MetLife Stadium Hosts Massive Talmud Celebration
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Wednesday night's crowd at the Meadowlands was expected to be bigger than that of any Giants or Jets game.
MetLife Stadium was to host more than 90,000 Jewish faithful.
The celebration is the 12th Siyum HaShas, the completion of the study of the Talmud.
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"Explanation and the commentary on the bible," said logistical director Rabbi Yosef Golding.
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That's all 2,711 pages. Participants study one each day.
"It's seven and a half years running -- day in and day out," Golding told WCBS 880 reporter Jim Smith.
He said Wednesday night's event would feature, singing, dancing and inspirational words.
The event was to be beamed to 120 sites around the world. Then on Friday, the cycle begins anew for the next celebration in 2020.
Organizers called it the "largest celebration of Jewish learning in the last 2,000 years" and said packing the stadium is no easy task.
"Take a football stadium and basically turn it in to a synagogue for the day," Golding said.
With such a large gathering of Jews, law enforcement was alert for extremists, so every person, every vehicle was required to go through a security check, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported.
Transportation officials said they expected delays along Routes 3, 17 and 120.
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