The official newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

The Rampage

The official newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

The Rampage

The official newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

The Rampage

Nakh Yomi – Interview Ms. Kelman

GK: What exactly is Nach Yomit? 

MS.K: Nakh Yomi is a worldwide daily learning initiative. Similar to daf yomi, where people learn one daf of Talmud a day, in nakh yomi, people learn one chapter of נ״ך – Nevi’im and Ketuvim – a day. Ramaz just launched our program that started after sukkot, and will continue for the next four years! Our pace is one perek per every school day (so none on weekends/breaks). At this rate, and with 742 prakim, the freshman will finish right before their senior graduation!

GK: How many students and faculty are part of Nach Yomit?

MS.K: Nakh Yomi is open to the whole school, but it is primarily for the freshman and there are certain perks that only the freshman can get. Each freshman gets a punch card with 10 spots. Every day, they can ask a faculty member a question on that day’s perek, and if they get it right, they get a signature. Once they fill the punch card, they have homeroom privileges.

GK: Why did you decide to do Nach yomit- where did the idea come from?

MS.K: It started the week after we came back from Sukkot.

GK: When did it start?

MS.K: The idea is twofold: normally, in school we focus on the depth on Tanakh – learning “b’iyun” and analyzing texts through commentaries. This program allows us to also see the breadth of Tanakh and to become familiar with every single book in Tanakh. We are also building a community of Torah – students can talk to any Judaic faculty about that day’s perek and everyone is literally on the same page. The whole grade is doing this project together and builds a community of Torah. 

GK: When will you complete it? How long does it take to finish? Do you have a plan for how you will celebrate once you finish?

MS.K: The first cycle will finish in June 2027 – right before the freshmen graduate. We plan on a big siyum at graduation. In addition, there will be siyumum throughout the year as we finish each sefer (stay tuned for our first siyum of Sefer Yehoshua coming up the week of Thanksgiving!)

GK: What are you up to now?

MS.K: We’re in the teen prakim of Yehoshua.

GK: When do you do the Nach Yomit everyday and where?

MS.K: Up to you – you can do it whenever you want! You can do it on your commute to school, in the elevator (as it slowly stops on every floor) or whenever it works for you. Students should try to finish it by the end of the day, since if they want to get a question for the perek (and a signature for their punchcard) they need to get it before they leave school that day.  

GK: What do you think the importance of Nach Yomit is?

MS.K: I think it’s important because learning Torah is important, because being a literate Jew means being familiar with our most fundamental texts, and because the words of Tanakh are shockingly relevant to our lives and have so much to teach us.

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