Take One Daf Yomi

In today’s Talmud pages, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Shevuot 31, 32, 33, and 34, the sages zoom out for a moment, discussing the bigger picture implications of distancing oneself from falsehoods. What are those implications? Listen and find out.

In today’s Talmud page, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Shevuot 28, the sages discuss one of the most well-known cases of oath taking - the Nazir. What can these laws tell us about people who convert to Judaism ? Listen and find out.

In today’s Talmud page, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Shevuot 27, the sages continue their discussion on oaths. Is promising to fulfill a mitzvah we are already obliged to fulfill is considered taking an oath in vain? Listen and find out.

In today’s Talmud page, ⁠⁠⁠Shevuot 26, the sages discuss oaths of abstinence when you are really starving. Do you need to atone, or does Pikuach Nefesh cover you? Listen and find out. 

In today’s Talmud pages, ⁠⁠Shevuot 24 and 25⁠, our sages continue their discussion of oaths. What happens when somebody makes a promise too impossible to keep? We look back on an enlightening and vulnerable conversation we had with the singer Matisyahu, which beautifully illustrates this very idea. Listen to find out more. 

Today’s Talmud page, ⁠Shevuot 22 and 23, our sages continue their discussion of oaths, this time pertaining to the laws of kashrut. What do the laws of oaths have to do with the purpose of Jewish dietary laws? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 21, our sages continue their discussion of oaths. The gemara discusses the difference between a false oath, and an oath taken in vain. What's the difference, and what can that teach us about maintaining hope during difficult times? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 20, mentions the assassination of Gedalia ben Achikam. Who was he, why was he killed, and why does his death come as an urgent reminder to us quarreling Jews to insist on talking to those with whom we bitterly disagree? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 19, concerns itself with a real brain-twister, a puzzle about what happens when there are two paths, one pure and one impure, and a man who can't quite remember which road he'd taken. What lesson do the rabbis teach us about how memory and responsibility intersect? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Shevuot 17 and 18, find the rabbis discussing the prohibition on having intercourse with a menstruating woman. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why religion sees fit to regulate matters that should remain personal and intimate, and how it helps us elevate ourselves above the animals. In what ways is the ancient Temple in Jerusalem similar to our modern bedrooms? List...

Today’s Talmud pages, Shevuot 15 and 16, raise a difficult challenge, claiming the one must not recite any incantations in an effort to heal the sick. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why this prohibition does not mean we should stop reciting Psalms for the sick. In what way is each of us his or her own walking, living prayer? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 14, warns us against climbing atop the Temple Mount, lest we accidentally defile its holiness. But if that's the case, why are we permitted to climb Mount Sinai? And how does Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel help explain this idea of making the world holier with our actions? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 13, discusses one of the Torah's strangest rituals, one involving two goats on Yom Kippur. How does sacrificing one and launching one into the wilderness mirror the repentance each of us must make? And what does Satan have to do with it? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 12, discusses the two goats offered up on Yom Kippur, one sacrificed and the other pushed off a cliff into the wilderness. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss why this ceremony is an astonishing example of breaking the Fourth Wall and talking to God directly. Why do we sacrifice our own decision-making power? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Shevuot 10 and 11, explain what was done with the leftovers animals in the Temple, those fit to be sacrificed but never used. What insights can we learn from the rabbis to help us do better than the $160 billion worth of food we throw away every year while 50 million Americans go hungry? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Shevuot 8 and 9, raise one of the most difficult questions to ever face the rabbis: Why is a woman giving birth considered a sinner? Is she required to bring a sin offering to repent for that first sin, so long ago, by the first mother, Eve, eating from the Tree of Knowledge? Or is there some deeper lesson here about hope, connection, and gratitude? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 7, introduces us to a very special category of sins, those we enter into fully aware of what we're doing yet somehow lose all track of our wrongdoing the more we engage in it. How is that possible? And what brilliant and compassionate atonement payment plan does the Torah prescribe? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 6, finds the rabbis talking about what happens when you compare two great kings. Dr. Tevi Troy, our very own Presidentischer Rav, returns to explain how the Talmud's dual approaches to power informed Ronald Regan in his struggle with the Soviet Union. How to handle a global adversary and win? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 5, finds the rabbis talking about Tzara'at, the affliction that was punishment for slanderous gossip. What can this ancient disease teach us moderns about guarding our tongue? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Shevuot 2, kicks off a brand new tractate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to tell us a little bit about what we have in store for the next few weeks. Why must we be careful when taking the name of God? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 24, brings our tractate to a close. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to sum up what we've learned, and explain Judaism's wonderful attitude to punishment and reward. Why did Rabbi Akiva laugh when he saw Jerusalem destroyed? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 23, issues a stern warning against lashon harah, or malicious speech. But hey, we all gossip, so what's so bad about that, anyway? And what great arguments did the rabbis give to convince us to think before we open our mouths? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 22, finally sheds light on one of the tractate's central questions, namely just how many lashes must a person sentenced to lashing receive. Why did the rabbis subtract one lash from the number indicated in the Torah? And what could their behavior teach us as we think of crime and punishment? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 21, dives into the controversial issue of tattoos. Are tatted Jews really prohibited from being buried in Jewish cemeteries? And what surprisingly moving lesson do the rabbis teach us about finding compassion even as we falter and sin? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Makkot 19 and 20, contain a long list of instructions pertaining to Jewish hair. Why can't men shave their beards with a razor, but scissors are fine? And how to address the anxieties around frizzy, curly hair? Listen and find out.