This talk, a siyum on the Talmudic Tractate of Sotah, was a (pre) Tikkun Leil presentation David delivered online on the eve of Shavuot in 2020 due to COVID restrictions preventing traditional in-person learning on the first night of the festival.
The talk includes an exploration of the:
- historical background to the development of the Tikkun Leil tradition (an all-night Torah learning program on the first night Shavuot)
- custom to learn the Talmudic tractate of Sotah between the festivals of Passover and Shavuot
- relevance of the Tractate of Sotah and how it prepares the Jewish people for receiving the Torah on Shavuot
- historical period of turmoil discussed in the Tractate of Sotah and the impact on Jewish life at the time
- importance of Torah in protecting and preserving
- power of gathering together to say (the prayer of) Kaddish
- connection between the Book of Job (Iyov) and the Tractate of Sotah
- benefit and reward of a structured practice of daily Torah learning.
David delivered this pre Tikkun Leil Shavuot talk for Caulfield Shule as its 2020 Scholar in Residence.