Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 68 and 69, raise a difficult question about what really goes into building intimacy in a marriage. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this thorny passage, and share some surprisingly relevant Talmudic marriage advice. How to keep your relationship loving and vibrant? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also ...
Jan 02, 2023•7 min•Season 16Ep. 68
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 66 and 67, gift us a heartbreakingly beautiful story about learning to see the beautiful in everyone. Who was Likhlukhit, the Dirty One, and what can her tale teach us as we prepare to make our new year's resolutions? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenheimer, Sara ...
Dec 30, 2022•5 min•Season 16Ep. 66
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 65, reassures us that we're never above evolving, growing, and changing our mind. But how to do that? And what good things may come when we do? And how did this lesson lead one determined man from the cusp of prison to true love? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenhe...
Dec 29, 2022•20 min•Season 16Ep. 65
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 64, warns us against the ravages of anger. What does modern psychology have to say about our brain on rage? And how does the Talmud, in a very famous story, teach us a priceless lesson in anger management? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenheimer, Sara Fredman Aeder...
Dec 28, 2022•10 min•Season 16Ep. 64
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 63, gives us a subtle and charming lesson in how religion and religion, when practiced well, complement each other perfectly. What is the religious way of seeing the world, properly understood? And how does it help enhance, not negate, common sense? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh...
Dec 27, 2022•7 min•Season 16Ep. 63
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 61 and 62, warn us against doing anything worthwhile just to earn praise and prestige. But how to go on when so much of modern life is predicated on fame, fortune, and favor? And how to stay focused on what truly matters in life? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenh...
Dec 26, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 61
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 59 and 60, urges us to pay very close attention to the passage of time. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why every Jew, metaphorically speaking, wears two watches, one tracking the minutes and hours and the other keeping track of something much more metaphysical. What, exactly? And what do we mean when we speak of "Jewish time"? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by ...
Dec 23, 2022•7 min•Season 16Ep. 59
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 58, uses a discussion of tithing to teach us a valuable lesson about getting organized and turning our lives around. Why is taking deliberate action the necessary first step to growth and change? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenheimer, Sara Fredman Aeder, Robert S...
Dec 22, 2022•7 min•Season 16Ep. 58
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 57, raises another question about trying to get along with your in-laws. Stephanie Butnick joins us to ponder why the rabbis were so obsessed with their wives' parents, and what we can learn from them about keeping our own family relations in working order. What is the secret to getting along with your in-laws? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller ...
Dec 21, 2022•8 min•Season 16Ep. 57
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 56, delivers an in-depth negotiation between a home seller and buyer. Real estate agent extraordinaire Scott Harris joins us to talk about the emotional and psychological depths of the home-buying process, and what the Talmud's sages got right and wrong about real estate. What's the one thing that great real estate agents do that sets them apart from the rest? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is p...
Dec 20, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 56
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 54 and 55, offer us a beautiful meditation on humility and gratitude. But does Judaism actually condone humility, or does it also advocate the occasional bout of chutzpah? Rabbi Diana Fersko joins us with some insights on some of history's greatest Jews and their struggles to keep their egos from swelling up. How humble is too humble? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Dar...
Dec 19, 2022•7 min•Season 16Ep. 54
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 52 and 53, get us thinking by arguing that if a forbidden food somehow flavors your pot, the whole thing is out of bounds. Why? And what can these pages teach us about keeping kosher, mindfulness, and feeling in control of your body and soul? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross...
Dec 16, 2022•8 min•Season 16Ep. 52
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 51, brings us a rowdy party scene that delivers one of the thorniest questions imaginable, namely what does the Torah actually say about same-sex attraction. Rabbi Mike Moskowitz joins us to break it down and deliver an unexpected interpretation. What does the Torah really mean when it speaks of "abomination"? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller a...
Dec 15, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 51
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 50, raises a question many academics and recovering academics will find pressing: must scholars always be poor? Mark Oppenheimer, the Corduroy Rav himself, joins us to discuss the prevalent beliefs in academia that a wealthy professor is somehow a sell-out, and opine about why so many smart people are anxious about money. Does wealth corrupt your ability to observe humanity fairly and accurately? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show ...
Dec 14, 2022•13 min•Season 16Ep. 50
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 49, finds the rabbis in a hungry sort of mood. Producer Quinn Waller joins us to talk about whether you should be a stickler in the kitchen and judge other people for what they do and do not eat, and share one traumatic experience involving smoked fish. What, really, is the ultimate purpose of a well-cooked meal? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Walle...
Dec 13, 2022•10 min•Season 16Ep. 49
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 47 and 48, raise an interesting question: Can someone make a vow that keeps you from going to shul? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about the ways Jews fight with each other, what the rabbis understood about bickering, and why the Talmud offers us some very useful modern insights on conflict resolution. Can you sell your part in your community's synagogue? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and ...
Dec 12, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 47
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 45 and 46, asks what we should do when the space we share becomes a battleground of two conflicting worldviews. Professor Richard Landes joins us to explain what a medievalist has to say about contemporary culture, and why our fantasy that, deep down, we all just want to live in peace is dangerously misguided. What can we learn about our moment in time by studying the previous milennium? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hoste...
Dec 09, 2022•12 min•Season 16Ep. 45
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 44, may be the earliest recorded discussion of the three-day rule, made popular by romantic comedies everywhere. Why is it that we can wait three days, but no longer, before coming to our senses and doing the right thing? And how might've the Talmud inspired that other canonical text of wisdom, How I Met Your Mother? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn W...
Dec 08, 2022•11 min•Season 16Ep. 44
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 43, is all about the ways that we give gifts. Unorthodox co-host, and master gift giver Stephanie Butnick joins us to discuss the ways to make the act of giving meaningful, and talks about the best gifts she has received. What will Stephanie be giving as her Hanukkah gift this year? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team als...
Dec 07, 2022•10 min•Season 16Ep. 43
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 42, is all about the idea of Shemitah, the seventh year of a seven-year-cycle during which we're commanded to let the earth rest. Why do this? And how is this seemingly esoteric agricultural idea related to the Garden of Eden, and to the promise of one day experiencing a return to paradise? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our ...
Dec 06, 2022•8 min•Season 16Ep. 42
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 40 and 41, kick things off with a bang, arguing that young people often destroy when they intend to build and older people build even if they set out to destroy. Tablet Magazine's Editor in Chief Alana Newhouse joins us to talk about her recent piece, entitled "Brokenism," an insightful look at the two divergent ways to understand--and fix--life in America today. Are you a brokenist or a status-quoist? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. Th...
Dec 05, 2022•36 min•Season 16Ep. 40
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 38 and 39, tell an amazing story about Moses getting rich from the remnants of the second set of Ten Commandments. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this mysterious tale, and the deep, metaphysical meaning behind it. Were the Tablets really just a get-rich-quick scheme? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also in...
Dec 02, 2022•10 min•Season 16Ep. 38
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 37, asks a question a lot of students have been asking themselves, too: What are teachers for? Vicki Messler, who develops curricula at New York's Shefa School, joins us to talk about our shifting understanding of education, and how teachers, students, and parents can work together to make learning better. How to teach kids now that so much knowledge is just a Google search away? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel...
Dec 01, 2022•12 min•Season 16Ep. 37
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 36, ponders what's the best way to educate and motivate your kids. Producer Darone Ruskay and his charming twin boys join us for a frank father-sons talk about what works, and what doesn't, when trying to get the young ones going. What parenting advice does the Talmud dole out? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also inc...
Nov 30, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 36
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 35, brings up a weighty conundrum: Do members of the clergy work for us or for God? Rabbi Lauren Tuchman joins us to opine on this barbed question, and share some tips into being a good teacher and communal leader. So, who do the rabbis truly work for? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, J...
Nov 29, 2022•10 min•Season 16Ep. 35
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 33 and 34, ask a very poignant question: Are we allowed to dress all fancy and pretend we're rich to get preferential treatment? Stephanie Butnick joins us to talk about fashion, material culture, and faking it until we're making it. Is there anything wrong with a little bit of dress-up every now and then? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and ...
Nov 28, 2022•8 min•Season 16Ep. 33
Today’s Talmud pages, Nedarim 31 and 32, tell us the terrifying story of Moses and the unfortunate bris. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why a snake-like demon had to emerge and dispense some divine justice, and why the story is a powerful meditation on human imperfection and its beauty. What very famous reunion took place on today's page of Talmud? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone R...
Nov 25, 2022•9 min•Season 16Ep. 31
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 30, explores the importance of language. The rabbis discuss how to understand an oath that is made about someone not yet born, and discuss the importance of not putting language on too high a pedestal. We are joined by Tablet Director of Production Josh Kross, and former producer of a podcast about hip-hop called The Cipher. Josh shares the ways in which hip hop has taken the vernacular and created art. How has hip hop elevated everyday language into something sublim...
Nov 24, 2022•15 min•Season 16Ep. 30
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 29, reminds us that sometimes the best things in life happen when we do absolutely nothing. Jonathon Stalls, who wrestled with his mental health issues by walking, very slowly and deliberately, across America, joins us to talk about the insights and illuminations that only come when everything grinds down to a halt. What do you learn when you cross America on foot? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and...
Nov 23, 2022•16 min•Season 16Ep. 29
Today’s Talmud page, Nedarim 28, brings up an interesting question: What to do with vows taken under duress? Shakespeare scholar Dr. Shaina Trapedo joins us to explain how this very point lies at the heart of The Merchant of Venice, and how it makes the Bard's play deeper. Why did a recent theater production include the text to the seminal Yom Kippur prayer, Kol Nidrei? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited ...
Nov 22, 2022•12 min•Season 16Ep. 28
