A new initiative has been launched to finish the entirety of the Mishna tens of times over in honor of the victims of Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel.
Called the Acheinu WorldWide Jewish Unity Program, the initiative is being spearheaded by Rabbi Reuven Taragin, the educational director of World Mizrachi and the Religious Zionists of America.
It will feature the collaborative efforts of Jews from at least 50 countries worldwide, with each seder of the Mishna being dedicated to specific victims.
- Zeraim and Moed are in honor of IDF soldiers who were killed in the fighting with Hamas
- Nashim and Nezikin are in honor of Israel Police officers and first responders
- Kedoshim and Tahrot are in honor of civilian casualties
Each Mishna in each tractate is also dedicated to a specific victim.
The goal is for the entire Mishna to be completed multiple times over by November 12, in time to mark the end of the shloshim period following the victims' deaths during the October 7 massacre.
Already, some notable names in the Jewish world are set to take part, according to the initiative's website, including UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis. South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg.
Israel's chief rabbi: "An honorable way to eternalize their memory"
In a statement, Lau praised Taragin's initiative.
"Whose heart has not been broken by seeing atrocities that have not been seen since the cursed Holocaust, occurrences that remind everyone that we are still in existential danger?" Lau wrote.
"The idea to learn Mishnayot to eternalize the memory of Israeli soldiers and the police officers, who fell in battle while risking their lives to protect their brothers, and for all the civilians who were murdered.... will be an honorable way to eternalize their memory and will connect between the world's Jewish communities."
To sign up, visit www.acheinu.world/siyum. For more information and to receive more updates, visit https://acheinu.world/join-our-whatsapp-groups/ or on Instagram at @Acheinu_World.