On Wednesday evening, 17 Shevat, the Union Bedford Armory in Brooklyn, New York, was packed with thousands of men, women, and children, celebrating the Siyum HaRambam HaOlami, with thousands more viewing via live stream.
The grand triple Siyum concluded the 45th cycle of three-chapters daily and Sefer HaMitzvos, and the 15th cycle of one-chapter daily, bringing together tens of thousands of participants in a celebration of Torah and Jewish unity. The event opened with video excerpts of the Rebbe emphasizing the joy of completing Torah study, and particularly of concluding the cycle of Rambam study.
Rabbi Velvl Butman, head shliach to Westchester County, NY, served as the emcee. He opened by expressing gratitude to Hashem and highlighting the unprecedented global unity created by the daily Rambam program. He described the Rambam as “the Great Eagle” who lifts learners to clarity and a complete vision of Torah, empowering them to transcend limitations and hasten the arrival of the Geulah.
Rabbi Butman mentioned his father, Rabbi Shmuel Menachem Mendel Butman, ob”m, who was charged by the Rebbe with organizing the International Siyumei HaRambam. He noted Chazal’s teaching that the enemies of the Jews are frightened when they hear the pure voices of children learning Torah. Since the Rebbe instituted this revolutionary takanah 45 years ago, nearly one million Jewish children have studied “the entire Torah” through the daily Rambam study, creating an unprecedented spiritual protective wall—and, in their merit, we will very soon witness the revelation of Moshiach.
A young fifth-grade student, Menachem Mendel Roitblat, led the Siyum on Sefer HaMitzvos in memory of his grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Wilshansky, ob”m, Rosh Yeshiva of Morristown. He reflected on lessons from the final mitzvah, emphasizing the ability to elevate every corner of the world and the need for self-sacrifice in refining the world. He spoke about the first mitzvah of the new cycle—the obligation to believe in the Creator—and the power of the triple Siyum to inspire renewed dedication to spreading Torah and hastening the coming of Moshiach.
The Rosh Yeshivah of the Mir Yeshivah, the renowned gaon Rabbi Hershel Zolty, spoke about the significance of a Siyum and the idea that every Jew is a “living Sefer Torah” who must encompass the entirety of Torah. He highlighted how Rambam study, which encompasses Torah topics only applicable in Moshiach’s times, is one of the deepest expressions of yearning for the Geulah, and emphasized the power of spoken Torah to defeat spiritual challenges.
A special video featured warm blessings from prominent rabbanim around the globe. The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Yosef, called upon every Jew to join the Rebbe’s initiative of daily Rambam study. The Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, spoke of the Rebbe’s extraordinary contribution whose expansive vision continues to illuminate Klal Yisrael. The Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren (Zev) Goldstein, saluted the shluchim and stressed that the unity forged through Rambam study is the essential key to receiving Hashem’s Torah. The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar, urged every Jew to embrace Rambam study, paid tribute to Rabbi Shmuel Menachem Mendel Butman, ob”m, and his sons. The Chief Rabbi of Rome, Rabbi Shmuel Di Segni, reminded the learners that for Jews, there is no ending without a new beginning. The Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Rabbi David Sevi, described the gathering as a chain of generations—from the Rambam, through Rabbi Chaim Palagi, to the Rebbe’s unifying enactment worldwide.
Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, a member of the Crown Heights Beis Din, noted that the Siyum celebrates tens of thousands of Jews literally completing the entire Torah and becoming unified with Hashem in a “wondrous union.” Through the study of all 613 mitzvos, the Jew himself becomes whole, and Rabbi Braun called on everyone to make Rambam study an inseparable part of daily life.
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Sydney, Australia, dedicated his remarks to the elevation of the souls of the recent martyrs, Hashem yikom damam, speaking of how the Rebbe’s teaching on Sefer Taharah reflects the Jewish secret of is’hapcha—elevating the most painful experiences into everlasting light—expressing hope that we soon merit “the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of groom and bride.”
A moving video featured personal testimonies from participants from all walks of life, describing how daily Rambam study transformed their lives, granting inner tranquility and moral clarity. Rabbi David Yosef shared how his father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ob”m, immediately joined the Rebbe’s takanah and would explain the daily Rambam publicly after davening. Rabbi Yitzchak Shaul Kanievsky—son of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, ob”m—blessed the participants and prayed that the entire world learn Rambam, hastening the coming of Moshiach.
Rabbi Eli Mansour, rabbi of Congregation Edmund J. Safra in Brooklyn, spoke about the deep connection between the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu and the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, recalling Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s observation that through the Rebbe’s initiative, Rambam study became the inheritance of every Jew—not just roshei yeshiva. Noting that Sephardic Jews identify as “Sephardim” because they follow “Rabbi Moshe the Sephardi,” he proclaimed, “Tonight, we are all Sephardim!” He concluded with “Yasher kochachem!”—drawing on the tradition that Moshe Rabbeinu once blessed the Rambam himself with those very words.
The beloved chassidic singer Avraham Fried declared, “This is not a concert; this is a chassidic farbrengen,” and led the crowd in “Habein Yakir Li” and “Ach Leilokim Domi Nafshi.” The Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenburg entered the hall to the triumphant strains of “Se’u She’arim Rosheichem.”
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch was invited to recite chapter 20 of Tehillim in memory of his father, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, ob”m, and as a merit for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael.
The emcee expressed heartfelt thanks to his brother, Rabbi Yosef Y. Butman, for his immense efforts in organizing the gathering. He then announced in Yiddish that this was a historic moment—continuing the strong bond between Chabad and Sanz and closing a special circle that began in 5745, when the Shefa Chaim, ob”m, sent his son as a representative to the first Siyum. Now, at the completion of the 45th cycle, the crowd merited the personal participation of the Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenburg.
The Sanz-Klausenburger Rebbe spoke with great emotion, citing the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching that Rambam study is a segulah for yiras Shamayim. He offered a profound explanation of the Rambam’s closing words “as the waters cover the sea,” paralleling the Jewish people in exile who cry over their spiritual distance from Hashem, and taught that a Jew must be “hard as cedar” in his uncompromising observance yet “soft as a reed” in his compassion for every fellow Jew—the combination that characterized the Chabad Rebbeim. At the height of his address, the Rebbe fainted. After a few minutes and the devoted care by Hatzalah volunteers, he was able to get back to himself.
A while later, the Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenburg completed his remarks while seated, apologizing and insisting everyone continue in joy. He elaborated on Hashem’s desire for a dwelling in the lower worlds, where a Jew remains “hard as salt” in his demands of himself and “soft as water” in his love for every Jewish soul, and declared that in the merit of the shluchim in every corner of the globe, we will attain the Rambam’s vision of the world filled with Divine knowledge.
The emcee noted that countless people around the world had completed the present cycle by personally learning three chapters a day, and to mark the completion, the Rebbe of Rachmastrivka, of Oak and Vine, Lakewood, who was also celebrating his own personal Siyum of the Rambam, was invited to deliver words of Torah.
The Rebbe of Rachmastrivka began with humility, demonstrating that every Jew can complete the Rambam. He taught that true olam hazeh—genuine meaning and joy—belongs only to one who observes Torah and mitzvos, and that one who learns Rambam daily is granted a life “above the natural order.” He read aloud the final halachah and prayed that in its merit, the Jewish people speedily attain the coming of Moshiach.
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Steinmetz, a dayan in the Skverer community and personal emissary of the Skverer Rebbe, quoted the Tiferes Shlomo that at every Siyum, all the Tannaim and Amoraim descend from Heaven—including the Rambam himself. Just as at Matan Torah, all who were ill were healed, a Siyum HaRambam similarly brings healing to the entire Jewish people. The emcee placed $500 in cash into the tzedakah box—money the Skverer Rebbe had personally sent for the Siyum.
Rabbi Hershel Rottenberg, rav of the Gerrer community and personal representative of the Gerrer Rebbe, praised the Lubavitcher Rebbe as “the one who raises up the yoke of Torah more than anyone else in the world” and explained that the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is the only pathway that allows every Jew to encompass the entire Torah in organized form. He noted that the Rambam’s clarity is an “illumination of Moshiach.”
Rabbi Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Hager, the eldest grandson of the Viznitzer Rebbe, read a personal letter from the Viznitzer Rebbe praising the Lubavitcher Rebbe for spreading Torah worldwide and blessing all learners with abundant material and spiritual blessings.
Rabbi Leibel Williger, Rosh Kollel of Torah Vodaas and representative of the Munkatcher Rebbe, explained that the festive Siyum meal is one of the deepest expressions of “a dwelling place in the lower worlds”—Torah penetrating eating and drinking, transforming the material into holiness.
Rabbi Yosef Y. Butman, the organizer of the international Siyum HaRambam, recalled that his father merited, by the Rebbe’s instruction, to organize the global Siyum HaRambam for forty years. He shared that in 5750-5751, the Rebbe wrote to him that the word “Rambam” is an acronym for “Revos Mofsai B’simchas Mishneh Torah”—”abundant miracles in the joy of Mishneh Torah.” Rabbi Butman expressed heartfelt thanks to all who donated generously and urged everyone to become active partners in staging future Siyumei HaRambam.
He warmly thanked key activists, including his brother, Rabbi Velvl Butman; Rabbi Mendel Mintz; Rabbi Chaim Yankel Leibowitz from Eretz Yisrael; Rabbi Shlomo Friedman of Lubavitch Youth Organization; and the Rebbe’s shliach in Beijing, China, Rabbi Shimon Freundlich. In closing, Rabbi Butman emphasized that the work of expanding the Siyum HaRambam enterprise will continue, ultimately to Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh, where the Rebbe himself will preside over the Siyum.
Rabbi Chay Amar, shliach of the Rebbe to Golden Beach, Florida, quoted the Rebbe’s explanation that Hashem’s instruction for Moshe Rabbeinu to “remove his shoes” means removing all barriers to feel the holy fire within each Jew. He declared the time has come for deep, engaging Rambam study rather than mere reading, presented new learning aids, and recited the opening halachah of Rambam—”The foundation of foundations… is to know that there is a Primary Being.”
A special video featured R’ Shmuel Melamed recounting how the Rebbe encouraged his stamp-collecting hobby and his vision of worldwide recognition of the Rambam’s greatness, which led various governments to issue postage stamps bearing his image.
Rabbi Pinchas Shlomo Binet, dayan of the Machzikei Hadas community of Belz chassidim, explained that Rambam study best enables a Jew to truly “acquire Torah.” He announced his personal commitment to study one chapter of Rambam daily, with good-humored permission for anyone to “surpass” him with three.
The final speaker, Rabbi Yitzchak Raitport, Rosh Kollel Limetzuyanim and author of the multi-volume B’dvar Melech on Rambam, focused on the Rambam’s closing phrase “with the help of Sha-dai,” explaining that in the future era, the physical will actively support spirituality rather than hinder it. He concluded with a call to truly understand each halachah in depth and thereby cleave to the entirety of Torah.
The emcee drew attention to the remarkable Divine Providence in the Siyum dates—noting that the next Siyum is scheduled for 28 Teves, the birthday of Rebbetzin Chanah, ob”m—and concluded with a heartfelt cry in Yiddish that we soon merit to see the Rebbe with our own eyes.
The evening ended with the stirring voice of the world-renowned chazzan Yaakov Yosef Stark, who moved the crowd with songs of Redemption—“Sheyibaneh Beis Hamikdash,” “Rachem Na”—leaving all present inspired to begin a new cycle of Rambam study and await the moment when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.”
