NJ event celebrates completion of the Talmud learning cycle

The Dirshu organization says gathering will be held to express Jewish solidarity in wake of rising anti-Semitic attacks

An organization that calls itself the largest Torah organization in the world will hold the last of 11 worldwide mega events to celebrate Jewish solidarity and mark the completion of the 7 1/2-year cycle of Talmud learning in New Jersey.

The Dirshu organization, which also sponsors an annual Day of Jewish Learning, will hold the event on Sunday at three venues in Newark: the Prudential Center, for men and women; the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, for men only; and Symphony Hall, for women only.

Other Dirshu events have been held in recent weeks in Israel, England, France and South Africa, which gathered more than 150,000 participants, according to the organization.

Dirshu was founded by Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, a Jewish-Canadian businessman who wanted to restore Jewish education to pre-Holocaust levels. It now operates in 26 countries on five continents.

The organization said the event will be held in the wake of rising anti-Semitic attacks against identifiably Orthodox Jews.

“The greatest revenge against perpetrators of anti-Semitism is expressing pride in our Judaism; and celebrating our Jewish texts and traditions,” Dirshu said in a statement announcing the event. “We will celebrate our Jewish identity and continue passing on the torch of Jewish learning generation to generation.”