Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote in a letter, (printed in a sefer zikaron put out by the Yeshiva of Staten Island) that every city had a chevrra shas, where the custom was to learn a daf a day. Not everyone was up for it, of course, many learn mishnayos, halachos or said tehillim. But there were those who learned gemara, obviously the upper echelon.
Rabbi Meir Shapiro innovated that in place of each chevra learning a different misechta, let all learn the same thing, so that Jews the world over would have a common topic of discussion and rapport.
Obviously, this is a far cry from the one-size-fits-all daf yomi being promoted today….
Menu