Agudas Yisroel of Colorado brought the Colorado Jewish community together. In a magnificent Siyum marking Daf Yomi’s accomplishment of completing Seder Nashim over the past one and a half years, the Jewish community came together to be inspired and to celebrate the privilege of being part of Am Yisrael and part of the Lomdei Torah. They were joined by Rabbi Eliyahu Simcha Bamberger, National Director of Daf Yomi Commission at Agudas Yisroel America, who flew in from the East Coast to take part in the Siyum.
In light of the current situation, Agudah worked hard to create a thoughtful program that seamlessly combined both the joyous simcha of the occasion and the raw emotions surrounding this difficult time in Eretz Yisroel. The keynote speaker of the event was Rabbi Zev Cohen, Rav of Adas Yeshurun of Chicago and Rosh Kollel of Chicago’s Choshen Mishpat Kollel, who traveled to Denver specially for this momentous gathering. His impassioned words of chizuk and inspiration were exactly what the community needed to hear, and the mood in the room was uplifted by the time he finished speaking. In addition to the crowd gathered in Colorado, another 1600 people had the opportunity to hear Rabbi Cohen through the TorahAnytime live stream.
It had been a full Day of Chizuk across Denver as Rabbi Cohen visited several different venues, including Yeshiva Toras Chaim, Hillel Academy of Denver, and Bais Yaakov High School of Denver, offering warm words of chizuk and raising spirits wherever he went.
After a lunch with the local Vaad HaRabbonim in which Rabbi Cohen addressed shailos and held a question-and-answer session, Rabbi Menachem Siderson, Rabbi of The Shul at Aish of the Rockies, was blown away by the experience. “The Vaad Harabbanim was very grateful to Agudah of Colorado to have the opportunity to meet with Rav Zev Cohen,” he shared. “The meeting was a chance for the Rabbonim to come together and receive advice and encouragement from one of the most senior and experienced Shul Rabbonim in the Midwest. Rabbi Cohen, in turn, was very impressed by the level of unity displayed by the Rabbonim of Orthodox shuls in Denver.”
Jewish Denver is comprised of several distinct sections, which are spread out across the metropolitan area. These include Aurora, the East Side, the Southeast, the West Side, and Chabad communities. The representation from each community at the Siyum and throughout the Day of Chizuk highlighted the unity among the Jewish People that is being felt across the world.
Rabbi Yossi Kaplan, Director of Agudas Yisroel of Colorado, reflects that the Siyum accomplished a lot more than simply celebrating Daf Yomi’s milestone. “”The Day of Chizuk and Siyum not only celebrated the tremendous accomplishment of the lomdei Daf Yomi and uniting Denver through Torah,” he says, “but it also offered sorely needed inspiration in light of the situation in Eretz Yisrael and around the world. With its special program and, more importantly, by coming together as a community to be inspired by each other, the Siyum was a great source of chizuk to all.”
Article as published in Hamodia.