Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 64, tells us a very bawdy and hilarious story of a man who tried to demean an idol and ended up praised by the pagans for his efforts. Our very own Presidentischer Rav, Tevi Troy, joins us to unpack the story and the lessons it can teach us about American politics. Which politico messed things up for trying to fight dirty? And which great president was celebrated for refusing to do just that? Listen and find out.
Feb 19, 2025•6 min•Season 24Ep. 64
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 63, continues to address the subject of idolatry, and how it impacts our relationships with non-Jews. Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg joins us to discuss his observations about God, faith, and the Holocaust. How might our people's greatest tragedy impact our capacity to continue and believe? Listen and find out.
Feb 18, 2025•16 min•Season 24Ep. 63
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 61 and 62, deal with the sensitive subject of idolatry. What precisely is idolatry? And can we figure out if we're guilty of it merely by looking at our smart phones? Listen and find out.
Feb 17, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 61
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 59 and 60, ask a thorny question: Can non-Jews learn Torah? It's a question that has much to teach us about interfaith relations, respect, and other weighty issues. What surprisingly modern lesson might we learn from Rabbi Meir's ancient wisdom? Listen and find out.
Feb 14, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 59
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 58, argues that even merely contemplating violence is a sin. What did the rabbis understand about human nature that psychologists took millennia to confirm? And are people who threaten violence more likely to actually commit violent acts? Listen and find out.
Feb 13, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 58
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 57, dives into the intricacies of self-defense. What, exactly are we allowed to do when a pursuer wishes to harm us? And how has the rabbis' logic influenced and inspired the Israel Defense Forces? Listen and find out.
Feb 12, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 57
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 56, is all about blaspheming. But what precisely is blasphemy? And why should its very complicated Talmudic definition drive us to watch our tongue lest we use our words to destroy rather than create? And what does Taylor Swift have to do with any of it? Listen and find out
Feb 11, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 56
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 54 and 55, raise a complicated question: Is punishment logical? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to tackle this thorny subject. How did the rabbis, then, think about punishment? Listen and find out.
Feb 10, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 54
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 51, asks a question many of us have been pondering: Why spend all this time learning about laws and events that are simply no longer relevant to our lives today? And what's the reward of being diligent students of Torah? Listen and find out.
Feb 06, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 51
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 52 and 53, ponder what life was like in a world in which God's presence was truly and viscerally felt. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss this inspired, and inspiring, passage. Why did the sages of the Talmud choose to illustrate this principle by describing a horrific execution? Listen and find out.
Feb 06, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 52
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 50, delves into the four methods of execution prescribed by Jewish law—stoning, fire, sword, and strangulation—and the rabbinic debate over which is the most severe. But beyond the technicalities, the discussion is infused with a deep concern for human life. What can this teach us about justice, nuance, and the way we engage with difficult issues today? Listen and find out.
Feb 05, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 50
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 49, kicks things off with a wise bit of teaching: It's better to be cursed than to curse. Socrates himself would have agreed, but the rabbis had a very different understanding of why cursing corrodes society. Who was Rabbi Haim, and what terrible truth did he learn when he was allowed to visit Heaven and Hell? Listen and find out.
Feb 04, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 49
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 47 and 48, remind us that grief is a singular burden. A story from one of the Talmud's wisest rabbis gives us new insights into grief, and helps us navigate even the most unbearable of feelings. How, then, should we grieve? Listen and find out.
Feb 03, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 47
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 45 and 46, cover various different aspects of the execution process, and even shares a specific process for the blasphemer and the atheist. Producer Josh Kross joins us to discuss how he squares his fervent love of being a Jew with his atheism. Can someone find a basis for morality without Hashem? Listen, and find out.
Jan 31, 2025•14 min•Season 24Ep. 45
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 44, tells an eerie tale of a wise sage and an evil taxman who were each buried in the other's tomb. Dr. Tevi Troy, our very own Presidentischer Rav, returns to shed light on this insightful tale, and teach us a lesson about history's long memory. How did Harry Truman benefit from history's hindsight? Listen and find out.
Jan 30, 2025•5 min•Season 24Ep. 44
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 43, raises an interesting point about the procedure of public executions. Dr. Tevi Troy, our very own Presidentischer Rav, joins us to explain why we don't ask a condemned man to pay for his own execution, and what the ordinance has to do with contemporary American politics. What lesson could Bill Clinton learn from the Talmud's rabbis? Listen and find out.
Jan 29, 2025•5 min•Season 24Ep. 43
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 42, begins a lengthy discussion of the death penalty. Sister Helen Prejean, a notable opponent of capital punishment, joins us to discuss what it's like being with a person moments before his execution, and parse the differences between Jewish and Catholic approaches to the death penalty. Why did the rabbis rule that the place of execution must be far away from the court itself? Listen and find out.
Jan 28, 2025•18 min•Season 24Ep. 42
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 40 and 41, dive down into the life of the great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why we need to know so much about this sage's life, and what his example can teach us about living in an imperfect world. How can we find the language of divinity in the narrative of our lives? Listen and find out.
Jan 27, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 40
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 38 and 39, give us a shocking retelling of Adam's creation and fall. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why this account should change the way we think about human morality, and how it sets Judaism apart from other religions. Why did creation include sin and failure in its original design? Listen and find out.
Jan 24, 2025•10 min•Season 24Ep. 38
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 37, tells a moving story about the pious Rabbi Zeira, who prayed even for the hooligans in his neighborhood who tormented him. What can we learn from his example that is particularly pressing in our social media addled age of rage and despair? Listen and find out.
Jan 23, 2025•5 min•Season 24Ep. 37
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 36, argues that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the redactor of the Mishnah, was the greatest leader to embody both political acumen and Torah knowledge since Moses himself. What made him so great? And what timely lesson can we learn from the sad but poignant story of his death? Listen and find out.
Jan 22, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 32
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 35, discusses the Golden calf and the courts that enacted punishment afterwards. Why should even the perpetrators want a speedy trial? Listen and find out.
Jan 21, 2025•5 min•Season 24Ep. 35
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 33 and 34, have the Rabbis interrogating what to do when the results of a trial have been found to be flawed. How do we choose when a retrial is warranted? Listen and find out.
Jan 20, 2025•5 min•Season 24Ep. 33
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 31 and 32, see the Rabbis debating how to choose a trial location when the two litigants can not agree on a venue. What kind of insight can this give us into upholding the Constitution while conducting trials today? Listen and find out.
Jan 17, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 31
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 30, shows the rabbis discussing whether judges should discuss their personal opinions after a case is decided. Should we know what each individual judge things, or should their opinions remain anonymous? What is the line between transparency and oversharing? Listen and find out.
Jan 16, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 30
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 29, finds the rabbis advancing a defense of none other than the Snake. Was he truly guilty of any sin way back when in the Garden of Eden? Or was he merely giving Eve bad advice, and shouldn't be punished for her transgressions? And what does this question have to teach us about personal responsibility? Listen and find out.
Jan 15, 2025•7 min•Season 24Ep. 29
Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 28, kicks things off by discussing the responsibilities cousins have for one another. Actor and director Jesse Eisenberg joins us to discuss his new movie, A Real Pain, which deals with two cousins traveling to Poland to learn more about their late grandmother's life. What do we owe our relatives, and why? Listen and find out.
Jan 14, 2025•12 min•Season 24Ep. 28
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 26 and 27, ponder the nature of studying Torah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this gorgeous discussion. How is studying Torah, quite literally, magical, and how does it transform the entire world? Listen and find out.
Jan 13, 2025•9 min•Season 24Ep. 26
Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 24 and 25, are all about... the Talmud. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why this bit of self-reference is crucial to understanding the entire nature of the Talmud's logic, and what it can teach us moderns. So what does the Talmud think the Talmud is all about? Listen and find out.
Jan 10, 2025•8 min•Season 24Ep. 24
On today’s episode of Take One, we take a break from the daf to speak with Gila Fine, the author of The Mad Woman in the Rabbi’s Attic, a reexamination of women’s role in the Talmud. What can we learn about the world of women in the Talmud? Listen and find out.
Jan 09, 2025•15 min•Season 24Ep. 23
