Many years ago when I was in high school, I became intrigued by the story of our people and wanted to understand with greater breadth the unfolding of our history. I studied Tanach in school, but never in sequence and never completing a whole Sefer.
When I was in Seminary, we were asked to learn a Perek of Nach a day with Rashi five days a week starting with Sefer Yehoshua. We got a few Sefarim in, but never completed the cycle.
When my husband and I got married we decided that we wanted to learn something together each evening. We decided on Nach. We were true to our word of reviewing a Perek a day with commentaries. We were well into Sefer Yechezkel when one evening I went into labor with our eldest son. We had completed our Perek and then soon after headed to the hospital. Baruch Hashem our family grew alongside our family and communal responsibilities. Unfortunately we never picked up where we left off.
When my husband Baruch Hashem completed the full Daf Yomi cycle two years ago, I was inspired not only by his daily commitment over seven and a half years, but also by his accomplishment. It is possible to complete Shaas with learning a little each day! At that time with daily learning at a fervor, the OU Women’s Initiative announced a daily Nach learning given by and for women. I was immediately interested, although nervous at the commitment. I was excited to learn Nach in sequence in order to gain a greater appreciation of a full story.
Sometimes I feel like we are in the middle of a larger story and we are not privy to all of the details of the story that came before us and we may never know the story to come after us. Learning Nach in sequence I felt could possibly fill in those gaps of knowledge and understanding of our past and perhaps give a glimpse into our future.
I decided to give it a try, one day at a time, just to see if I liked it and if I could sustain it. I would listen to the daily podcast while taking notes and looking in the Sefer. I then went back and reviewed each Perek inside.
Two years is a long time. Especially in 2020.
It was before the Pandemic. It was before Shuls and schools closing. It was before quarantining with our five children at home on Zoom school and my husband and I working virtually from home, all at the same time. It was before being physically separated from our families, friends and communities for months at a time. It was before our son’s wedding and our daughter’s Bas Mitzvah. It was before tragic losses in the Jewish community and our family.
Two years now seems like eons ago.
Today marks my two year odyssey in completing Nach Yomi.
It is not just the commitment of daily learning, and it is not just the accomplishment of completing that learning; it is also about the impact it has had on me and dare I say my family.
For two years, I learned daily, sometimes going ahead and sometimes catching up, but never falling behind or off the wagon.
Life was hectic, life was hard, life was joyful and life was sad, and through it all, every day, I would learn something new. A new Perek, a new lesson for life. It wasn’t just connecting to the story of our people, it was me finding my place in it all.
And this is something that I never expected to gain, but maybe hoped.
Learning about the struggles of our people, the triumphs, the ups and downs of success and failure, and then repentance has made a mark on my heart and my life that I hope never fades.
I would often come to the dinner table and share what I learned that day or ask a question that was bothering me. It was amazing to hear the children’s input and our family discussion that would ensue. There were of course other times too, when I would come to the table and start off with, “guess what I learned today?” and one child would say, again Mommy? I would respond with, no, I learned something new today!
I have to admit, much of the learning and sharing centered around the desire to live in Israel because that is the whole goal of our people; to serve Hashem with whole hearts in the land Hashem promised us. There was also the sense of loss over what we once had, and the heartening opportunity for us to do Teshuva even at the last moment.
So much has been gained in my daily learning. I encourage all to start their own daily learning.
It has strengthened my Emunah and Bitachon during difficult times, reminded me to be grateful for the joy and blessings I have, and has given me great hope for the good yet to be delivered.
I thank the OU for providing this amazing opportunity to me and so many thousands of women around the world, and I thank my husband and family for not just putting up with my learning schedule and sharing my ideas, even on vacation in Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and long drives to New Jersey, but also their encouragement and celebrating with me when I would complete each Sefer! I would like to also express Hakaras HaTov to Hashem for allowing me to reach this day and complete all of Nach after so many years of trying and for the many lessons I have learned along the way.