Some 40,000 people have participated from more than 130 countries around the world in Daf Yomi (daily readings) through All Daf, a free digital application for learning and accessing Gemara, according to a Wednesday press release from the Orthodox Union (OU), a Modern-Orthodox organization.
The app's lessons have been accessed by Jews and non-Jews curious about Gemara from a wide variety of countries around the world, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, France, United Kingdom and United States, which all have sizeable Jewish communities, but also countries without or with small communities, such as Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
Participants on the app recently began the tractate of Pesachim, which focuses on the holiday of Passover, and are expected to finish on March 22, a few days before the holiday starts. As part of the campaign, app users will be able to participate in “Pesachim for Pesach,” which includes raffles and prizes. Those who commit to learning the tractate and finishing on April 12 will be eligible for a free trip to the Herzog winery in California.
“We’re thrilled that in less than one year, All Daf has helped tens of thousands of Jews learn Gemara. Our team has been able to positively leverage the benefits of apps into a dynamic platform that makes Daf Yomi accessible to an even broader group of Jews at all learning levels. While we did not envision this at the time we launched, All Daf has enabled continuous learning even when many communities had to suspend in-person learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Orthodox Union president Moishe Bane.
OU executive vice president Rabbi Moshe Hauer also praised the app, saying “All Daf is an outstanding Torah initiative, and with the calendar falling as it does this cycle, with us now beginning Pesachim, it will allow learners worldwide to look towards Zman Cheruteinu, with our daily Torah study helping to prepare us to be in the right mindset for the holiday.”
“Making time in our busy days for Torah study is something everyone should strive for,” he added,
Besides lessons on Gemara, users of the app can also learn more about Jewish history, analytical study (lomdus), Tanach and more. Likewise, the app also utilizes written and video content from renowned scholars of Judaism.
“It is so gratifying to see how many people are participating not only in the shiurim, but all the vast resources on the app to complement their learning,” added Orthodox Union Daf Yomi Initiative director Rabbi Moshe Schwed.
“The platform was created to offer numerous learning options so that people at every level would be comfortable joining us.”