Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 39 and 40, discuss the rituals around the torah service. Producer Quinn Waller joins us to share her anxiety about getting an aliya to the Torah and how being in the presence of the Torah is personally transformative. What is it about the ancient scroll that makes it feel so powerful? Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 37 and 38, share the story of God telling Moses not to delay in responding as his people were drowning in the sea, while Moses was deep in prayer. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the importance of balancing both the need to pray and the need to act. Do you need to bring an umbrella if you are going to pray for rain? Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscrib...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 36, tells the story of the hornets that proceeded the Israelites across the Jordan in order to destroy their enemies. Tablet Magazine Writer Armin Rosin join us to explore how this story and many bible stories feel a bit like video games with strange rules, enemies, and strange powers and protections. Is playing video games an opportunity for moral reflection? Listen and...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 35, continues the story of the spies who went into the promised land and returned with reports for Moshe about what lies within. As the story retells, two of the spies share that the land is wonderful, and ten respond that the Israelites will be like ants to the people of the land, and that they should not go in. Tablet Editor in Chief Alana Newhouse join us to share a s...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 34, introduces us to the Biblical story of the spies. Why did these esteem men lose confidence when it mattered most? And what can we learn from them about why it's so crucial to believe in ourselves? 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 conver...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 32 and 33, tell the story of a curse directed at the Roman Emperor, Caligula. We are sharing a conversation from thew new podcast YU Ideas between Dr. Stuart Halpern and Dr. Steven Fine about a story of another Roman emperor being killed by God for his evil decrees against the Jews. Why do we delight in stories of divine blessings and curses? Listen and find out? Like t...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 30 and 31, tell the story of the Jewish people, who upon crossing the sea into liberation, raised their voices in songs of gratitude. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explore the larger themes of tractate Sotah, a rare tractate that weaves storytelling and theology throughout. Why are we hearing the story of leaving Egypt in a tractate about infidelity? Listen and find...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 29, explores the time between when someone immerses in a mikva in order to purify themselves, and sundown when they become fully ritually pure. This is a lesson to us all about slowing down and becoming more patient for the process of change to occur. How does the speed of Amazon Prime and not eating fruit from a tree for its first three years relate to one another? List...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 28, explores the responsibility that men had when it came to infidelity. Producer Josh Kross returns to discuss the changing of gender roles and his experiences being a stay-at-home dad as his children were growing up. He shares the ways that people responded to him when they saw him parenting, and the ways that it has changed over time. Is a father who is taking care of...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 27 explores the limitations of the rules when it comes to those who have disabilities. Rabbi Shari Chen of Hebrew Seminary: A Rabbinical School for Deaf & Hearing, a rabbinical school for the deaf, joins us to discuss the ways that rituals are changed to make them accessible to the deaf in order to make a more inclusive Jewish community. How does changing prayer language...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 25 and 26 explore three different familial relationships, spousal, parental, and filial. We explore the ways that forgiveness is given in each of these relationships, and what that says about the core importance of the relationships themselves. Is a child forgiven in a different way than a spouse? Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. S...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 23 and 24 explore the response to a woman who confesses infidelity, or just refuses to drink the Sotah waters. We are joined by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin who shares a way to reframe the ritual from that of a punishment towards one of mending a relationship. Can the Sotah ritual be seen as a path towards reconciliation? Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscribe to our we...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 22 kicks things off by telling us how important it is not only to be learned but also to work well with others. As Israel enters its fifteenth week of popular protest we are joined by Mark Oppenheimer and Stephanie Butnick to discuss how the political situation is rooted not only in century old questions about Zionism but also in the more ancient question of what it mean...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 21, shares a parable of a man walking in the dark unsure of where he is and what is out there that can hurt him. The rabbis explore how mitzvot and Torah can serve as a light to help him find his way. Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner also explore this idea in their film Lincoln. What did Americas sixteenth president think about relying too heavily on a compass? Listen a...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 20, introduces the idea that a woman who has learned Torah can delay the effects of the cursed waters. Producer Robert Scaramuccia shares his interview with Alexandra Casser, one of only a few female Torah scribes in America. What is it like to be so intimately connected to the Torah, letter by letter? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newslette...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 18 and 19, discuss the question of whether sotah ceremony scrolls can be prepared in advance or must be created individually for each woman. This can lead us to consider the larger topic of the written word and reading in general. What can we learn from French novelist Marcel Proust on the question? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter....

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 16 and 17, discuss the presence of the devine in the marital relationship. As a special treat, Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin shares with us a segment of his podcast 18Forty in which Liel Leibovits and his wife Lisa Ann Sandel discuss their marriage and how a change in one of their religious observances impacted the other, and their relationship. How does a change in one person...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 13, 14, and 15, tells the story of the Israelites carrying both the ark of the covenant and the casket containing the body of Joseph as they wandered through the desert. Why were both equally important loads to carry? 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 a...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 11 and 12, explore what our sages, from Rabbi Hillel, to Woody Allen to Earl Hickey, teach us about karma, and the ways that our actions are balanced with our rewards. Are our rewards always equal to our good deeds? 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...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 7, 8, 9, and 10, discuss the ways in which God shares a list of things that cause immoral behavior. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the slow slide towards immorality. How do the rabbis try to help us prove our innocence? 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 @tak...

Today’s Talmud page, Sotah 6, focuses on the intricate ways that proof must be given to determine guilt or innocence. Ruth Markel joins us to discuss the story of the murder of her son Dan, and the book she’s written about dealing with the trauma of her loss. How does the Justice system impact members of the families impacted by a crime? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 4 and 5, discusses the ways in which God embraces the person with a broken spirit. Rabbi Diana Fersko joins us to consider that although God will embrace us when we are humble or broken, we are still required to make the sacrifices. How do we show ourselves as a partner with God? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at t...

Today’s Talmud pages, Sotah 2 and 3, introduces us to a new tractate that’s all about the Sotah, the woman suspected of committing adultery. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to introduce the tractate and explains the way in which it is told that God is involved the proof needed to claim infidelity in order to promote a happy marriage. What else can we expect in this new tractate of the Talmud? Liste...

Today’s Talmud page, Nazir 66, brings us to the end of Tractate Nazir. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recap what we’ve learned, and reflects on the ways that this tractate in particular spoke to him. Do we focus too much on our physical appearance? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Qui...

Today’s Talmud page, Nazir 65, discusses how careful we need to be before imposing the death penalty. Rabbi Benjamin Zober joins us to discuss the ways the rabbis in the Talmud struggled with the issue of the death penalty. How careful must we be before imposing such a permanent penalty? Listen and find out. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is prod...