Take One Daf Yomi

On today’s page, Chullin 112, a meaty knife and a humble radish lead the rabbis to a deceptively simple principle: Taste is taste, and taste is boss. Their intricate rules make keeping kosher more complicated—but they might also make eating infinitely more delightful. What can a pastrami-flavored radish teach us about tasting the world? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

On today’s page, Chullin 111, the rabbis debate how to prepare one of Jewish cuisine’s most divisive delicacies: liver. If you think its staying power comes down to tradition or nutrition, you’re only halfway there. Take our hand as we explore a food that is humble and luxurious, beloved and reviled—and somehow still here after thousands of years. We’ll make it, we swear. What could be more Talmud...

On today’s page, Chullin 110, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws surrounding udders before we turn to a different question: What can Moses teach us about despair? In this special episode from The Republic of Moses, former Israeli Chief Rabbi David Lau explores why so many people have lost hope—and what Deuteronomy can teach us about finding it again. Listen and find out. Learn more a...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 108 and 109, Yalta observes that for everything the Torah forbids, God provides something permitted in its place. It’s a striking teaching from one of the Talmud’s most fascinating women, whose appearances range from smashing 400 barrels of wine in a rage to offering profound insights into Jewish law. What happens when law and poetry meet? Listen and find out. Learn more...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 106 and 107, a discussion of handwashing leads to stories of culinary confusion, marital disaster, and a very dirty mustache. Centuries later, Ignaz Semmelweis would discover just how deadly unwashed hands could be—and pay a terrible price for trying to convince the world. Why are the invisible dangers sometimes the hardest to believe? Listen and find out. Learn more abo...

On today’s page, Chullin 105, two rabbis encounter a witch who uses an incantation to stop their boat in its tracks. Their eerie encounter opens a centuries-old Jewish debate over whether magic is real—and offers a surprisingly mundane prescription for confronting the supernatural. How do you protect yourself from a witch? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

On today’s page, Chullin 104, the rabbis ask just how far the prohibition against mixing meat and milk really extends. Their debate over chicken and cheese becomes a master class in Talmudic reasoning—and a reminder that even our most familiar traditions invite us to ask why. So what, exactly, is wrong with chicken parm? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 103, the rabbis ask a slightly stomach-turning question about whether eating something once means you can ever truly eat it again—and discuss whether eating happens in the stomach, where food is digested, or the throat, where it is enjoyed. Along the way, a forgotten teaching offers a lesson in how even the wisest among us should be reminded of what they once knew. What c...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 101 and 102, the rabbis conclude Tractate Chullin, and with it our Summer Barbecue series comes to an end. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special finale with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on how a tractate about kashrut ultimately became a meditation on gratitude, responsibility, and seeing the world more completely. W...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 99 and 100, the rabbis explore the principle that flavor—not appearance or texture—is what truly defines food. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism takes the invisible transmission of flavor so seriously, and what that teaches us about the unseen ways p...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 98, the rabbis continue exploring the laws surrounding meat. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism elevates meat only when it serves something greater—Shabbat, holidays, Torah, and community. Is the food at the center of the celebration, or is it simply h...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 97, the rabbis explore what happens when permitted and forbidden foods become accidentally mixed together. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on how Jewish law was designed not for a world of certainty, but for one filled with ambiguity and doubt. How do we make fait...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 96, the rabbis explain why an olive-sized portion has become one of the foundational measurements in Jewish law. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on moderation, intention, and why Judaism so often seeks the middle path rather than the extremes. What does it really...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 94 and 95, the rabbis discuss signs and omens, prompting a conversation about the place of superstition in Jewish life. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism rejects magical thinking while embracing rituals that inspire hope, prayer, and intentional living....

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 92 and 93, the rabbis forbid sellers from misrepresenting what they’re offering, insisting that honesty belongs in every transaction. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism demands integrity not only in the marketplace, but in every human relationship. Is te...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 91, the rabbis revisit Jacob’s struggle with the angel and the prohibition against eating the gid hanasheh. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on what that encounter teaches us about Jewish identity, belonging, and the responsibility never to give up on one another....

Blurb: On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 90, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws of kashrut, reminding us that Jewish life is shaped not only by what we eat, but by the homes and families we build. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism’s ancient holiday of love still has some...

Blurb: On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 89, the rabbis continue their exploration of the laws of kashrut, prompting a modern question they never could have imagined: plant-based meat. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores whether kosher versions of traditionally forbidden foods honor the spirit of Jewi...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 87 and 88, the rabbis debate who gets to perform a mitzvah when more than one person is ready to act. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers what it means to treat every mitzvah as an opportunity rather than a possession. How should we respond when the chance to do goo...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 85 and 86, an extraordinary story about Rabbi’s family becomes a meditation on inheritance, healing, and hope. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers how every generation carries the burdens of those who came before—and the opportunity to redeem them. What if redemptio...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 84, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws surrounding food and sustenance. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on Tisha B’Av, exploring the destruction of the Temples, the enduring lesson of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, and why the ultimate redemption of the Jewi...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 83, the rabbis highlight the enduring connection between meat and Jewish festivals. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why meat has long been associated with Shabbat, holidays, and celebration—and how every festive meal echoes the sacrificial service once performed i...

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 82, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws surrounding kosher slaughter, inviting us to reflect on what this remarkable tractate has taught us about eating meat. Recorded around a picnic table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross shares three different perspectives on food, tradition, and why eating...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 80 and 81, the rabbis wrestle with the curious case of hybrid animals. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores what crossbred creatures—from mules to the mythical turducken—can teach us about dignity, difference, and the way Judaism understands the natural world. Do hybr...

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 78 and 79, the Talmud invites us to think more deeply about the animals with whom we share the world. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism teaches both profound compassion for animals and a profound appreciation for what makes human beings different. How d...