Rav Avigdor Miller on Daf Yomi
Q:
Should a ben-yeshivah attend a daf yomi shiur?

A:
You want to hear my opinion? I say no. And I’ll tell you why not. A yeshivah man has to shteig and daf yomi means you’re going to forget what you learned. If you learn one perek, you must learn it four times – at least. Don’t go away from that perek! הלומד ואינו חוזר כאילו זורע ואינו קוצר – “If you learn and you don’t review it’s like a person who plants but he never reaps.” It’s a pity. You plant a field with labor, with yegiah, and you never bother to reap what grows. And then, when you come back the next time it’s like new gemara to you. It’s a pity!

But if you review it, not only will you remember it better, you’ll understand it better. Go over the gemara again and again, again and again. It’s better to know a few mesichtas well, than to go through all of shas superficially and not remember anything.

Now, many balebatim – they won’t bother so much. And so, if they won’t bother to learn and review properly, so let them learn daf yomi and תבוא עליהם ברכה, they should be blessed. It’s a mitzvah to learn Torah – very good! Daf yomi is Torah.

But for a ben-yeshivah who wants to shteig, my advice is that it’s not for you. Of course, even a ben-yeshiva shouldn’t waste his time, and he should cover ground. You should have a bekius shiur too, but even the bekius shiur means you have to review constantly again and again and again and again – four times – before you go on further. And therefore it’s important for a yeshivah man to learn more deeply, more profoundly than just learning the daf and then moving on.