The Completion of Tractate Yevamos by The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, within the Daf Yomi framework of the Shuvu Banim Torah Project:

As part of the Torah Project of the Shuvu Banim community, weekly tests are held on the material learned in Daf Yomi. Baruch Hashem, today—8 Tammuz—the participants in the Daf Yomi program of the “Torah Project,” together with the multitudes of Your people, the House of Israel, merited to complete Tractate Yevamos, one of the longest tractates in Shas.

We merited that after Ma’ariv, with a great crowd as every evening together with The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, The Rav completed the tractate, seasoning his words of completion with teachings of Aggadah and Kabbalah and wondrous explanations. After the completion, The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, instructed the orphaned children of the Marian family to recite the Kaddish of the siyum. Afterwards, light refreshments were served—a festive day for the sages in honor of the completion.

In addition, the “Torah Project — Shuvu Banim” announced: beginning next week it will be possible to rejoin the framework of the weekly tests and scholarship recipients within the Daf Yomi program. Please check the notice board in our Beis Midrash, “Shuvu Banim,” under the leadership of The Rav shlit"a, for further details.

The siyum is at 44:40

Presented here is the siyum as it was delivered this evening after the prayer by The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a:

“Then there was an incident with an innkeeper—an idol-worshipping woman, an innkeeper. They left him there very ill; this was in Jericho. The main thing is to travel to Jericho—there is the most ancient synagogue, with a mosaic floor. She was an idol-worshipper, and she related: ‘Here is the staff, here is the satchel, here is the Sefer Torah.’ The main thing is the Sefer Torah. That is why a person must always have a Sefer Torah—each person is obligated to write a Sefer Torah for himself. Even the king has a Sefer Torah tied to him here, beneath his armpit—a Sefer Torah that he reads from every day. And afterwards, on Shabbos, there will also be a Sefer Torah. And now he comes and gives testimony. How? Rabbi Tarfon asks: ‘How do you recognize the man? From where do you know him?’ He said: ‘What do you mean, how do I know? A battalion of Romans arrived—some thousand Romans came. He grabbed a branch of a fig tree—specifically a fig—and he began striking them on the head, cracking their skulls open.’ He cracked all their heads open. There are a thousand indictments over this, because they were people free of sin. ‘And I know him as the best person in the world—and now, the poor man has passed away.’ So he said: ‘Fine—then his wife is permitted,’ and he ruled accordingly. He took specifically a fig. The main thing is to take a fig. Because it is written regarding Shimshon, “For he was seeking a pretext (to’anah) from the Philistines” (Shoftim 14:4). The Arizal explains that this refers to Adam HaRishon. It is written that six were a likeness of Adam HaRishon: Shimshon; Yoshiyahu—who had the sense of smell of Moshiach; Asa’el with his feet; Shaul, from his shoulders and above; and Avshalom—who had the most beautiful hair. With that beautiful hair that he took pride in, he was caught in a tree—precisely in a tree he was caught. This was all on the other side of the Jordan. He was caught in a tree and remained hanging between Heaven and earth. So what did he do? He could have cut himself free, but he said: ‘No. I will remain hanging—this is how I want to die. I sinned against my father; I rebelled against my father.’”

“Not like Miriam the prophetess, who said, ‘Father, take Mother back.’ In the end, he gave two spittings—‘spit, he spat’ (Bamidbar 12:14). And then she hid among the reeds, and she saw the princess coming with seven maidens. Suddenly they saw a Jewish child in the Nile. They said, ‘Oh, how beautiful—there is a Jewish child here. Come, let’s slaughter him, and bring his blood—to whom? To Pharaoh.’ Each girl had a jug; when she would see a Jewish child, she would slaughter him and bring the blood to Pharaoh—a gift for Pharaoh.”

“Therefore Miriam merited that the entire people of Israel is in her merit, and the entire camp would not travel ‘until Miriam was gathered in’ (Bamidbar 12:15)—until Miriam would stand at the head of the camp in a palanquin. For no woman sinned—not in the sin of the Golden Calf and not in the sin of the spies. This is what is read in the next parashah, in Pinchas: ‘There was not a man’ (Bamidbar 26:64)—they were all consumed, because all the men died, except Yehoshua and Kalev. But not even one woman died, because the woman did not sin in any sin—not with the spies and not with Korach. Even the wife of On ben Peles said to him: ‘Drink a lot of wine.’ A woman needs to buy her husband a bottle of wine—every woman, by Shabbos, a bottle of Tokaji—Hungarian wine—and give him to drink until he sleeps twenty-four hours. He said, ‘What will be with Shacharis and Minchah?’ She said, ‘You are exempt from everything. If you argue with the Tzaddik, you are exempt from prayer, from tefillin!’”

“So here there are two stories about Rabbi Tarfon—two stories where someone comes to testify, Heaven protect us, not upon us and not upon you. He asked him, ‘How do you know?’ He said, ‘What do you mean, how do I know? He took specifically a shoot of a fig tree.’ Because the main thing is to take the fig—fig leaves—to rectify the fig, because the fig has no waste in it. The fig is the only fruit that has no waste—no waste at all. You swallow it straight, as it says: ‘While it is still in his palm, he swallows it’ (Yeshayahu 28:4). It is written: ‘Like the first-ripe fig before summer… while it is still in his palm, he swallows it.’ You swallow it whole—the entire fig. For the spies there was a fig weighing half a ton; they carried it on the shoulder. But a regular fig—you swallow it straight. If you see a fig, you swallow it right away; you only need to check it for worms. Once there were no worms; today you need to check it for worms. But a fig—‘while it is still in his palm, he swallows it.’”

“And therefore Shimshon, who was the soul of Adam HaRishon—six were from the soul of Adam HaRishon, literally six. Also Tzidkiyahu—his eyes: he could see in the dark. He walked in a cave eighteen kilometers and he could see, all the way to Jericho. The main thing is to reach Jericho.”

“So he [Rabbi Tarfon] said: ‘Who are you?’ He [the man who testified] said: ‘I am Aryeh from Kfar Sichya—Aryeh.’ So he asked him—another story: someone named Aryeh from Kfar Sichya. He said to him: ‘You are Aryeh.’ A thousand gentiles came to him, a thousand Romans—a full battalion—and with a branch of a fig tree he cracked all their heads open; he gave Pharaoh to drink from their blood.”

“So the Gemara says that with a woman [speaking innocently, in the course of conversation] we do not require interrogation and cross-examination; and to permit a woman—to permit a woman to remarry—we do not require interrogation and cross-examination [these are the words of Rabbi Akiva; Rabbi Tarfon says we do examine, and they argue regarding Rabbi Chanina, for Rabbi Chanina said: by Torah law, both monetary cases and capital cases require interrogation and cross-examination, as it says, ‘One law shall there be for you.’ And why did they say that monetary cases do not require interrogation and cross-examination? So as not to lock the door] …before borrowers. One opinion holds: if there is a kesubah—since there is a kesubah here, it is connected to monetary law. And another says: it is not connected to capital law. ‘Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is said: “And all your children shall be taught of Hashem, and great shall be the peace of your children.”’ Now we say the siyum—the children will come to recite the siyum.