Take One Daf Yomi

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 9, we hear stories of interactions between men and women, in which the man is doing a poor job at expressing his interest. Lisa Ann Sandell returns to the podcast to discuss her first interaction with Liel, and how his pickup line left her a bit confused. What was the successful line that has resulted in nearly nineteen years of marriage? Listen and find out. Like...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 7 and 8, there is a detailed conversation of the minutia of how wedding contracts are written with all of their provisions, conditions, and stipulations. Reading all of this contract talk at the start of Elul brought to mind a conversation from a recent episode of our sister podcast Unorthodox with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin in which we discussed the personal work tha...

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 5 and 6, there is a discussion about whether the benefit of money, intercourse, and documents provide pleasure. To delve into this strange triad of items that may provide pleasure, we are joined by Tablet Magazine Editor in Chief, Alana Newhouse, who explores the ways that documents, money and intercourse can provide pleasure, but how that benefit may just be a m...

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 4, there is a comment that a young woman remains a minor until the age of twenty, when she immediately becomes a woman. Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick joins us to explore the strangeness of the choice of that age, and discusses how becoming a Bat Mitzvah is now considered being a responsible member of the community, but how truly becoming an adult is a longe...

Today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 3, asks us what just may be the most important question ever posed: What is love? Is it just a series of grand romantic gestures, the kind we love reading about in novels and watching in rom-coms? Or is it a series of boring negotiations about taking out the trash and balancing the checkbook, better attempted by lawyers, not lovers? Listen and find out. Like the show...

Today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 2, introduces us to a new tractate that’s all about marriage. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a preview of this tractate, and to explore the definition of the word Kiddushin, which does not just mean marriage, but also holiness. What can we expect from this new tractate? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at tak...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 89 and 90, bring us to the end of Tractate Gittin. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to reflect on this tractate, and how while it is at its core about the dissolution of a marriage, it is more deeply about the connection or absence of a connection with God. What does it mean that an altar sheds tears at the divorce of a couple? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscri...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 87 and 88, asks whether a single divorce decree can be used for multiple people if a list of husbands and a list of wives are written and it indicates that they will be divorced. Rabbi Daniel Isaak, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Neveh Shalom joins us to discuss the experience he had when performing a collective marriage, marrying six couples, who had been previously m...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 86, asks whether the fact that birds drink from a water basin, disqualifies that water from being purified, because as it drinks some water will spill back into the basin. This provides us an opportunity to reflect on birds, and the meditative experience of bird watching. In Jonathan Rosen’s book The Life of Skies, he explores the parallel between birding and hunting. T...

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 85, it states that a divorce with the restrictions that a woman not marry someone to whom she could never marry anyway, is a valid divorce. Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin joins us to explore the finality of divorce, and the reasons why putting other limits in a divorce decree makes the decree invalid. Which two letters are never read next to each other in the Torah? Listen an...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 84, asks what happens when impossible conditions like flying through the air, or walking on water, are placed on the validity of a divorce decree. We are joined by circus acrobats Yoni Kallai and Angela Buccinni Butch of The Muse to discuss what goes into making the impossible possible as they perform together. They share the importance of verbal and non-verbal communic...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 82 and 83, is full of questions asked and answered. This provides us with another opportunity to consider the broader questions that we have about the Talmud. Producer Darone Ruskay is once again joined by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin for our second “Talmud Explainer” episode. Rabbi Bashevkin answers questions posed by our listeners on our Take One Facebook page about topics...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 80 and 81, tell a tale of documents unknowingly given to the wrong people, and the results of such a mistake. This reminds us of the types of mistakes that we see in many of the works of Shakespeare. We are joined by Shaina Trapedo who shares with us the many examples that we see throughout the work of the Bard that rely on letters, and the ways in which miscommunicati...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 79, discusses what happens when something is in mid-air. To further explore the feeling of being in flight, between the land and heavens, we welcome back Hudson Leibovitz who joins us to share what it is about air-travel that he enjoys so much. From the magic of being able to do something that humans were not intended to do, to getting to watch an in-light movie, Hudson...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 78, discusses the personal space that is one’s lap or one’s basket. Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick returns to share her experiences of functioning in cramped spaces. From an aversion to having her pants touch the pants of the stranger sitting next to her on the subway, to her fondness for having her daughter in her lap, or her husband snuggling close, she shares t...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 77, talks about the importance of being on time, and shares how long one must wait beyond a deadline before moving on. Podcast producer Darone Ruskay joins us to share a sad story of when he was left waiting, and the maxim he lives by and has taught his children, about what it means to be on time. Is being late ever acceptable? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscr...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 75 and 76, teach that if one is instructed not to write a bill of divorce until a certain time, it will not be considered valid if it is written early. This teaches us an important lesson, one that is central to Judaism, that everything has a time. One of the first commandments that was received was to look at the moon to determine the new month. From the very start Go...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 73 and 74, explores the idea that one who sells a house has twelve months to change their mind. Our resident real estate expert Scott Harris, of Brown Harris Stevens joins us to think about how central one’s home can be, and how that can lead to buyers and sellers remorse when it comes to real estate transactions. What makes buying and selling a home such a powerful ex...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 72, explains that a request for a divorce decree to be written must be made verbally, and not just in writing. Alex Pappademas, author of Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan joins us to discuss the importance of words in expressing our deepest emotions, and the ways that the lyrics of Steely Dan, as written b...

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 71, it states that testimony should come in spoken form rather than in writing. Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin returns to discuss why a witness needs to testify in person rather than in writing, and posits that it is not just a question of halacha, Jewish law, but rather that it is instructive on how to best transmit ideas. Do we deepen our relationship with Torah by hearing...

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 70, shares a list of eight items that the body and soul should enjoy in moderation. Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern gives advice on ways to enjoy life, while also living in moderation. As an example of this, he shares the story of when George Will entered the Beit Midrash, the Study Hall of Yeshiva University, and wondered how anyone could learn in the cacophony of noise the c...

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 68 and 69, tell stories as wide ranging as a comedy of manners, fantasy and suspense discussing demons of all types, and practical advice including the ancient remedy for migraines and nosebleeds. For a set of pages like these we could only invite one person, and so Jordan Gorfinkel joins us to walk us through the wonderful stories of this page with his special cinemat...

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 66 and 67, Isi ben Yehuda recount the praise of the Sages, listing each scholar with a descriptor of their wisdom. One Rabbi however, Rabbi Yehudah, is mentioned as “a scholar when he chooses.” Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin joins us to say that rather than the type of language that you wouldn’t want to see on your report card, this descriptor is a praise in that R. Yehudah...

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 65, the rabbis discuss the need for a request of a divorce decree to be slightly impolite in order for it to be valid. Tablet Editor in Chief Alana Newhouse expresses her surprise that the rabbis seem to be showing a lack of sensitivity in this discussion. The process of ending a marriage is fraught with complicated and difficult feelings that impact more than just t...

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 64, the rabbis discuss how to tell if a child is mindful of the value of money and property. Producer Josh Kross joins us to discuss how he taught his three children to value money. His methods include giving them an allowance, creating opportunities to earn money, and the space to make mistakes with their money. Will a child learn more about the value of money when...