Soldiers from the Givati Brigade took part in a Babylonian Talmud completion ceremony held in southern Lebanon by a student from Yeshivat Hakotel. The event marked the conclusion of the Shas, the full cycle of the Talmud, in an unusual wartime setting.
The soldier who completed the cycle said he began studying in 9th grade, when a Daf Yomi cycle ended and there were many completion celebrations across Israel. He and several friends decided to study after prayers so they could finish the Shas during their third year of study, and he said he had imagined a large celebration with many people.
Describing the ceremony in Lebanon, he said, “I come here and everyone in turn tells me I need to give a Torah lesson.” He also quoted Yeshivat Hakotel’s head, Rabbi Baruch Vidder, as saying they always speak about “raising a generation of Torah scholars in the Land of Israel,” and added that this is reflected in the army through “our Eretz Yisrael Torah.”