Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is daf yomi?
A: The daily page of Talmud studied as part of a monumental program initiated by Rav Meir Shapiro in 1923 at the First World Congress of Agudath Israel in Vienna. With 2711 pages in the Talmud, it takes about 7 and a half years to complete. We are now in the 12th cycle of study, which began March 2, 2005.

2. What is Dafyomi.org?
A: Dafyomi.org is a collection of resources for learning the daf yomi. The main content of dafyomi.org is the audio shiurim of the Talmud which were given by Rav Dovid Grossman from 1985 to 1992 for the community of Los Angeles. The shiurim were originally recorded on audio cassettes and later encoded to digital format. They are presented together with the tzuras hadaf - picture of the page - from the Vilna shas, provided by E-daf.com. Other shiurim are also provided on Mishna, Chumash and holidays.

3. What's the difference between Dafyomi.org and E-daf.com?
A: Dafyomi.org provides the audio shiurim of the daf yomi, as well as other audio shiurim on Mishna, Chumash and holidays, and all shiurim are available for download. E-daf.com provides Dafyomi.org with the tzuras hadaf - picture of the daf - so you can follow the shiur while looking at the text. Conversely, Dafyomi.org provides its English audio shiurim as a link on the E-daf.com website so people looking up a daf on E-daf.com can play the audio. E-daf.com has the tzuras hadaf in 2 sizes and links to other audio and sometimes video shiurim on the daf. Our purposes overlap, but each has something to offer that the other does not.

4. Is it free?
A: Yes. Absolutely. There is no fee. You do not have to register. There is no advertising.

5. Can I download the files and give them to someone else?
A: Absolutely yes. There is no charge. We only ask that you do not charge anyone for use of this free content, and that you kindly acknowledge the source as Dafyomi.org.

6. How do I download the files?
A: You can download individual files one at a time using the downloads page. A software application called the Masechta Downloader facilitates downloading entire masechtas of files at a time.

7. Can I put the files on an mp3 player?
A: Yes, so long as it supports the low encoding rate of 16 kbps. Most mp3 players do, but you need to check. A desirable feature to look for in mp3 players is the ability to keep track of where you left off, like a bookmark function. For more information, see the mp3 players page.

8. Which audio formats are supported?
A: All files are available in 3 formats for both online streaming and download: mp3, Windows Media Audio (wma) and Real Media. Mp3 can be played by any mp3 player that can play a multimedia stream (mms) format, such as the free Windows Media Player and WinAmp. The same applies for wma. The Real Media files can only be played by RealPlayer which can be downloaded for free from real.com.

9. Do I need to have Real Player to listen to the audio files?
A: No, you can use mp3 or wma instead if you prefer.

10. What happened to the older files that I used to be able to download?
A: On September 4, 2006 a new set of audio files were published to replace the older ones. The older ones were no more than copies of the original tapes and were therefore labelled according to the tape number and side. For example, RGBVB010B.mp3 corresponded to the 10th tape of Bava Basra, side B. The problem with this is that it lead to much confusion, causing many to think that it represented daf yud amud beis when in fact it did not. To solve this problem, many volunteers listened to each and every file and recorded the minute:second mark of the page turns. This information was then used to reslice the audio files so that Bava_Basra_010b.mp3 now does represent daf yud amud beis. The older files had more abbreviated names like RGBVB010B.mp3 which meant RG for Rav Grossman, BVB for Bava Basra, and then 010B.mp3 for tape 10 side B. The newer files have simpler names like Bava_Basra_10b.mp3, which is self explanatory. The mp3 and wma files now contain ID3 tags which explain that the files are from Rav Grossman and Dafyomi.org.

11. What is the relationship to the shaspod?
A: Shaspod.com sells the shaspod, which is an ipod pre-loaded with the older version of the mp3 files which are not indexed by daf and amud (see previous entry). There is no formal relationship between the shaspod and Dafyomi.org.

12. What happened to Rav Kosman's shiurim?
A: Rav Kosman's shiurim were discontinued on Dafyomi.org on March 21, 2002. For the first few years of this website, Torah Educational Software kindly allowed us to provide their copyrighted material for free, and we thank them very much for it. For those who prefer Rav Kosman's shiurim, they are now available for a fee at www.masterdaf.com. They did a wonderful job of putting all his shiurim online, integrating them with beautiful pictures of the daf, and providing many, many more features than a free service can offer. You can also buy the CD of Rav Kosman's shiurim, which has the audio, the picture of the daf, and an extensive list of features, too.

13. Why does Dafyomi.org exist?
A: For people to learn Torah.

14. What's the catch?
A: There is none. Just learn.

15. No, really, what's the catch?
A: Like I said, there is none.

16. Why do Jews always answer a question with a question?
A: Why do you think?