What is Daf Yomi? A Plain-English Guide

Daf Yomi (literally 'daily page') is a worldwide programme of learning one folio — two sides of a page — of the Talmud Bavli every single day. Hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world learn the exact same daf on the exact same day, completing all 2,711 dafim of Shas in roughly 7.5 years.

It's one of the most successful adult-learning initiatives in Jewish history. From Jerusalem to Johannesburg, from Lakewood to London, learners follow the same schedule, which means you can walk into almost any shul in the world and find someone learning the same page you are.

Where did it come from?

Daf Yomi was proposed by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin at the First World Congress of Agudath Israel in Vienna on 16 August 1923. The first cycle began six weeks later, on Rosh Hashanah 5684 (11 September 1923), with the opening of Maseches Berachos.

Rabbi Shapiro's vision was simple but radical: a unified daily learning schedule that any working Jew could keep up with, that would tie communities across the globe together through a shared text.

How does it work in practice?

Most Daf Yomi learners attend a daily shiur (about 45–60 minutes) — either in person at a local shul or via one of the dozens of online shiurim. They then chazer (review) the daf, usually that evening or the next morning, to lock it in.

That's where Daf Chazarah comes in: a concise written summary of every day's daf, designed to be read in a few minutes so you actually retain what you heard in the shiur — not just hear it once and forget.

How long is the cycle?

Each Daf Yomi cycle is approximately 7 years and 5 months — 2,711 dafim, one per day, with no rest days. The current 14th cycle began on 1 January 2020 and finishes on 7 June 2027 (3 Sivan 5787) with the conclusion of Maseches Niddah. The next cycle starts the following day with Berachos Daf 2.

Do I need to know how to learn Gemara?

Not at all. Plenty of Daf Yomi learners start with very little Gemara background. A good daily shiur (in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, Spanish — your choice) plus a short written chazarah is enough to follow along and grow into it. The most important thing is consistency, not background.