In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 40 and 41, it is asked if a half-slave can marry. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about the centrality of the obligation to be fruitful and multiply, and how more than just to have children, the commandment is the obligation to give to others. How can we fulfill our most important life goal? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the co...
Jun 26, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 40
In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 38 and 39, we hear that gentiles hold Jews in high regard. Richard Hurowitz, author of In the Garden of the Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust, joins us to share some of the lesser-known stories of non-Jews who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Do we spend more time focusing on the perpetrators than the rescuers? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag....
Jun 23, 2023•10 min•Season 19Ep. 38
In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 37, the rabbis begin by discussing the definitions of words in a conversation about humility. They follow this up with a discussion of the prosbol, the legal invention of Hillel the Elder which converts individual loans into “loans in the public domain” in order to ensure that the wealthy would continue to lend money in the final years before the sabbatical year. Why are conversations about humility interlinked with one about loans? Listen and find out. Like the sh...
Jun 22, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 37
In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 36, we hear that the rabbis of the Talmud would sign documents with pictorial marks, or what we would call today, emojis. 🤦 To better understand the potential value of emojis, Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick joins us to explore the ways that emojis can be helpful in sharing complicated ideas succinctly. Of all of the emojis one could choose, which is unquestionably the worst? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a no...
Jun 21, 2023•10 min•Season 19Ep. 36
In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 35, we read the story of a widow who curses Rav Huna when he refuses to help her collect payment of her marriage contract or support her and her orphaned children. Rav Huna, it is told, believed in the curse, and so immediately attempted to enact the literal curse in order to save himself; TL;DR, it didn’t work. Curses serve a powerful role in our world, and today we focus on the ways that a certain goat cursed a Chicago baseball team for 71 years. What is the role...
Jun 20, 2023•10 min•Season 19Ep. 35
In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 33 and 34, we explore the need for a divorce decree to be contingent on the will of the sages. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explore what is so special about a marriage contract and divorce decree that it must be in accordance with Moshe and the Jewish people when other mitzvot don’t require such stringency. Is the Jewish marriage about the two people involved, or is the larger community a part? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsle...
Jun 19, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 33
In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 31 and 32, we hear the story of two rabbis who are in conversation when they see a quarrelsome person approaching, and have to choose whether to stand to show honor or not. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to teach us more about this cantankerous person, Geneiva, and how his whole story is told throughout the tractate. What can we learn from the story of Geneiva? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tablet...
Jun 16, 2023•11 min•Season 19Ep. 31
In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 30, the rabbis offer a starting bit of legal advice: if a man has done more than can reasonably expected to appease his wife their bill of divorce can be null and void. What does it mean for contemporary couples in trouble? Could the rabbis help one beloved TV and movie star? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take O...
Jun 15, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 30
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 29, discusses the transitive property of witnesses when it comes to proving the validity of a divorce decree within Israel, and how each subsequent agent takes responsibility from the previous. Unorthodox co-host Joshua Malina joins us to share his experiences on stage and screen in taking over roles from previous actors. What does he keep and what does he makes his own from previous actors? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send ...
Jun 14, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 29
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 28, discusses the death penalty in foreign lands, and whether one should assume that a person has been killed if sentenced to death. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explore why this issue is an important factor in relation to the rules of divorce. How have rabbis, ancient and modern, tried to gain clarity on this topic? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedaf...
Jun 13, 2023•10 min•Season 19Ep. 28
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 26 and 27, deliver a stark warning against bureaucracy, warning us not to let overly complicated systems, and the people who run them, take over and drain our most basic exchanges of all soulfulness and meaning. Why does Harvard have one administrator per student these days? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One ...
Jun 12, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 26
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 24 and 25, return once again to the need of a divorce decree to be written specifically and intentionally for it to be valid. Our friend Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to share that the writing of a proper get is one of the 613 mitzvot listed in the Torah, and how that should teach us the importance of doing this act with intention, and that the act of receiving a get can serve as an important transitional moment that should be sanctified. How could a divorce be a mi...
Jun 09, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 24
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 23, asks if a bill of divorce can be written by a gentile. The rabbis go on to explain that if a non-Jew wishes to be part of Jewish life, they may do so. In the recent Conversion Episode of Unorthodox, we spoke with Vicki Messler, who works at a Jewish day school, helps with programming at her local JCC, and is raising a Jewish family, all while not being halachically Jewish herself. What can we learn about creating welcoming Jewish spaces from her? Listen and find o...
Jun 08, 2023•18 min•Season 19Ep. 23
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 22, asks whether the fruit of a tree that has roots in Israel, but branches outside of Israele is considered produce of the land of Israel. This brings up a larger question of Zionism and whether one can consider themselves a Zionist if they are not in the land of Israel. In the new book Zionism: The Tablet Guide, we find a variety of thinkers with very different views on how to answer that question. Should we change our prayers now that the land of Israel exists? Lis...
Jun 07, 2023•10 min•Season 19Ep. 22
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 21, explores whether it matters what something is written on when considering if it is in fact a book. Book editor Lisa Ann Sandell joins us to share her fondness for reading ink on paper and shares the ways in which her industry has changed with the invent of the e-reader and computers. Is the experience of reading on a screen different than that of a physical book? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabl...
Jun 06, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 21
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 19 and 20, asks the question of whether a bill of divorce that is tattooed on a slave is valid as it cannot be altered or forged. Producer Josh Kross returns to discuss his tattoos, and the recent experience of getting a tattoo with his son. Should you ever get a tattoo of the Tasmanian Devil? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversati...
Jun 05, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 19
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 17 and 18, ask the question of whether it is better to be under the rule of the Romans or the Persians. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm returns to make the case for each. While one is great at creating infrastructure, the other is better for religious tolerance. What can we learn from exile? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take ...
Jun 02, 2023•11 min•Season 19Ep. 17
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 16, questions whether a get (a bill of divorce) is valid if one witness saw it written and another saw it signed. Tablet’s own Jordana La Rosa joins us to share her experiences in court reporting, where the precision of what is written is of the utmost importance, which requires a great deal of concentration and honed listening skills. What are the tips to being a better listener? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note a...
Jun 01, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 16
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 15, ask the question of whether two people who share a ritually appropriate amount of water to wash their hands are ritually pure, or if the act of sharing the water, means that neither of them are using the amount needed to fulfill the mitzvah. Rabbi Diana Fersko joins us to explore the ways in which the rabbis made it possible to fulfill a ritual obligation even when things are not as precise as they should be. Can two people wash their hands with the same water? Li...
May 31, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 15
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 14, shares a story that could have come right out of Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola’s master work The Godfather. The story explores the difficult decision that one of the rabbis makes when the other is being beaten up. What does the Talmud and The Godfather teach us about the struggle between doing what is needed and doing what is right? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on T...
May 30, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 14
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 12 and 13, ask the question of whether there is a difference between someone asking for a get to be written or asking for it to be given. Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick returns to discuss how the plot of the final season of the HBO show Succession mirrors the Talmudic discussion when it comes to the final wishes of the show’s patriarch. How should you handle a request given on a deathbed? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. S...
May 29, 2023•7 min•Season 19Ep. 12
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 9, 10, and 11, continues to explore the importance of certain documents being written intentionally for a particular person. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, joins us to share how this concept connects to the holiday of Shavuot, and how the learning of Torah should also be done for its own sake. Is there a difference between consumerism and covenant? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Tw...
May 25, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 9
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 8, includes a discussion between the rabbis about where the land ends and the sea begins in relation to the land of Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Noreen Doyle, the President and CEO of Hudson River Park joins us to share more about her amazing park which is seventy percent in the water. What considerations must one make when blurring the lines between land and water? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@...
May 24, 2023•9 min•Season 19Ep. 8
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 7, asks whether it is better to be feared or loved? Rambam explains that while difficult, there is nothing that you need to do to show love. Love is instinctive and natural; the same is true in our love of God. Are our fears just a manifestation of our love, and our deep need not to ruin it, for God and for each other? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyom...
May 23, 2023•8 min•Season 19Ep. 7
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 5 and 6, asks a complex question and shares the story of two rabbis trying to make sense of the answer. As we begin this new tractate, we thought it was a good opportunity to follow their example in asking questions. Producer Darone Ruskay was joined by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin to get back to basics in our first “Talmud Explainer” episode in which they discuss the history of the Talmud, its various parts, and the meanings of those unfamiliar terms that are used througho...
May 22, 2023•28 min•Season 19Ep. 5
Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 3 and 4, ask if a bill of divorce needs to be written specifically for the couple for it to be valid. New Unorthodox co-host Joshua Malina joins us to discuss his process as an actor and whether a script needs to speak personally to him to give his best performance. What was A Few Good Men Villain Colonel Jessup’s favorite joke? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ta...
May 19, 2023•11 min•Season 19Ep. 3
Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 2, introduces us to a new tractate that’s all about the get, the Jewish divorce document. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a preview of his absolute favorite tractate, a tractate that is written backwards. What does the fact that we start with the handing over of the divorce decree before we understand the process teach us? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeo...
May 18, 2023•6 min•Season 19Ep. 2
Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 49, brings us to the end of Tractate Sotah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to reflect on this complicated tractate. This tractate is more than just a treaty on the relationship between a married couple, it is also about how we respond when our faith has been tested. What advice from your rabbi makes them the wisest rebbe? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafy...
May 17, 2023•8 min•Season 18Ep. 49
Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 48, informs us that we mustn't ever question whether God will provide for us tomorrow. How to reconcile this lesson with the rapidly increasing cost of living? And is faith truly a helpful strategy for coping with economic insecurity? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. 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 a Tablet Studio...
May 16, 2023•8 min•Season 18Ep. 48
Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 46 and 47, talk about the different obligations that a person has to walk with another person based on their relationship with them. Michael Waller joins us to explain his work as a Rolfer, and the work that he does to help his patients on their journeys by helping to heal their bodies. What are the ways that we all walk with one another? What Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on ...
May 15, 2023•8 min•Season 18Ep. 46
