Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 84, lists the surprisingly physical things we must do in order to consolidate an act of acquisition. Why did the rabbis require lifting and pulling before a commercial transaction was concluded? And what could their insights teach us about the possibility that shopping, derided as a soulless activity, is actually much more spiritually beneficial than we had previous...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 82 and 83, are all about the difference between praying and learning Torah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this important spiritual distinction. Why should we always endeavor to emulate King David and "be the prayer"? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitte...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 80 and 81, have honey on the mind. But wait a minute: Why is honey even kosher? Bees, after all, aren't, and honey is very likely to have bits of bees in it. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to clear things up, and give us a timely teaching about honey's transformative power. So why do we dip our challah in honey on Rosh Hashanah? Listen and find out. Like the show?...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 79, warns us that whoever separates themselves from learning Torah can expect to be burned by fire. Why this harsh measure? What does it teach us about distancing ourselves from junk food, reality TV, and other things that aren't good for our hearts, minds, and soul? And how does C.S. Lewis's celebrated demon, Screwtape, fit into this stunning lesson in morality? Li...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 78, teaches us all about ona'a, or the prohibited practice of charging someone unfairly in a business deal. Sadly, this prohibition is more relevant than ever, as big tech companies now use algorithms to compensate workers differently for the exact same tasks. How can the rabbis of the Talmud help us think our way into a more fair labor policy? Listen and find out....

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 77, discusses how words help us make meaning. Executive producer Courtney Hazlett is joined by director Nathan Silver and comedian Robert Smigel to discuss their new film Between the Temples. How can words, expressed and not, affect our lives? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us o...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 75 and 76, deliver a delicious disquisition on that ideal heavenly treat... whale meat. Why was the whale the food of the afterlife? 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 a...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 73 and 74, give us a rare glimpse into the rabbis' view of cosmology. Dr. Jeremy Brown joins us to discuss why our wise ancestors believed in a place where the heavens touched the earth, and how this belief informed their view of the stars, the universe, and everything in it. How is the Talmudic cosmos like one of those airport luggage conveyor belts? Listen and fi...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 72, gives us the story of the grafted carob as metaphor. What's so special about this tree that it was considered both a tree and akin to land? And what lesson does its seemingly contradictory status have to teach us as we go on a spiritual detox in preparation for the High Holidays? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a n...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 71, offers us one peculiar Hebrew phrase that unlocks a whole world of spiritual instruction we could use just about now. What did the rabbis mean when they insisted we see the world with a beautiful eye? 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 t...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 70, kicks things off talking about investments. The discussion, however, soon evolves into a debate of what, precisely, we tell our kids about business. Do we share with them our financial affairs? Or is it better to leave them in the dark? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on T...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 68 and 69, contain a little nugget of great importance. It's a discussion of cultivated carob trees, and why, if you want them to be fruitful and tall, you should graft a few cultivated branches onto the wild trees that are strong but not very fertile. How is this insight a metaphor for all of human civilization? And what can it teach us about social media influenc...

Today’s pages, Bava Batra 66 and 67, continue discussing the objects that are part of a home, and where an olive press fits in. Why was olive oil such a staple of the Talmudic diet? Why bother buying extra-virgin olive oil at all? 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 con...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 65, is all about the things we keep in our kitchen, and what these appliances mean to us. How do our kitchen gadgets help make a house into a home? 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...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 64, finds the rabbis discussing the soul of commerce. Should commercial transactions bring people closer together? Or drive them further apart? Producer Courtney Hazlett addresses these questions by interviewing Ben Zion David, an eighth generation Yemeni jeweler in Jaffa. How can buying and selling stuff build community? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 63, is a master class on how to write, and read, legal contracts. Sure, arguing over the meaning of every word can be exhausting, but it's also immensely edifying. What can we non-rabbis and non-lawyers learn from the Talmudic attention to every possible nuance? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud Pages, Bava Batra 61 and 62, discuss the meaning of silence during important conversations. The Presidentisher Tevi Troy, joins us to explore how this applies to modern politics. Does silence equal agreement? Listen and find out. Also, The Presidentisher Rav has just released a new book, "The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry."...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 59 and 60, deliver a disquisition that couldn't be more timely. How, the rabbis are asking, should we go on living our lives in times of great sorrow, mourning, and grief? Can we continue to celebrate joyous occasions even amid so much loss and suffering? And, if so, how? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 58, gives us a collection of stories about the adventurous Rabbi Bena'a, who at some points even meets Abraham and Adam. Why did the Talmudic sages believe that all of us simply got worse and worse with each passing generation? And how is this concept of evolution in reverse actually an invitation to a more graceful and emotionally balanced life? Listen and find out

Todays page, Bava Batra 57, discusses the proper attire for torah scholars. Tablet’s General Manger and resident Fiber Arts specialist Tanya Singer joins us to discuss dressing properly for the task at hand. Do clothes make a difference when getting things done? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 56, raises a question that is still a political hot potato to this day: What, precisely, are the boundaries of the Land of Israel? But the rabbis, as they always do, dig even deeper, teaching us a lesson about the dangers of sameness and the dignity of difference. Why was Liz Lemon of 30 Rock fame wrong when she opined that all everyone truly wants is to sit down in...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 54 and 55, mention the Hatzav, a peculiar plant used to demarcate fields in the olden days. But the Hatzav has since become an absolute darling of Israeli poets, writers, and musicians, who have come to see it as the perfect metaphor for life in a demanding and beautiful and perilous land. Why? And what did the Israeli version of the Rolling Stones do when a big ba...

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 52 and 53, make an argument that one good way to establish ownership of a piece of real estate is simply to lock the door. Producer Josh Kross joins us with his teenage daughter, Violet, to talk about privacy, door-locking, and the other thrills of parenting an adolescent. Just what is the appeal of door-locking anyway? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 51, finds the rabbis in the mood to praise the greats. Rabbi Meni Even-Israel, who heads the Steinsaltz Center in Jerusalem, joins us to talk about his father, the late, great Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, the scholar who has done more than anyone in modern times to make the Talmud accessible. What was it like arguing about presents with a singular Talmudic mind? Listen an...

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 50, mentions Usha, the ancient town in the Galilee where the rabbis set up court after the destruction of the Temple. What was so special about Usha? And what timely lessons does it have for those of us struggling with difficult realities today? Listen and find out.