Take One Daf Yomi

  Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 44 and 45, give us a solid bit of relationship advice. Rabbi Sari Laufer joins us to explain why the rabbis warned against defaming your wife, and what the status of your physical intimacy had to do with the state of your relationship. Is it ever alright to complain to friends about your significant others? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeo...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 43, dives deep into the intricacies of what input, if any, should your siblings have when it comes to your love life. Stephanie Butnick joins us to explore this conundrum, and sing the praises of your loved ones meddling in your affairs. How did the Talmud inform the newest Netflix reality show? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.co...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 42, teaches us that when it comes to particularly thorny questions, we've no choice but putting in the time it takes to figure them out. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this fundamental Talmudic principle, and extoll the virtues of patience in the life of the mind. Why do some conundrums require more time to explore than others? Listen and find out. Like the...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 41, delivers a stern warning against keeping dangerous objects in the home. Dr. Chethan Sathya, a pediatric surgeon, and Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter, Jaime, in a school shooting, join us to talk about gun violence as a public safety epidemic. What measure can reasonable people agree to take to reduce the risks of gun violence? Listen and find out. You can he...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 39 and 40, remind us that a positive commandment trumps a mere prohibition. Why is that? And what does it have to do with the latest scientific research into the power of positive thinking? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 37 and 38, ask a thorny question: Should we place any restrictions on female converts before they marry Jews? Producer Quinn Waller, two weeks away from the Mikveh visit that will complete her conversion to Judaism, joins us to meditate on the question, and share her thoughts about her own journey. How do all of us, even those of us born Jewish, convert to Judaism eac...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 36, warns us against spreading vicious rumors, particularly when it comes to women. Up-and-coming musical artist SYDIR joins us with a song he'd written about this timeless subject, a reminder of how just hurtful gossip can be. Should we believe a nasty rumor when we hear it? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twit...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 35, reminds us that you can't put a price on human life. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about the ancient Talmudic approach to murder, and how the rabbis made sure human life was valued above all else. What can modern-day lawmakers learn from this traditional system of justice? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 34, give us a taste of how two great rabbis approached life in radically different ways, leading one of them to be revered and respected and the other, despite his brilliance, to be often ignored. Why did their followers treat them so differently? And what might modern-day experts learn from their divergent approaches to knowledge and persuasion? Listen and find out. L...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 32 and 33, discuss the harshest of all forms of punishment, the death penalty. Rabbi Benjamin Zober joins us to explain the Talmud's logic, and how we still fall far short of the ancient rabbis' compassion. What might modern criminal justice policies learn from ancient and compassionate Jewish traditions? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@t...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 30 and 31, have climate in mind. Producer Josh Kross joins us to talk about why the ancient rabbis were surprisingly prescient about handling a crisis on the scale of global warming, and what each of us can learn from them when it comes to making a bit of a difference in our own lives. Why is it silly to fret about celebrities zooming about in private jets? Listen and...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 29, gives us a tense screaming match between two prominent rabbis over the subject of...bastards. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this debate, why it got so heated, and why it still matters to us today. Why did Rabbi Yeshevav need to bring Rabbi Akiva's parents into their exchange? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. F...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 28, advocates mightily against being too chummy with your ex. Nicoletta Heidegger, a therapist specializing in relationships, joins us to explain how to approach a painful breakup, and what the Talmud got right about breaking up. Did the rabbis intuit the idea of conscious uncoupling? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow u...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 27, tells a story of a young woman dealing with some serious family drama. Why is it that the ones who know you best and love you most so often end up hurting you? And what brilliant advice on family life, so deeply relevant today, can the ancient rabbis offer? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeone...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 25 and 26, warn us that even a casual, offhand remark can cause great offense and have tremendous implications. Lily Bess Leibovitz, 11, joins us to share a story of inadvertently hurting her friend, and the lesson it taught her about being more mindful before speaking. How can we all learn to be better listeners? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at ...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 23 and 24, give us a playful but profound primer on everything from believing women to figuring out a person's ulterior motives as they talk about their friends. Rabbi Sari Laufer joins us to make sense of this intricate bit of Talmudic teaching, and what insights into friendship, prejudice, and empowerment it can still offer us today. What should you say when you're...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 22, tells an uproarious story of a woman who lied to her suitors until Mr. Right came along. Our producer, Quinn Waller, joins us to share her own experiences in New York's pitiless dating scene, and finds surprising modern-day relevance in the Talmud's approach to what to do on a bad first date. Is lying to your date acceptable if you're trying to spare their feelings...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 21, wonders what we should do if a judge is also a witness to the case he's adjudicating. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed some light on Judaism's approach to criminal justice, and why it continues to inspire us today. Did the Talmud inspire the TV hit show Law and Order? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Tw...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 20, tells us the story of one prominent man who had lots of money and then lost his mind and made some very questionable business deals. Tablet writer Armin Rosen joins us to talk about another wealthy gentleman who is repeatedly in the news for decisions that can either be inspired or utterly mad, one Elon Musk. Is he crazy, a genius, or both? And should we care? List...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 18 and 19, warn us that a confession, even though it may seem final, is not always credible, especially if it involves underage suspects, coercion, or both, as was the case with the Central Park Five, Black and Latino teenagers who, in 1989, were falsely accused of a horrible crime they didn't commit. The case inspired many works of fiction and non-fiction, including...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 16 and 17, reminds us that the Ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract many couples have framed and hanging in their home, isn't just a beautiful artifact but a binding legal contract. What happens if you lose it? Mark Oppenheimer, our very own Corduroy Rav, joins us to tell the epic tale of his very own ketubah, which was printed at home and then promptly misplaced. What...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 15, spices things up with a Solomonic story of what to do if an abandoned baby is found and no one knows whether or not the infant is Jewish. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why this anecdote illustrates Judaism's commitment not only to abstract ideas but to lived-in practices. Why did a great rabbi walk around the streets of post-war Europe mumbling the firs...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 14, gives us an assertion that sounds like something straight out of an episode of Law and Order: If you're not guilty of something, never remain silent. Rabbi Lauren Tuchman joins us with wise words of advice about when it's a good idea to shout and proclaim your innocence, and when you should just keep quiet. Why is being on social media often a very bad idea? Listen...

Today’s Talmud page, Ketubot 13, talks in great detail about the ruin, the sort of place that existed in every town for the explicit purpose of fornication. What surprisingly modern insight into what we sometimes call "the nightlife" did the rabbis have, and how does it relate to Studio 54, the legendary New York club whose owner, Mark Fleischman, passed away last week? Listen and find out. Like t...

Today’s Talmud pages, Ketubot 11 and 12, tell us that it's ancient Jewish custom to insist that a bride and a groom take a moment, before stepping under the wedding canopy, to get to know each other. Kylie Unell joins us to parse the wisdom of this tradition, and explain why getting to know the person you're dating is no easier today than it was in Talmudic times. What constituted for small talk b...