Take One Daf Yomi

On today’s pages, Chullin 71 and 72⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of ritual purity becomes an opportunity to reflect on memory, legacy, and the responsibility to preserve our greatest treasures. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross celebrates the launch of Talmud Daily⁠, a new home for generations of Talmudi...

On today’s page, Chullin 70⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of the firstborn opens the door to one of life’s greatest transformations. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on family, responsibility, and the profound moment when a child turns someone into a parent. Why does Judaism give the firstborn s...

On today’s page, Chullin 69⁠, we step back from the details of kosher law to confront a timeless ethical question. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers why Judaism permits eating meat at all—and why that permission demands mindfulness, gratitude, and restraint. If Judaism places so many moral l...

On today’s page, Chullin 68⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of pregnant animals takes an unexpected turn into real life. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross is joined by an unplanned guest: Josh’s neighbor, who spent years raising veal calves. What can a former veal farmer teach us about one of the Talmud’s m...

On today’s pages, Chullin 66–67⁠, the rabbis turn from land animals to fish. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why fish require no ritual slaughter, what that says about consciousness, and why alien life might complicate our understanding of humanity’s place in creation. Listen and find out.

On today’s pages, Chullin 64–65⁠, the rabbis tackle one of the Torah’s most surprising menu items: kosher insects. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores how Jewish food traditions are formed, why planning what we eat matters, and what kashrut teaches us beyond simply what’s permitted. What makes...

On today’s page, Chullin 63⁠, a debate over birds becomes a conversation about America itself. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores how early American Jews navigated unfamiliar species, new traditions, and the challenge of remaining authentically Jewish in an entirely new world. How do you prese...

On today’s page, Chullin 62⁠, a long list of birds launches something much bigger. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores the Talmud’s rich and surprisingly modern conversations about meat—from brisket and barbecue to fake pork and the ethics of eating. What can a backyard barbecue teach us about...

On today’s page, Chullin 61, the rabbis wrestle with a surprisingly practical question: how can we tell whether an unfamiliar bird is kosher? Their discussion has echoed through the centuries, resurfacing whenever Jews encounter a new species—including one now found on millions of Thanksgiving tables. How did the turkey become kosher? Listen and find out.

On today’s pages, Chullin 59 and 60⁠, the Talmud pauses its legal discussions to tell stories—unforgettable stories featuring lions, emperors, and the incomparable Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah. Through wit, parable, and imagination, the rabbis teach truths that argument alone could never convey. Why is storytelling one of Judaism’s greatest teaching tools? Listen and find out.

On today’s pages, Chullin 57 and 58⁠, the rabbis tell a shocking story in which terror quite literally saves a man’s life. Far from being merely an unpleasant emotion, fear emerges as a force that can reshape both body and mind. Modern psychological research suggests they may have been onto something. Why do we voluntarily scare ourselves, and what can fear teach us? Listen and find out.

On today’s page, Chullin 56⁠, a debate about birds and weasel bites turns into a lesson in intellectual honesty. After advancing one position, Rabbi Zeiri later reexamines the evidence, changes his mind, and informs his colleagues of his mistake. In an age when everyone is expected to double down, what does it mean to simply admit you were wrong? Listen and find out.

On today’s page, Chullin 55⁠, the rabbis demonstrate a remarkable commitment to evidence, devising a method to determine whether an animal’s condition arose naturally or through external harm. Their willingness to question assumptions and seek verifiable answers serves as a powerful reminder that knowledge grows through inquiry, not conformity. Featuring remarks from Sinai Award recipient Larry Sa...

On today’s page, Chullin 54⁠, a technical discussion about missing organs yields an unexpectedly hopeful lesson. Again and again, the rabbis rule that an animal can survive conditions that seem impossible at first glance. The result is a reminder that life is often sturdier than we imagine and that setbacks we assume are fatal may not be. What if we are more resilient than we think? Listen and fin...

On today’s pages, Chullin 52 and 53⁠, a debate about foxes, dogs, cats, and other predators becomes a meditation on the importance of particulars. Rather than treating all threats as identical, the rabbis carefully distinguish between different actors, different behaviors, and different consequences. The result is a model of thinking that resists slogans and demands close attention to facts. What...

On today’s pages, Chullin 50 and 51⁠, a seemingly technical discussion about an animal falling from a roof takes an unexpected turn when the rabbis tell the story of a goat that saw food below and jumped for it. Rather than assuming disaster, the sages conclude that the goat understood the distance and made the leap deliberately. The result is a surprisingly modern lesson about analysis paralysis,...

On today’s page, Chullin 50⁠, a discussion about injuries and defects in an animal’s digestive tract reminds us how carefully the rabbis examined every detail of the world before them. As we conclude our week-long series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the day of his yahrzeit, Rabbi Motti Seligson joins us to reflect on the Rebbe’s enduring intellectual and spiritual legacy. Together, we conside...

On today’s page, Chullin 48⁠, a rabbi chooses not to impose his own stringency and instead directs questioners to a colleague whose ruling will bring them closer to Jewish life. Continuing our series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone joins us to discuss one of the Rebbe’s most enduring ideas: that there are no faraway Jews. What if the goal is not to bring Jews closer, but...

On today’s page, Chullin 47⁠, a remarkable story about a child’s survival becomes the starting point for a conversation about education, growth, and human potential. Continuing our series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Mendel Banon joins us to explore the Rebbe’s vision of education—not merely as the transfer of information, but as the cultivation of identity, values, and purpose. What is e...

On today’s pages, Chullin 45 and 46⁠, the laws of kashrut provide a window into the worldview of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Together with Dovid Margolin, Liel examines the Rebbe’s famous kosher campaign and his insistence that holiness is found not only in study and prayer, but also in kitchens, grocery stores, and dinner tables. The conversation offers a powerful reminder that Judaism asks us to sanc...

On today’s pages, Chullin 43 and 44⁠, a technical debate about ritual slaughter opens onto a broader question about character and judgment. The rabbis insist that constantly switching between competing philosophies based on convenience is a recipe for confusion, while rigidly embracing every stringency is no better. The challenge is to choose a path thoughtfully and then follow it consistently. Wh...

On today’s page, Chullin 42, the rabbis begin a lengthy exploration of one of Judaism’s most misunderstood categories: the treifah. Most of us use the word to describe any non-kosher food, from bacon to cheeseburgers, but the Talmud has something much more specific in mind. Through a detailed discussion of wounds, injuries, and mortal conditions, the daf reveals that a treifah is not merely forbid...

On today’s page, Chullin 41, the rabbis wrestle with a difficult question: how do we identify those who have fundamentally broken with the values of the Jewish community? What begins as a technical discussion of ritual slaughter and idolatry quickly opens onto a much larger story about disagreement, belonging, and the boundaries of Jewish life. The daf reminds us that Jews have been arguing over f...

Blurb: On today’s page, Chullin 40, the Talmud asks what happens when two people jointly perform an act, but only one brings corrupt intentions to it. The answer is severe: the whole slaughter becomes invalid, even though one participant may have meant no harm. The daf turns this legal problem into a broader warning about the company we keep and the partnerships we form. Can one bad partner ruin a...

On today’s pages, Chullin 38 and 39, the rabbis confront one of the most difficult questions in all of law and ethics: how can we ever know what another person truly intended? Through cases involving idol worship, divorce, and ambiguous actions, the daf explores the complicated relationship between thought and behavior. Sometimes actions reveal intentions; sometimes they obscure them. How much can...