Take One Daf Yomi

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 45, the Rabbis discuss what makes for a degrading betrothal? Is it the location, the betrothal gift, or both? Stephanie Butnick, the co-host of the Unorthodox podcast returns to discuss what makes an appropriate proposal, and gives her thoughts on how over the top a proposal can and or should be? Should a marriage proposal ever be a total surprise to either member...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 42, 43 and 44, the Rabbis discuss whether someone you appoint as an agent can serve as a witness. To meditate on the question of being a witness, and in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Michael Millenson joins us to share his experience of being a student in Israel during the Yom Kippur War and bearing witness to it firsthand. How does...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 40 and 41, we begin by telling the story of when Rabbi Tzadok was enticed by a noblewoman to engage in sexual intercourse with her. But rather than focus specifically on this page, today, and all this week we have been celebrating a few milestones. These are: the new Jewish year, 5784; our reaching the middle page of the Talmud; and the upcoming publication of Li...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 39, the Rabbis begin with a conversation about the purchasing and gathering of produce. But rather than focus specifically on this page, today, and all this week we will be celebrating a few milestones. We will be celebrating the new Jewish year, 5784, our reaching the middle page of the Talmud, that’s right we have hit the mid-point of this journey, and finally t...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 38, the Rabbis begin with a conversation about when it was allowed to eat the first produce of the land of Israel. But rather than focus specifically on this page, today, and all this week we will be celebrating a few milestones. We will be celebrating the new Jewish year, 5784, our reaching the middle page of the Talmud, that’s right we have hit the mid-point of...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 37, we begin with a discussion of mitzvot that require one to be in the land of Israel. But rather than focus specifically on this page, today, and all this week we will be celebrating a few milestones. We will be celebrating the new Jewish year, 5784, our reaching the middle page of the Talmud, that’s right we have hit the mid-point of this journey, and finally t...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 35 and 36, we begin with the Rabbis discussing whether women need to be obligated for time-bound commandments. But rather than focus specifically on this page, today, and all this week we will be celebrating a few milestones. We will be celebrating the new Jewish year, 5784, our reaching the middle page of the Talmud, that’s right we have hit the mid-point of thi...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 33 and 34, the question is asked whether respect should be given based on age, or based on knowledge. While knowledge and expertise is important in many fields, honoring the wisdom that comes with age is equally, if not more important. What do we learn through the adventures of life? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 32, the story is told of a great Rabbi who was serving drinks to the guests at the wedding of his son, and the other rabbis asked whether it was appropriate for such a great man to be serving them. Finally Rabbi Tzadok speaks up and reminds the others that God serves all people, so it is not inappropriate for a great man to do the same. This encourages us to consi...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 31, it states that the torah instructs one to honor your father before your mother, and fear your mother before your father because that is not the natural way a child would feel. Tablet Studios General Manager, and an honored and feared mother, Tanya Singer returns to discuss the different roles that parents have in the life of a child, and the ways that gender c...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 30, it states that God created an evil inclination, but that the study of Torah will keep you from harm. We wonder why God created an evil inclination in the first place. Would it not have been easier if we were not enticed by such an evil desire? What can we learn from an old story to better understand why the evil inclination is actually an important impulse to...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 28 and 29, we focus on the word “command”, which is understood not to refer to a single moment, but for that moment onward for all generations. Zev Moses, the Executive Director of the Museum of Jewish Montreal joins us to share how the museum he founded changed from a view of the history of Jews of Montreal to include what Jewish community looks like now and int...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 26 and 27, the Rabbis discuss how an animal is acquired. While it is stated that an animal can be acquired by either lifting it or pulling it. The Rabbis respond by asking how one acquires an elephant, which can neither be lifted, nor pulled. This page can be viewed as a meditation on how we treat animals, or on the intricacies of contract law, but perhaps we sho...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 25, we hear the story of an attempt at education gone wrong. Professor Alyssa Quint joins us to share her experiences of working with students who, like the students discussed in the Talmud, didn’t respect their teacher. What are the ways in which students and teachers can., and should, respectfully share ideas, and disagreements? Listen and find out. Like the sho...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 24, it is all about noise. The Rabbis discuss the harm that one can cause another by shouting into their ear. This harm may not be an injury that they would be liable for in a court of law, but it is one that they are liable for in the court of the heavens. We all live in a world surrounded by the noise of our outside world, noise that is higher than is safe for o...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 23, it indicates that a slave cannot free themselves with their own money, but can only be freed by the money provided by others. Rabbi Diana Fersko joins us to discuss the ways that even when not thinking about slavery, there is something important of relying on our community and how we should all strive to be “the others” that can help liberate those who need it...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 21 and 22, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai expresses the special place that the ear plays above all other parts of the body. A dedicated lover of music and all things audio, Tablet producer Josh Kross joins us to discuss the importance that sound plays in how we experience the world. In addition to discussing the centrality of the sense of hearing, we share a segment fr...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 19 and 20, the Rabbis discuss whether a maid-servant can be betrothed to her employer based on the amount of time left in the day for her to earn a minimal amount of money. This opens up the question of what our time is worth, and how we should be spending it. How should we balance the time we spend on work, on study, and on leisure? Listen and find out. Like the...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 18, there is a discussion of what to do if a slave steals property that is worth more than their value, and what to do when they are worth more than the value of what they steal. Rabbi Adam Baldachin joins us to explore how to deal with a question that seems so foreign to our modern ears, and explains that this section is truly an opportunity to consider each pers...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 17, the rabbis instruct us that we all deserve liberty and dignity, no matter how useful we are or how industrious. Professor Brian Horowitz, the editor of a new translation of a work by one of Russia's greatest forgotten Jewish writers, Lev Levanda, joins us to talk about the artist's belief in the emancipation of Russia's Jews, and about how his optimism soured...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 16, we read about the severance that must be paid to a slave at the end of their term of service. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to teach us about the mitzvah of not sending a worker away empty handed, and explores what this can teach us about appreciating those who play pivotal roles in our lives, and how sending them off with a gift expresses how important they a...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 14 and 15, we read that it is required that slaves are treated honorably, and their living conditions must be equal to those of the master. The Rabbis are encouraging us to make it possible for all people, whether they be landowners or day laborers, to succeed and reach their potential. Over the course of the past sixty years the gulf between the salary of owners...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 12 and 13, we hear the story of a man who betroths with a worthless mat of mertyl. The Talmud questions whether the woman is truly betrothed when faced with a betrothal of such low value. This leads us to reflect on where the value of an item comes from, and how some items can be of great value to one person, and of none to another. Consider all the collections t...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 11, the Rabbis discuss the minimum amount of money that a woman should accept as the fee for betrothal. While this is a wonderful statement of respect for self-worth, Jewish texts are short on conversations about self-worth, and rather focus more on being humble, and doing for others, and not for ourselves. Rabbi Simcha Bunam tells a tale with the instructions tha...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 10, the Rabbis ask when and how betrothal occurs. In trying to make sense of these questions, Rav Haym Soloveitchik explains that there is a difference between kiddushin (betrothal) and nissuin (marriage) in that one is legalistic, and the other impacts the day-to-day life of the couple. How do our physical acts impact our spiritual lives? Listen and find out. Lik...