{"id":13307,"date":"2025-09-11T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?p=13307"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:34:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:34:14","slug":"a-siyum-on-tehillim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/a-siyum-on-tehillim\/","title":{"rendered":"A Siyum On Tehillim?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>As a mother with children in <em>shidduchim<\/em> (of marriageable age), I have been reciting a lot of <em>Tehillim <\/em>(Psalms) recently. It\u2019s taken me a few months, but I have finally completed the entire <em>Tehillim<\/em>. When we complete a significant section of Torah, we celebrate with a <em>siyum<\/em> (party). Is <em>Tehillim<\/em> significant enough? And is a woman able to make a siyum?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Siyum Beyond Gemara (talmud)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When we think of a <em>siyum<\/em> (celebration upon completion of Judaic study), we typically associate it with the Oral Law, specifically completing a tractate of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/whats-the-difference-between-the-torah-and-the-talmud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gemara (Talmud)<\/a>\u2014a demanding and lengthy endeavor undertaken by men who are obligated to dedicate time and energy to intensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/about.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Torah study<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Moshe_Feinstein\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rabbi Moshe Feinstein<\/a> ruled that a <em>siyum<\/em> can be made on Tanach (the Written Torah) as well, even though it is generally less demanding than Talmud study. Moreover, one does not need to complete all of Tanach\u2014even finishing a single book, or even just one of the five sections of Tehillim (Psalms), deserves a <em>siyum<\/em>. So although the study of Gemara is reserved for men, women also study Tanach, and can therefore make a <em>siyum<\/em> as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learning vs. Reciting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But this applies to <em>learning<\/em> a book of Tehillim, not just <em>reciting<\/em> it. To make a <em>siyum<\/em>, a person must understand what he or she read. This requires studying with at least a basic commentary, such as the <em>Metzudat Tziyon<\/em>, which explains difficult words, and the <em>Metzudat David<\/em>, which clarifies the basic meaning of the <em>pesukim<\/em> (Hebrew verse).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people who recite Tehillim don\u2019t fully understand the meaning of what they are saying. However, anyone who seriously studies a book of Tehillim, whether man or woman, should celebrate. Gather your family and perhaps some friends, serve some refreshments, and rejoice in the achievement of completing an entire book of Tehillim. This might even inspire others to do the same!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>In short: Anyone\u2014man or woman\u2014who learns and understands even one book of Tehillim should make a <\/em>siyum<em>, but not one who just recites it.&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Written by Rabbi Aaron Shapiro<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button tm-cta\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/about.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about the siyum celebration with a TorahMate. Sign up for a weekly learning partner today!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Have another question to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oorah.org\/asktherabbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ask a rabbi<\/a>? You can ask Rabbi Mintz your own question at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:asktherabbi@oorah.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asktherabbi@oorah.org<\/a>, or head to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oorah.org\/asktherabbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">oorah.org\/asktherabbi\/<\/a> to watch the latest Q&amp;As or join&nbsp;Ask the Rabbi Live, Tuesdays at 9PM ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz As a mother with children in shidduchim (of marriageable age), I have been reciting a lot of Tehillim (Psalms) recently. It\u2019s taken me [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[598,702,8,701,551],"tags":[252],"class_list":["post-13307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-the-rabbi","category-jewish-philosophy","category-judaism-101","category-mitzvot","category-prayers","tag-ask-the-rabbi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Siyum On Tehillim? - Jewish Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can one make a siyum on Tehillim? 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