Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 38, 39, and 40, bring Tractate Beitzah to its uplifting conclusion. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recount everything we've learned about what makes a holy day so holy and special. Why does having a good day necessarily require us to be with others? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyom...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 37, kicks things off with a radical claim: Commerce has a lot in common with the sacred work of priests in the Temple. Shouldn't we imagine something so transactional as buying and selling to be the very opposite of holiness? And what lessons about income inequality and pursuing justice in the world can we learn from wise old Hillel? Listen and find out. Like the sho...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 36, instructs us that a student must never question the teacher. Mark Oppenheimer, having taught everyone from small children to Yale students, joins us to talk about why students used to be too deferential, and why too many have now moved too far in the opposite direction. Just what measure of respect do we owe our teachers? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 35, asks a question that seems right out of Seinfeld: If an impure person reaches into a vat of olives, do the olives then become impure, a sort of halachic take on the double dip rule? A.J. Jacobs joins us to talk about why the concept of purity remains so enticing, how it can prove hugely helpful in a time of a global pandemic, and why it should sometimes be altoge...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 33 and 34, ponder how to go about life when the unique requirements of a holiday call for a bit of innovation. Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann joins us to talk about why religious life is about creativity, not constriction. How to go about finding new and inspired ways to celebrate the holidays when COVID-19 calls for safety measures? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 31 and 32, kick things off with a stark statement: All children of Abraham must show compassion to all of God's creatures. With the number of incarcerated Americans spiking by a whopping 500 percent in the last four decades, compassion doesn't seem to be something at which we currently excel. Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who runs an organization dedicated to helping prison...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 30, offers an emphatic but a bit strange exhortation: Don't tell your friends when they're in the wrong, because they might not change their ways. Did the rabbis really mean that you shouldn't ever try to help your loved ones grow and improve? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to shed light on this question and deliver a teaching about seeing the potential in everyone th...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 27, 28, and 29, raise a fascinating moral dilemma: Say you stole something and you're not sure who you stole it from. You're feeling terrible about it and would like to give it back. How might you go about it? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why the question is an essential one to understanding not only the idea of community, but also the core psychologica...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 24, 25, and 26, debate whether learning Halacha is like learning a song, and whether you have to understand every word to appreciate the overall majesty of the music. What's the answer? And what does it have to do with Leonard Cohen? Listen and find out. You can find Daniel Kahn's Yiddish version of "Hallelujah" on his upcoming album Word Beggar, out this December o...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 23, issues a stern warning: Don't get too comfortable, or you may find yourself liable for all sorts of trouble. Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz joins us to speak about the ways modern convenience can jeopardize our souls, and what we can do about it. What would the rabbis tell us about shopping on Amazon? Listen and find out. To connect with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, follow him on...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 20, 21, and 22, give us the sort of warning we can all use, especially those of us who fume at our keyboards and post hot takes on social media: Cool it with your criticism. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to tell us why the rabbis preached de-escalation, and what we moderns can learn from their ancient wisdom. What to do when you feel the temper running high? Listen...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 17, 18, and 19, continue to contemplate the difference between Shabbos and Yom Tov. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to think about how these two celebrations feel different and reflect two very different worlds. More than just another day you have to email your boss, Yom Tov takes us someplace else. But where? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at tak...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 15 and 16, evoke a charming concept: Every celebration is really a partnership between us and God. As we're about to enter the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, we ask: Does the same principle apply to repentance? 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 i...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 14, has the rabbis engage in a long and spirited discussion about gift-giving. Dena Ingerman, celebrated gift-giver extraordinaire, joins us to talk about why the perfect little token can really make someone's holiday, and how to put together the quintessential gift for your friends. What can the rabbis teach Martha Stewart about putting a lot of thought into a celeb...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 12 and 13, raise the seminal question of the tractate, namely why are some restrictions more lenient on a holiday than those required on Shabbat? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this idea, and shed light on the philosophical premise at its core, one very much relevant to us today. How are holidays just a preparation for the world to come? Listen and find o...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 10 and 11, launch into a meditation of ends and means. A hassidic story about a great rabbi and a hapless Gulag warden sheds light on this question: Why do we always look for things in all the wrong places? 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 Fa...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 9, raises the question of why certain things shouldn't be done when other people are watching. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to explain how the rabbis debate two very different approaches to being human, and what their answers can teach us about life, friendship, and other seminal issues. Which surprising confession by a sitcom star captures the spirit of today's page...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 6 and 7 and 8, ask us how we're supposed to feel on Rosh Hashanah: Happy for the holiday? Fearful of divine judgment? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to ponder these questions and shed light on the age-old mystery: Why do we eat apples on Rosh Hashanah? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyom...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Beitzah 3 and 4, strike a surprisingly modern note when they bring up the concept of confirmation bias. Dr. Michelle Waldman Sarna, a psychologist and educator, joins us to explain this idea, and how the Talmud used it, way before therapists did, to help people find their place in a community. Why does one single dissident stand out even if a thousand others all fall into l...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Beitzah 2, introduces us to Tractate Beitzah, which is all about the practices of Yom Tov, or holiday. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a preview of what to expect, and a meditation on how holidays are fundamentally different from Shabbat. Why is Beitzah, or an egg, the perfect symbol for this tractate's themes? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeon...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 56, brings us to the conclusion of Tractate Sukkah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recap all that we've learned, and explain why the lesson of Sukkah is one we so desperately need to hear, particularly now, in our troubling moment in time. Why is there nothing holier, and more whole, than a broken home? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 55, contains a surprising revelation: On the last day of Sukkot, we pray for... world peace? Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern joins us to explain this poetic passage, and what it has to offer us in our contemporary troubled times. Why is the Talmud offering us a universalist message in the middle of a discussion about Sukkot? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a no...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 53 and 54, return to Simchat Beit Hashoeva, the festival of drawing up water and praying to God for rain that generated unspeakable joy and continues to inspire us. To give us a taste of what this musical celebration might've sounded like, and which emotions it was likely to stir up, we welcome to the show Nefesh Mountain, a Jewish bluegrass band winning fans with th...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 51 and 52, bring up yet again the importance of knowing how to fail and learn from your mistakes. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the specifically Jewish zen of failing, and why it's only those of us who've struggled who eventually grow. Why does the Talmud tell us that the righteous and the sinners see failure very differently? Listen and find out. Like th...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 50, brings up Simchat Beit HaShoeva, an epic party. Kylie Unell joins us to tell us a bit about this ancient custom, and about the surprising ways in which the Bible prepares us to have a blast. What did the rabbis know about throwing a great party? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and...