The Publisher’s Perspective - 1/9/20

 The following is my piece in the January 9, 2020 edition of the Philadelphia Jewish Link:

“This is 20/20.” For over two decades, Barbara Walters, a famed journalist and the longtime host of ABC’s newsmagazine 20/20, would welcome viewers to the program with her trademark phrase.

Now, what used to merely be a catchy slogan has in fact become a reality. Today, we can legitimately say, “This is 2020.”

With the start of a new decade, many people tend to engage in some degree of retrospection and consider how the previous ten years have been. For me, the past decade was full of ups and downs. I lost some loved ones and had to endure a number of challenges, but I also got to celebrate two Bat Mitzvahs, one Bar Mitzvah and the birth of a child. Additionally, in the past decade, my oldest daughter made aliyah and our family moved to a wonderful new community. The last ten years have been exciting, and I feel so fortunate for all of the blessings that Hashem has bestowed upon me.

The beginning of a new decade is also a wonderful opportunity to motivate oneself to achieve greater personal and religious growth. What did I accomplish over the past ten years? Equally important, if not more so, what didn’t I accomplish? Where was I lacking as a person, a spouse, a parent, a Jew? What more can I do to make greater strides in my personal, familial, communal, professional and religious life? The questions abound and there’s no time like the present, the beginning of a new decade, to begin addressing them.

In the area of religious and spiritual growth, there are plenty of opportunities to act upon in order to motivate and inspire us to pursue greater heights. For example, Jews around the world, including over 90,000 people in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, recently celebrated the Siyum HaShas.

Ever since Rav Meir Shapiro put forth the idea of learning a daf of Gemara each day, the Daf Yomi program has taken off. From 20,000 people at Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin in 1923 for the second Siyum HaShas, to over 50,000 people at Madison Square Garden, Continental Arena and the Jacob Javits Convention Center for the eleventh Siyum HaShas in 2005, to the thirteenth Siyum HaShas on January 1, 2020, Daf Yomi has made incredible strides. Sure, it requires a huge commitment to study 2,711 pages of the Talmud day in, day out over the course of 7 ½ years. However, people who have completed the Daf Yomi cycle have told me how fulfilling and uplifting it is and have spoken with great pride about the tremendous feeling of accomplishment that the process engenders.

It’s not just Daf Yomi. There’s also Mishna Yomit, where you can learn two mishnayot a day and complete all of Shas Mishnayot in just under six years. There’s Nach Yomi, where you can learn one chapter of Tanach each day and learn all of Tanach in just over two years. Furthermore, there’s Mishna Berura Yomi, where you’re able to learn all of Mishna Berura in five years. The fact is, if you’re seeking new learning opportunities and are prepared to make a daily commitment, there are numerous means through which you can accomplish your goal.

Whether it’s bolstering your spiritual growth, spending more time with your family, taking better care of yourself, or becoming more active in your community, the start of a new decade is an opportune time to take those next steps.

This is 2020. Let’s make the most of it.