Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 39, acknowledges what every amateur chef already knows: There's nothing more difficult to cook to perfection than the lowly egg. A minute here or there can make the difference between jammy perfection and a gray-hued mess, so producer Josh Kross, himself an egg enthusiast, joins us to interpret the rabbis' hard-boiled disquisition on the different approaches to egg-cooking. What might an omelet teach us about life? Listen and find out.
Apr 14, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 37 and 38, find the rabbis mulling the precise nature of a Kupah, a smallish stove that was popular in their day. And while the specifics of their conversation may sound archaic, its essence couldn't be more timely: What they're really trying to figure out is what to do when a new technology is thrust into our lives, and how our gadgets shape so much about the way we interact with the world. How is the Kupah just like an iPhone? Listen and find out.
Apr 13, 2020•5 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 35 and 36, raises one of the most loaded concepts in the entire Talmud: Bein Hashmashot, or Twilight. It's extremely significant for a host of religious obligations, yet the rabbis, in pure Talmudic fashion, couldn't decide on how long, precisely, twilight actually was. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this strange and fascinating concept. Why did some rabbis believe you had to view Mt. Carmel from the Mediterranean in order to grasp the truly meani...
Apr 08, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 33 and 34, tell a wild story of a mighty rabbi and his son, so disgusted with the ways of this world that they chose to retreat and live in a cave for 13 years. When they emerge, however, trouble ensues. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to teach us about the perils of very smart and serious people believing themselves to be better than the rest of us, and about why mysticism means seeing the divine sparks everywhere. Why should we never assume our scholarship and int...
Apr 08, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 32, gives us a brief but fierce paragraph about those about to die, and what they should and shouldn't be doing as they are about to pass. This passage feels a bit too real in the midst of a deadly pandemic, and we welcome The New York Times writer Bari Weiss to discuss her piece about hospital chaplains and the holy work they do these days. Why is visiting the sick the holiest of mitzvahs? Listen and find out.
Apr 07, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 30, gives us a peak into the birth of modern politics: King David, dying, asks God how much time he has left, and God, refusing to answer, informs the aged monarch that the reign of his son, Solomon, is already set to begin. It's like an epic episode of HBO's Succession, as well as the moment of transition from the ancient world's view of kings as omnipotent to our contemporary understanding of rulers as servers of the people. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to talk ab...
Apr 06, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 28 and 29, features talk of the Tachash, a mysterious beast who may or may not have had a single horn, an enormous body, and a six-colored skin. Was he a Technicolor Jewish unicorn, or a Jewnicorn? Different commentators offered divergent interpretations, but in today's episode we take a page from one of our greatest Hasidic masters and read the Jewnicorn as a metaphor for human kindness. Why? Listen and find out.
Apr 03, 2020•6 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 27, features the debut of what is arguably the oddest and most difficult to comprehend of all the mitzvot: The prohibition to wear Shatnez, or clothes made of both wool and linen. Why this specific ban? We welcome AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically, to make sense of this curious commandment and tell us about the time he invited a Shatnez inspector to raid his closet. What do wool and linen have to do with Cain and Abel? Listen and find out. Take one...
Apr 02, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 27
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 26, begins with the Talmud's equivalent of a Law & Order episode, telling a gruesome tale of a woman who sets her daughter-in-law on fire. Thankfully, not all of us have such murderously acrimonious relationships with our-laws; Stephanie Butnick, co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast, joins us to make sense of the grizzly story and give us some tips about how to manage your relationship with the family you had married into. What's the secret to being c...
Apr 01, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 25, finds the rabbis in an existential kind of mood. What truly matters in life? Some say money, others say companionship, and others yet, well, go a more scatological path. Mark Oppenheimer, the self-styled Corduroy Rav and co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast, returns to talk about how your desires shape your life. Would you trade a large sum of money for an uninterrupted hour in the bathroom? Listen and find out. Take one is sponsored this week by the ...
Mar 31, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 23 and 24, revolve around a fascinating question: Should we treasure life's beautifully mundane moments, or hold up for rare and splendid miracles? Rabbi Scott Hoffman joins us to talk about getting our priorities straight, especially in times of crisis. What can candles and menorahs teach us about our values? Listen and find out. Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditat...
Mar 30, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 21 and 22, contain a well-known discussion of how to light the Hanukkah menorah. Which, coincidentally, has been the subject of a famous 1989 Supreme Court case, still considered a landmark shaping religious liberties for decades to come. Nathan Lewin, the legendary lawyer who argued the case and convinced the highest court in the land to allow the display of a menorah in a public space, joins us to talk about this important chapter in American Jewish history. Wha...
Mar 27, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 20, includes a famous paragraph on candle lighting we recite every Friday evening. Rabbi Rachel Ain of the Sutton Place Synagogue in New York joins us to meditate on this ancient custom and its surprisingly modern resonance. Why do we light two candles each Shabbat? Listen and find out. This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish-based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirit...
Mar 26, 2020•7 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 19, dives into a nautical question: Is it permitted to go a-sailing just before Shabbat? It's a conundrum that has inflamed Talmudic minds for millennia, and we welcome Lisa Ann Sandell, author and sailing enthusiast, to share her story of hi jinx on the high seas and her thoughts on taking to open waters. Did the rabbis believe sailing could ever be pleasurable? Listen and find out. This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time o...
Mar 25, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Today's Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 18, revolve around a strange question: Should we let our utensils, too, rest on Shabbat? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain why this conundrum is far from theoretical, and what it tells us about how preparation and rest are always intertwined. What can those of us who spent the last few weeks getting ready for social distancing learn from the rituals of ushering in Shabbat? Listen and find out. This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spiritualit...
Mar 24, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 16 and 17, tell a dramatic story of a particularly vehement disagreement between two of the Talmud's greatest rabbis, Hillel and Shammai. When one of them loses the debate, all go into mourning. Why? And what does this millennia-old quibble have to teach us about the importance of kindness and compassion? Listen and find out. Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditation m...
Mar 23, 2020•6 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 14 and 15, usher us into a discussion of a deeply complicated subject: the rules of purity. But what starts out like a seemingly esoteric topic soon grows eerily relevant in this time of coronavirus awareness: Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain how the Talmud's concept of transmission and infection uncannily mirrors that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and why we should be grateful for the special place hand-washing has always played in J...
Mar 20, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 13, revolves around a grizzly story of a pious man who studied Torah, served his rabbis, and still died suddenly at a very young age. His bereaved widow walks around from synagogue to synagogue demanding an explanation, until the prophet Elijah delivers a very thorny explanation that has to do with sexual conduct. Dr. Batsheva Marcus, a certified sex therapist, joins us to wrestle with this difficult story, and talk about how we approach the laws of nida, or ritual...
Mar 19, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 12, makes a strange pronouncement: If you kill a louse on Shabbat, it's as if you've killed a camel. Producer Josh Kross, an animal lover and avid meat eater, joins to discuss the difference between the animals we cherish and those we're happy to consume, and what the Talmud can teach us about environmental ethics. What's the Talmud take on mindful eating? Listen and find out.
Mar 18, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 11, gives us one of the most beautiful passages in all of the Talmud. "Even if all the seas would be ink, and the reeds that grow near swamps would be quills, and the heavens would be parchment upon which the words would be written, and all the people would be scribes," the rabbis tell us, "all of these are insufficient to write the unquantifiable space of governmental authority, i.e., all the considerations with which a government must concern itself and deal." Go...
Mar 17, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 9 and 10, raise a question we're all asking right now, as so many of us are suddenly confined to our homes by the coronavirus and struggling to balance work and family: What's the best way to manage time? Warning us against trying to do too much, the wise rabbis propose a principle that calls on us to be here now and focus on what truly matters in life. What can the Talmud teach us about work-life balance in a time of quarantine? Listen and find out.
Mar 16, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Today's Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 7 and 8, raises a question that pierces the heart of every New Yorker: Can your home even be considered a real home if it's, you know, just too small? Stephanie Butnick, co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast and a dweller of several very small apartments, returns to describe life with no space at all and argue that nothing says private domain more than having absolutely no privacy. What Talmudic lessons can be learned by living in a studio apartment in th...
Mar 13, 2020•7 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 6, continues the discussion about private versus public domains, and lands on a peculiar question: Is the desert a real place? The rabbis seem unsure, so we called up Tzipi Perl Turner, friend of the show and proud resident of Arizona, to talk to us about life amid the hot desert sands and why it can be both challenging and rewarding. What did the rabbis get wrong about sun and sand? Listen and find out.
Mar 12, 2020•7 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 5, asks us to take a moment and think about our books. How should we treat them, and, more importantly, why should we not mistreat them? Author and editor Lisa Ann Sandell joins us to talk about why dog-earing a book is sometimes ok, why books make the best traveling companions, and why no gadget will ever take the place of the printed page. Should you scribble notes in the margins of a beloved novel? Listen and find out.
Mar 11, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 4, raises a difficult moral question: Is it okay for you to break a few laws in order to allow your friend to win a big mitzvah? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, author of the definitive book about sin and transgression in Jewish thought, joins us to talk about the difference between doing a few wrong things for the good of the community and bending the rules for the benefit of just one other person. Why does the Talmud believe, like airlines, that you should put on your own...
Mar 10, 2020•7 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 2 and 3, launch a brand new tractate, dedicated to all the things we can and can't do on our holy day of rest. But rather than jumping right into a list of forbidden work, the Talmud starts us off with a discussion of the private versus the public domain and the intricacies of carrying objects from one to the other. Why, and what does any of it have to do with modern technology and our work-life balance? Listen and find out.
Mar 09, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We are about to start a new tractate, masechet Shababt. It’s the second tractate, out of the sixty three in the Talmud. Before we start, join us to get a sense of the topics that we will explore and the guests we will be learning with.
Mar 08, 2020•2 min
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 63 and 64, bring us to the end of our first tractate. After weeks of thinking about which blessing to say over which foodstuff, how to throw a proper dinner party, what's the meaning of havdalah, what's the deal with sushi, how to think about sex, and how to face down a dictator, we've come to the end of tractate Berakhot. We've heard from rabbis and community leaders, NBA stars and Hollywood actors, podcasters and psychotherapists and a whole host of other peopl...
Mar 06, 2020•10 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 62, contains one of the Talmud's most astonishing stories. One of the rabbis sneaks under his teacher's bed, and observes as the teacher and the teacher's wife make love. He is discovered, and his defense teaches us a lesson that's more urgent today as it's ever been. Dr. Batsheva Marcus, a certified sex therapist inspired by this story, joins us to talk about what this strange tale of voyeurism can teach us about talking to our kids about sexuality. Why is sex li...
Mar 05, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 61, finds the rabbis in an existential state of mind. They're talking about the creation of Man, or, more accurately, of Man and Woman. Rabbi Sari Laufer joins us to shed some light on the Talmud's approach to gender, warn us against judging ancient texts according to modern standards, and teaches us a lesson on introspection and how to contemplate our essential meaning. What to make of the Talmudic warning against men walking behind women? Listen and find out.
Mar 04, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 61
