2. Question: What is the difference between a person who delays making a siyum or speeds up learning to make a siyum during the nine days which should not be done as opposed to one who finished a masechta and just left over a couple of lines for a more opportune time to make a siyum which happened to follow out during the nine days or someone ideally learns a masechta which he knows he’ll be finished by the nine days in order to make a siyum during that time?
Background:
A. The Mishna Berura (551:10:73) says if one sees he’ll be making a siyum soon one shouldn’t hasten or delay it just to be able to eat meat, also if you don’t normally make a feast after a siyum you shouldn’t have one now. However if you are appropriately finishing something then you and even people who did not learn with you can partake in a festive meat meal, even if people are coming and going after you finished the siyum because it increases friendliness.
B. Rav Chaim Kanievsky tells a story from his father, The Steipler, that during World War 1 they only had meat to eat and guys made a siyum for every meal and everyone in Yeshiva partook in eating meat.
C. The Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 551:28) said it’s ideal to learn in order to make siyums at this time of the year in order to increase Torah learning.
Answer: The Dirshu Mishna Berura (footnote 89) brings the Responsa Minchas Yitzchak that explains when a person hastens or delays his completion of a masechta just to make a siyum during the nine days then he is showing his joy over eating meat not Torah learning which is not nice and not a seudas mitzvah because the main part of the mitzvah is concluding the masechta but when a person finishes something but leaves over a couple of lines for an opportune time to make the feast or if they are trying to make siyums during the nine days in order to increase Torah learning that shows they feel the Torah learning is more important and therefore it’s befitting to have a seudas mitzvah. [/exapnd]
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Rabbi DS Milder