Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 19 and 20, continue the discussion on the best way to be a good neighbor. We share an episode from our sister podcast, Sivan Says, about neighbors getting together after tragedy and helping each other out. What can neighborliness achieve? 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. We think that you...
Jul 15, 2024•20 min•Season 23Ep. 19
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 17 and 18, find the rabbis advocating the merits of building sturdy walls and keeping a healthy distance from the folks next door. But does their ancient wisdom really hold up in the complex, globalized, modern world? And do good fences really make good neighbors? 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 Faceboo...
Jul 12, 2024•8 min•Season 23Ep. 18
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 16, raises one of the most profound questions in human morality: the question of theodicy, or why would an all-merciful God allow evil to exist in the world. As the rabbis read the ancient book of Job, they deliver a surprisingly modern, and acutely relevant, wisdom. So what should we do when the going gets a little bit too tough for us to take? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow ...
Jul 11, 2024•10 min•Season 23Ep. 16
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 15, brings us a mystery for the ages. Liel discusses the conundrum of Moses recording his own demise. Who actually wrote the Torah? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very ...
Jul 10, 2024•8 min•Season 23Ep. 15
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 14, discusses the ideal size of a Torah, and the output of several renowned scribes. Dr. Tevi Troy, our very own Presidentischer Rav, joins us to talk about how to measure success in your writing. Is it quality or quantity? Listen and find out.
Jul 09, 2024•7 min•Season 23Ep. 14
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 12 and 13, discuss the owners of prophecy after the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the difference between the prophecy that comes directly from Hashem, and that which comes from wisdom from the mysteries of the world. Are the true prophets only children and fools? Listen and find out.
Jul 08, 2024•10 min•Season 23Ep. 12
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 10 and 11, relate to a parable that challenges us to think about who is responsible for taking care of those around us. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the responsibilities we all have with regard to each other. Who is more talmudic, Neil deGrasse Tyson or Norm Macdonald? Listen and find out.
Jul 05, 2024•9 min•Season 23Ep. 10
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 9, discuss the value of emotional support in addition to charitable donations. Tablet’s religious affairs correspondent Maggie MacFarland Phillips joins Liel Leibovitz and Stephanie Butnick to discuss how some non-Jews have been attempting to support Jews since Oct. 7. What makes a righteous gentile? Listen and find out.
Jul 04, 2024•41 min•Season 23Ep. 9
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 8, shares a discussion over whether or not Torah scholars should be required to pay taxes. These discussions are a powerful reflection of the present debate about Israel’s Haredi community and military service. What can this ancient and modern debate teach us about leaning on our affinities over our divisions? Listen and find out.
Jul 03, 2024•6 min•Season 23Ep. 8
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 7, shares a debate over when someone is considered a resident of a city. Producer Josh Kross joins to give insight into the best ways to become part of a new community. When exactly should you consider yourself a local? Listen and find out.
Jul 02, 2024•8 min•Season 23Ep. 7
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 5 and 6, relate to the disagreement between two neighbors over the need for fences to keep them separate. One, Ronya, believes they are not necessary until his neighbor, Ravina, uses a practical example to show otherwise. Do good fences make good neighbors? Listen and find out.
Jul 01, 2024•7 min•Season 23Ep. 5
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 3 and 4, tell the bloody story of Herod's revolt, which ended with the massacre of many rabbis. Dr. Tevi Troy, our very own Presidentischer Rav, joins us to talk about the tradition of massacres in the modern political imagination, and how the term continues to repel and excite us alike. Why is it never a good idea to plan a wholesale assault on enemies real or imagined? Listen and find out.
Jun 28, 2024•7 min•Season 23Ep. 3
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 2, introduces us to a brand new tractate, Bava Batra. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to preview the wisdom and thrills we've in store, from the Sinbad-like tales of a seafaring rabbi to the profound lessons on living as a minority in non-Jewish communities. What are the tractate's surprisingly modern insights? Listen and find out.
Jun 27, 2024•9 min•Season 23Ep. 2
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 119, brings our tractate to a close. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to review Bava Metzia's greatest hits, and remind us why its insights are so urgently needed today. What can we learn from the Talmud's most famous story? Listen and find out.
Jun 26, 2024•10 min•Season 22Ep. 119
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 118, raises the question of whether or not it is permissible to pay someone in a currency other than cash. Hudson Leibovitz, age 10, is grappling with this question himself now that he has an allowance, and he joins us to discus the merits of a Starbucks gift card and the freedom of having a few dollars in his pocket. Is it better to receive biggish gifts or buy them yourself with your own money? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newslet...
Jun 25, 2024•7 min•Season 22Ep. 118
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 116 and 117, describe a situation in which a house falls apart, and its two owners cannot agree how to rebuild. Congressman Ritchie Torres (D.-NY) joins us to discuss America's future, and why it may be far rosier than many of us believe. How can we rediscover common ground? Listen and find out.
Jun 24, 2024•26 min•Season 22Ep. 116
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 114 and 115, tell us a fantastic, and heartbreaking, story about how to get and stay truly rich. What did the broke rabbi say to the prophet Elijah in the cemetery? And what life-changing financial advice did he receive on his magical trip to heaven? 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. We t...
Jun 21, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 114
Today’s page, Bava Metzia 113, delivers what, at first glance, appears to be the most annoying bureaucratic stipulation. But, as the rabbis explain, there’s a subtle beauty to bureaucracy, one that forces us to stay mindful of other people’s needs. Why should we cheer for red tape? 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. We thi...
Jun 20, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 113
Today’s page, Bava Metzia 112, discusses ownership of the work of artisans. Tablet editor-in-chief, Alana Newhouse, joins us to discuss two different kinds of artisans and their work. Who owns a piece of art, the person in possession of the art or the creator? 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. We think that you may also e...
Jun 19, 2024•9 min•Season 22Ep. 112
Today’s page, , discusses our duty to pay our employees in a timely fashion, but it’s really underlines how justice and, yes love, drive the morals behind the commandments. Rabbi Shai Held joins to discuss his new book Judaism is about Love which mirrors the obligation in the page today. What is the Jewish take on justice, love, and grace? Listen and find out.
Jun 18, 2024•23 min•Season 22Ep. 111
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 109 and 110, discuss how to fire someone correctly. Producer and former fired employee Josh Kross joins us to talk about the good and bad sides of employment termination. When can you fire someone without warning, and when do you need to go through a deeper process? Listen and find out.
Jun 17, 2024•11 min•Season 22Ep. 109
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 106. 107, and 108, contain a challenge about the specificity of prayer Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss whether prayer is a monologue or a dialog with Hashem. Why does it matter if your prayer isn’t specific enough? 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. We think that you may also enj...
Jun 14, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 106
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 104 and 105, contains a strange and hilarious discussion on what to do if you're wearing Tefillin but must take out the garbage. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to find surprising meaning in this seemingly pedestrian debate, and explain why the rabbis were sending us a timely reminder about hope, resilience, and aspiration. Why wasn't the Torah given in the Land of Israel, and why should it matter to us today? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 ...
Jun 11, 2024•10 min•Season 22Ep. 104
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 102 and 103, inform us that, wherever we go, we must endeavor to respect the local customs and traditions. And yet, as recent surveys show, local customs and traditions are everywhere imperiled. Why should we still care about the old ways? And what's the potential danger of letting in the new? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special guests r...
Jun 10, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 102
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 100 and 101, unfurl a tall tale that begins with a river washing away some olive trees and ends with a reminder of what may very well be the most important mitzvah of them all. Why is it so important to settle the Land of Israel? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special guests reading and moderating a discussion of modernist literature in the...
Jun 07, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 100
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 99, wonders whether a person who has secretly moved in to his pal's empty home should pay the owner rent. Must every transaction have winners and losers? Or should we cultivate what a famous self-help author called the abundance mentality and strive for win-win situations in life? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special guests reading and mod...
Jun 06, 2024•7 min•Season 22Ep. 99
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 98, asks a deceptively simple question: When, precisely, are we responsible for something? The question isn't just a moral conundrum; it's at the heart of so much of our contemporary political conversation. Should we, then, help the less fortunate, or assume they must've done something to deserve it? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special gu...
Jun 05, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 98
Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 97, delivers a rabbinic master class in making clever business deals. Why should you always ask someone for a glass of water before signing on the dotted line? And are you entitled to all of your teacher's money, or is it the other way around? Listen and find out. Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special guests reading and moderating a discussion of modernist lite...
Jun 04, 2024•9 min•Season 22Ep. 97
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 95 and 96, stress the important of building strong, cohesive communities. Jason Guberman, Executive Director of the American Sephardi Federation, joins us to speak about a true coming-together of community a star-studded Sephardi film festival. Are these films here to change the way we look at how Jews are represented on screen? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter a...
Jun 03, 2024•10 min•Season 22Ep. 95
Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 93 and 94, deliver a stunner: Never, the rabbis insist, underestimate the power of an ordinary person cursing at you. Can using four-letter words actually be good for your body and soul? And did the rabbis figure it all out long before cable TV had? 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. We th...
May 31, 2024•8 min•Season 22Ep. 93
