Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 9, raises the question of why certain things shouldn't be done when other people are watching. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to explain how the rabbis debate two very different approaches to being human, and what their answers can teach us about life, friendship, and other seminal issues. Which surprising confession by a sitcom star captures the spirit of today's page of Talmud? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on...
Sep 09, 2021•11 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 6 and 7 and 8, ask us how we're supposed to feel on Rosh Hashanah: Happy for the holiday? Fearful of divine judgment? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to ponder these questions and shed light on the age-old mystery: Why do we eat apples on Rosh Hashanah? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and...
Sep 06, 2021•11 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 3 and 4, strike a surprisingly modern note when they bring up the concept of confirmation bias. Dr. Michelle Waldman Sarna, a psychologist and educator, joins us to explain this idea, and how the Talmud used it, way before therapists did, to help people find their place in a community. Why does one single dissident stand out even if a thousand others all fall into line? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitt...
Sep 03, 2021•8 min•Season 8Ep. 3
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 2, introduces us to Tractate Beitzah, which is all about the practices of Yom Tov, or holiday. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a preview of what to expect, and a meditation on how holidays are fundamentally different from Shabbat. Why is Beitzah, or an egg, the perfect symbol for this tractate's themes? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One F...
Sep 02, 2021•9 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 56, brings us to the conclusion of Tractate Sukkah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recap all that we've learned, and explain why the lesson of Sukkah is one we so desperately need to hear, particularly now, in our troubling moment in time. Why is there nothing holier, and more whole, than a broken home? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Fac...
Sep 01, 2021•7 min•Season 7Ep. 56
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 55, contains a surprising revelation: On the last day of Sukkot, we pray for... world peace? Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern joins us to explain this poetic passage, and what it has to offer us in our contemporary troubled times. Why is the Talmud offering us a universalist message in the middle of a discussion about Sukkot? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in th...
Aug 31, 2021•6 min•Season 7Ep. 55
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 53 and 54, return to Simchat Beit Hashoeva, the festival of drawing up water and praying to God for rain that generated unspeakable joy and continues to inspire us. To give us a taste of what this musical celebration might've sounded like, and which emotions it was likely to stir up, we welcome to the show Nefesh Mountain, a Jewish bluegrass band winning fans with their newest album. How does music continue to move us? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a ...
Aug 30, 2021•12 min•Season 7Ep. 53
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 51 and 52, bring up yet again the importance of knowing how to fail and learn from your mistakes. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the specifically Jewish zen of failing, and why it's only those of us who've struggled who eventually grow. Why does the Talmud tell us that the righteous and the sinners see failure very differently? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join th...
Aug 27, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 51
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 50, brings up Simchat Beit HaShoeva, an epic party. Kylie Unell joins us to tell us a bit about this ancient custom, and about the surprising ways in which the Bible prepares us to have a blast. What did the rabbis know about throwing a great party? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and prod...
Aug 26, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 50
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 49, delivers a stunningly poetic passage, telling us that Torah, like a thigh, should always be revealed and explored only in intimate settings. Dr. Batsheva Marcus joins us to unpack this surprising bit of instruction, and explain why the study of Torah should be both a public and a very private undertaking. How is talking about sex like studying scripture? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeone...
Aug 25, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 49
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 48, tasks us with a hard mission: learning to rejoice even when it's the very last day of the holiday and the weight of ordinary life beckons. Hudson Leibovitz, eight years old, joins us to explain how he is preparing for the end of summer vacation, and to teach adults how kids manage to have fun even in unlikely circumstances. What is the secret to the childhood zen that the rabbis understood so well? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@ta...
Aug 24, 2021•7 min•Season 7Ep. 48
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 46 and 47, remind us just how important it is to count our blessings and to make sure we're very specific when we thank God for all of the plenty. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the logic of blessings, and why the rabbis disagreed on precisely how we should be thankful. How are blessings a good preparation for a solid marriage? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join th...
Aug 23, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 46
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 44 and 45, tell us again, in no uncertain terms, that each one of us has the power to change and redeem the entire world. We're inspired by the story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who gave his life for another inmate at Auschwitz, teaching us how to be free and holy even in the world's darkest place. What might we learn from his example? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyom...
Aug 20, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 44
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 43, gives us an all-too-familiar, and very funny, scene of Jews bickering among themselves. Historian Zev Eleff joins us to shed light on our people's propensity for in-fighting, explains its historical and structural roots, and regales us with a long-lost tale of a synagogue spat turned violent. Which famous American rabbi had to spend Rosh Hashanah in jail after punching the shul president in the face? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@...
Aug 19, 2021•10 min•Season 7Ep. 43
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 42, asks perhaps the one question that matters most: When and how should we start educating our kids to love the Torah? Educator Adina Fredman joins us to talk about the Talmud's approach to early childhood education, and how it measures up to her experiences as a long-time teacher and scholar. How young might a child be before she truly starts grasping complicated concepts like monotheism? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com....
Aug 18, 2021•6 min•Season 7Ep. 42
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 41, dives deep into the reasons why we remain so obsessed with the memory of the Beit Hamikdash, the ancient Temple. Novelist Dara Horn joins us to explain this eternal preoccupation of ours, how it's different from, say, a Civil War reenactment, and how the rabbis of the Talmud created an ingenious system of virtual reality to transform and preserve our religious traditions. Why did Judaism have to fake its own death to survive? Listen and find out. Like the show? ...
Aug 17, 2021•12 min•Season 7Ep. 41
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 39 and 40, kick things off with a tough conundrum: Why do we often say blessings for mitzvot prior to performing them? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to talk about the ancient rabbinic discussion about the purpose and mechanics of blessings, and how they still inform our worship today. Why do we first pick up the etrog upside down and only then turn it rightside up? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at ...
Aug 16, 2021•10 min•Season 7Ep. 39
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 37 and 38, raise the age-old question: Why do we shake the lulav and etrog on Sukkot? Isn't simply lifting them enough? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the mystical symbolism behind these acts, and how they help us imagine that the whole world is one body, begging God for mercy. What does that have to do with the practice of many religious Jews to sway back and forth as they pray? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com...
Aug 13, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 37
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 36, finds the rabbis in a judgy mood: rats, they tell us, are downright repulsive. Dr. Rivka Schwartz joins us to share her experience of life with adorable pet rats, and help us figure out if humans and rodents can find true companionship. Were the rabbis just too harsh on our little mousy friends? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook g...
Aug 12, 2021•7 min•Season 7Ep. 36
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 35, gives us a mystery right out of the Talented Mr. Ripley: Is the etrog we know and love secretly an impostor? Was it the humble pepper we were supposed to bless all along? Rabbi David Moster joins us to discuss the elusive fruit, and how it rose to prominence. How did a Chinese fruit embraced by the Persians come to be the hero of Sukkot? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join ...
Aug 11, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 35
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 34, ponders the meaning of the lulav. NYU professor Jeffrey Rubenstein joins us to explain what the lulav meant to generations of Jews, and why we still argue over its exact nature. Why did the Jews who launched the Bar Kochba rebellion imprint a lulav on their coins? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel...
Aug 10, 2021•9 min•Season 7Ep. 34
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 32 and 33, command us to bind together the willow, the myrtle, and the lulav. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain this strange custom, and how it symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people. Which kind of Jew does each of the four species represent? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and ...
Aug 09, 2021•12 min•Season 7Ep. 32
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 30 and 31, tells a haunting story of a screaming woman. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin helps us make sense of this chilling tale, and decipher its inspiring message, a reminder to never, ever lose hope. What bit of perennial wisdom must we all remember, taught to us by none other than Abraham? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One...
Aug 06, 2021•7 min•Season 7Ep. 30
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 29, teaches us that there's a difference between extensive and intensive learning. Kylie Unell joins us to talk about why study alone doesn't change you, and about why you must learn to experience and embody the things you learn for wisdom to truly seep in. Why were German Jews huge fans of Booker T. Washington? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take O...
Aug 05, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 29
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 28, tells us yet again about Hillel and Shammai, the two famous rabbis known for disagreeing on just about everything. Producer Josh Kross joins us to talk about how the wisdom of the ancient frenemies and their disciples can help us learn to have strong disagreements, particularly online. What tips on social media etiquette can we learn from Hillel and Shammai? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @tak...
Aug 04, 2021•10 min•Season 7Ep. 28
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 27, finds Rabbi Eliezer issuing a strange pronouncement: God bless...the lazy? What did the ancient rabbi understand about the virtues of wasting time that an MIT professor would, millenia later, confirm? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and R...
Aug 03, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 27
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 25 and 26, warn us against the perils of distraction. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about why the Talmud valued focus, and how the rabbis gave us the world's first form of mindfulness. Why is checking your phone while talking to friends bad for your soul? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is hosted by Liel Le...
Aug 02, 2021•8 min•Season 7Ep. 25
Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 23 and 24, teach us that you're allowed to build a treehouse sukkah if you wish. Outdoorswoman Emily Pennington joins us to talk experiencing the divine in America's national parks, and about the special connection with creation you can only find in nature. What does it feel like to watch the sunset from a hammock at Yosemite? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversati...
Jul 30, 2021•7 min•Season 7Ep. 23
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 22, informs us that a sukkah can be set up even on top of a moving vehicle. Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone joins us to talk about Chabad's Sukkah Mobil, and how they bring the mitzvah and the joy of Sukkot to people everywhere. How is the spirit of the '60s alive and well in these groovy vehicles? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. ...
Jul 29, 2021•9 min•Season 7Ep. 22
Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 21, advises us to listen very carefully whenever Torah scholars speak, for they are always dispensing wisdom, even when they don't issue halachic rulings. Today, we have the pleasure of eavesdropping on a conversation between two such scholars, rapper Nissim Black and NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, who speak about their remarkable life journeys and their friendship on Nissim Black's new podcast, The Deal. How did these two remarkable men go from difficult beginnings to...
Jul 28, 2021•15 min•Season 7Ep. 21
