Dirshu
דרשו ד' ועוזו | |
 | |
| Named after | Psalm 105: 4 |
|---|---|
| Motto | A global fund for strengthening and encouraging Torah study |
| Formation | October 28, 1997 |
| Founder | Rav Dovid Hafstedter |
| Founded at | Toronto, Canada |
| Website | www |
Dirshu (Hebrew: דרשו) is a worldwide organization that operates among the Haredi sector for the strengthening and encouragement of the Study of Torah and aims to encourage people to study Daf Yomi and Halacha. The organization conducts tests in a wide variety of fields on roughly a monthly basis, and high marks are rewarded with financial incentives[1]. The organization was founded and funded by David Hofstadter, from Toronto, Canada. The organization has offices in Israel, the United States and Canada.
History[edit]
The Dirshu organization was established on 28 October 1997 as a local organization for the strengthening and encouragement of Torah study in Toronto, Canada, when the basis was a shiur in the Daf Yomi that the president of the organization delivered every morning at the Dirshu Beth Medrash on Jung Street in Toronto.
Dirshu was founded in 1997 by Rav Dovid Hofstedter in Toronto, Canada, as a project to promote Torah study. It began with a daily , taught by Dirshu’s founder and president in his private office.[2]
Gradually, the organization expanded and other centers of activity were established within and outside the Toronto Jewish community. Another branch was opened in Montreal in the form of a local "Kollel" for local Ballebatim, and from there to the neighboring United States.
A few years later, Kollelim for Torah study were activated by Dirshu in the towns of Lakewood, New Jersey; New York; Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland[3], Silver Spring[4], Monsey, Chicago, Detroit and more.
At the same time, the Dirshu organization was established in Israel, with the establishment of Kollelim in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh.
In Israel, the organization operates close to 500 shiurim in dozens of communities throughout the country, along with hundreds of examination centers operating according to examination dates in the various programs of the organization.
Dirshu activity[edit]
The organization operates 14 different study tracks[1], some of which are devoted to the study of Daf Yomi in a variety of options, from a monthly study and test, to tests on the entire Talmud, and a number of programs to encourage Halachic learning.
Dirshu’s tests are offered in 26 different countries spanning the globe, in Hebrew, English, and Spanish. The participants also span a wide range of ages: One member of the learning program is an eight-year-old boy in Kiryat Sefer, while another is a 91-year-old man in Yerushalayim.[1]
In addition to the individual study programs, Dirshu also conducts group study programs through ongoing connection with the yeshiva world and the kollel network. Among other things, there are study tracks for the early morning hours in yeshiva halls, classes on Fridays and Saturdays.
Over the years, more than 150,000 people have been tested in Dirshu, hundreds of test centers have been established, branches have opened in hundreds of cities and communities in 15 countries spread over five continents.
Dirshu has a staff of about 500 people writing tests, marking tests, and managing the rest of its operations.[1]
Study tracks[edit]
Daf Yomi[edit]
In 2001 the organization opened the "Kinyan Torah" program, in which monthly tests were conducted on 60 pages of the Babylonian Talmud every month, according to the Daf Yomi curriculum. Once every four months, a final test is conducted. In addition, the "Kinyan Shas" track was established, in which learners that have completed the entire Talmud participate. At the end of the Daf Yomi study cycle, the organization organizes a Siyum celebration, in which many Haredi leaders participate.
Halacha[edit]
The Daf Yomi in Halachah is a course in which we learn one page from Sefer Mishnah Berurah every day. The Daf Yomi in Halakha study cycle lasts about seven years. Every month, a test is held, and every six months a final test. In Nisan 5775, the siyum celebration was held for the first cycle of study. Due to the large number of participants, the event was divided into two parallel events, one at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv and the other at Binyanei HaUma in Jerusalem.
Events[edit]
- April 2019 - Dirshu Siyum on Masechta Chullin in Teveriah[5]
- January 2019 - Dirshu Convention. Shabbos at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut led by Gedolei Yisrael[6]
Dirshu in Facts and Figures[edit]
Dirshu now operates on five continents and 26 countries, running hundreds of branches in almost every Jewish community. Today, Dirshu has twelve different programs of study, most of them open to the general public, while part of them are directed to choice groups of select avreichim.
In the various frameworks of Dirshu, 150,000 married and single Torah students and laymen have undergone the Dirshu exams on Mishna Berurah, Daf Yomi on Shas Bavli, Bnei Yeshiva programs, Kinyan Shas and Kinyan Halacha, including various platforms of Dirshu whose objective is to increase Torah study. 473 different centers operate to handle the tremendous scope of these exams.
The Kinyan Torah program tests the participants on the Daf Yomi of thirty pages of gemara each month, and once every four months, on 120 pages inclusive. Up till now, 30,778 members were tested in 232 exams, of them, 186 monthly exams and 36 summarizing tests.
Those who participated in the Kinyan Shas program passed all the exams offered by the program while also taking part in the 15 semiannual tests. In the last one, 2,430 pages of gemara were required, beginning from Brochos till page 122 in Chulin, and by the end of this program, they will be tested on the entire Shas, that is, on all 2,711 pages!
In the scope of the Kinyan Halochoh program, 1,835 scholars are tested on five different courses of study, with exams on Mishna Berurah according to a regimen of one page a day and an additional page of explanations and addenda of the Dirshu edition. To date, 80,388 have taken part in its 155 tests. All told, 1,804 pages of the Mishna Berurah have been covered in the first run of this program.
The crowning glory of the Dirshu printed editions are the Mishna Berurah works which include the excellent commentary of "Biurim Umussafim" which quotes the rulings of our latter poskim relating to the halochos being studied in the Shulchan Oruch and the Mishna Berurah.
259,810 copies were sold / distributed, of which 47,848 were complete sets of Mishna Berurah and 211,962 individual volumes. The third volume, which deals with the laws of Shabbos, is the most popular and widespread individual volume, has been printed in 52,132 separate copies.
The Dirshu Chumash which includes the five chumashim in one eye-opening single volume, with special features unique to Dirshu, has three editions. 55,094 copies of the regular edition were printed, with another 5,982 chumashim in the larger format, and 3,887 in the smaller one.
Dirshu has invested huge sums in the printing works of the Chofetz Chaim, such as "Nidchei Yisroel", "Shem Olam" and others, with a total of 10,600 volumes. The Chofetz Chaim works in its Dirshu edition, with the "Beiurim Umussafim" addenda, sold 28,262 copes. "Shemiras Haloshon" sold 11,292 copies. Other Dirshu editions are likewise popular: "Moed LeDavid" which includes an in-depth study of Yomim Tovim by Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, booklets of chizuk, "Sefer He'osor," "Sefer Dirshu" and "Kinyon Shmaatesa," as well as many other titles.
The Acheinu organization, the Kiruv arm of Dirshu, has published the books and pamphlets of "Likras Shabbos" which have become a big best seller throughout the Jewish world.
According to the charitydata.ca, the Hofstedter Family Foundation had a budget of close to $20 million (Canadian) in 2017.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sussman, Dovid (April 5, 2017). "Making the Grade" (Pesach Mega-Issue 5777). Mishpacha.
- ↑ Dirshu | TorahAnytime.com
- ↑ Dirshu Cleveland
- ↑ Kollel Dirshu
- ↑ "Dirshu Siyum on Masechta Chullin in Teveriah". Five Towns Jewish Times. April 22, 2019.
At the siyum, Dirshu announced that they will open more than 10 new daf yomi shiurim in Teveriah as well as daf ha’yomi b’halacha shiurim. In addition, they will accept any new learners who want to join their programs and allow them to take the test without the usual prerequisites that are in place in other locales in Eretz Yisrael. They will also be giving shiurim for aspiring maggidei shiur to improve their delivery skills.
- ↑ Gold, Chaim (January 16, 2019). "Thousands of Lomdim Led By Gedolei Yisrael Participate in Dirshu Convention". Five Towns Jewish Times.
The convention’s high point was the melaveh malkah, and the climax of the melaveh malkah was the unveiling of plans for the Dirshu world siyum to be held next winter. The lomdei Dirshu were given an advance preview of the worldwide siyumim in Eretz Yisrael, England, France, and South Africa, culminating with an unprecedented kavod for lomdei Torah that will transpire at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, where the entire arena will be transformed into a giant beis midrash celebrating the accomplishments of lomdei Torah with accountability.
- ↑ http://www.chareidi.org/archives5779/nosso/adirshunso79.htm
External links[edit]
- Official website (Site under construction)
- Dirshu - Daf HaYomi B'Halacha
- Hebrew website
- Dirshu world siyum
- My Dirshu Story - Cross-Currents
- "Dirshu". Nachum Segal Network.
- Announcing The Dirshu World Siyum Hashas
- Kobre, Eitan (February 6, 2019). "Every Page Counts". Mishpacha (747).
- a complete listing of testing sites
Category:Torah study Category:Jewish education
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