All aboard for bible study

A nearly 23-year-old Talmud study group that commutes to Manhattan on the Far Rockaway Long Island Rail Road line marked a milestone on Monday as the men read the final page of the Jewish text for the third time in the informal class’s existence.

Using the daf yomi page-a-day system developed by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, a prominent Hasidic spiritual leader in the early 20th century, the groups, one with 12 to 16 members takes the 7:48 a.m. train and the other — six to eight members — boards the 8:09 a.m., use their approximately 45-minute ride to explore their religion, while also discussing current issues.

“While most commuters grunt at the occasional delay on the rails, we relish in spending the extra few more minutes delving a little deeper in the text,” said Joseph Klein, 37, a senior manager of the real estate group for Marks Paneth LLP. Klein, a Woodmere resident, has been a group member for eight years.

During a 1991 train ride, Lawrence resident Aryeh Markovich, now 54, approached Rabbi Pesach Lerner and asked if he would be willing to teach the Talmud on the then 7:51 a.m. Far Rockaway to Manhattan train. “I used to see a lot of people playing cards on the train,” said Markovich, president of EyeMark Media. “I figured why don’t we do something for people to utilize their time productively and learn something too. Rabbi Lerner agreed and the rest is history.”

To get the study group started Markovich walked the train platform one day and handed out flyers that publicized the class on wheels. The following day almost 30 people showed up for the discussion group in the train’s last car.

Cedarhurst resident Eliezer Cohen, a group member for more than a decade, said using his time in this constructive manner has enabled him to increase the time he reviews, studies and discusses the laws and issues associated with the Talmud, as learning he said, “is a fundamental foundation of Judaism,” which strengthens his religious connection.

“Participating in the group has forged relationships with people I would never have met,” said the 58-year-old attorney for a real estate management company. “Stepping into the role of substitute lecturer and now co-lecturer has encumbered me with an obligation to devote extra time in preparation, so that my spare time is focused on constructive learning and research.”

A nearly lifelong Woodmere resident (he lived in Kew Gardens Hills for a few years right after getting married), Sholom Fried, 53, attends services every morning at Congregation Aish Kodesh, also in Woodmere, and then boards the train for the Talmud class, which he has been a part of for nearly five years. Fried, who works in information technology for Davis Polk, an international law firm, said he has studied the Talmud since elementary school and the text continues to fascinate him.

“One of the exciting things, for me, is tracing through the Talmud and later commentaries to see how current practice evolved to what it is today,” he said, adding that he loves teaching. “I get a big kick out of the fact that this study group has managed to build our own little community of people who join together and use our commute time for something this meaningful.”