Siyum

The typical structure of a siyum event includes a conclusion of the study, reading of the Hadran text, kaddish, and a celebratory meal.

One of the most common is the completion of the Mishna Berurah, a detailed work of the rules Jews practice each day, each Sabbath, and relating to each festival.

This is sometimes called a Shas-A-Thon, as it allows the enormous body of material to be completed jointly in a short period of time, sometimes a single day.

The Daf Yomi study program is the largest Siyum HaShas event, with hundreds of thousands of participants.

The main event for the 13th Siyum HaShas, organized by Agudath Israel of America, took place on January 1, 2020, in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with a sellout crowd of over 90,000.

An enduring custom is for the community to complete a unit of Torah or tractate(s) of Talmud during the 30 days following the death of a beloved one and hold a communal siyum thereafter, in tribute and honor of the memory of the deceased (see also Bereavement in Judaism).

At the end of every volume of the Talmud a special hadran prayer is printed with a set order of prayers and a special kaddish, Kaddish D'itchadita, in honor of the completion of that volume, which Judaism considers to be an important achievement and a milestone worth celebrating.

In the merit and honor of a deceased individual, it is customary to undertake Mishnah study with the goal of holding a siyum.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (based on the Nemukei Yosef, the Ran, the Rashbam, and the Eliyah Rabbah) extends the concept of a siyum to include even a festive meal celebrating the completion of any mitzvah (commandment) that has taken a significant duration of time (such as a number of weeks or months).