On the last Daf of Sotah (49a), we learned:
אלא עלמא אמאי קא מקיים? אקדושה דסידרא ואיהא שמיה רבא דאגדתא
The Gemara just earlier was describing how, ever since the Churban, the state of the world is only getting worse: as bad as the previous day’s curse was, we yearn for it compared to what today’s curse brings. So far not a very upbeat Gemara.
If so, the Gemara urgently inquires, why does the world still stand? (It shouldn’t take long for progressively worse Divine curses to obliterate the world from existence!)
The Gemara answers, that the reason we’re still around today is because of……
1. The “ordered Kedusha” (that we recite in “U’Va Litzion” everyday during Shacharis)
2. The Kaddish that is recited after the Rabbi’s derasha on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
As explained by Rashi, what’s special about these two mitzvos is the fact that they contain the double power of sanctifying God’s name plus the mitzva of Talmud Torah (the “ordered Kedusha” has the well known verses of sanctification, along with explanations in Aramaic–which count as Torah learning; similarly, the Rabbi’s derasha=Torah learning, plus the sanctification of Kaddish which follows). Therefore these mitzvos beat back the destructive forces that were unleashed at the time of the Churban and literally keep the world going.
This Gemara seems quite baffling: what happened to the zechus of so many Jews who died al Kiddush Hashem? Or the Kol Torah that emanates from the Yeshivos that is heard day and night (where the Torah is studied most deeply and rigorously)? Or the acts of selfless kindness that Jews perform for one another and the world? Of all the zechusim that could have been chosen to explain the worthiness of the world’s continued existence, the only deeds the Gemara points to are the (relatively simple) Kaddish and Kedushah that we say in shul?? How does this make any sense??
For the answer we must return to Rashi who stresses in his commentary to this Gemara that these mitzvos are performed by the entire nation. That is, certainly there are other powerful zechusim, and the Gemara is in no way detracting from the eternal merit that all zechusim create. Yet there is something extra special about a mitzva that is performed by all. Coupling this global component together with the power of Kiddush HaShem/Torah is what distinguishes these seemingly plain mitzvos as being the key to the world’s continued existence.
This Gemara gives us a new-found appreciation of the gift R’ Meir Shapiro gave to Klall Yisroel called Daf Yomi. For although many of us who struggle to keep up with the Daf are forced to sacrifice the attainment of the full depth of Torah, we should still feel a great thrill from the fact that we are doing something important as part of a nation; of one people. The power of a unified people all learning in order to draw what we can from Hashem’s Torah must be appreciated for what it truly is: a zchus of epic proportions. So are all of our efforts to carve out every minute we can for Torah study worth it? With confidence, we can answer yes. For aside from being a task that sculpts the shape of our personal eternal destiny, Daf Yomi as a movement of global Torah study creates a light that pierces through the darkness of our world. That is surely an effort that is worthy of everything we’ve got.
Joseph Reichman says
What great about the daf yomi is that people (like me) who subscribe and go to a Avi Weiss Shul and those who go and subscribe to Haredai shul once every 71/2 years are together when normally they have nothing to do with each other