Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 49, delivers a stunningly poetic passage, telling us that Torah, like a thigh, should always be revealed and explored only in intimate settings. Dr. Batsheva Marcus joins us to unpack this surprising bit of instruction, and explain why the study of Torah should be both a public and a very private undertaking. How is talking about sex like studying scripture? Listen an...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 48, tasks us with a hard mission: learning to rejoice even when it's the very last day of the holiday and the weight of ordinary life beckons. Hudson Leibovitz, eight years old, joins us to explain how he is preparing for the end of summer vacation, and to teach adults how kids manage to have fun even in unlikely circumstances. What is the secret to the childhood zen...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 46 and 47, remind us just how important it is to count our blessings and to make sure we're very specific when we thank God for all of the plenty. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the logic of blessings, and why the rabbis disagreed on precisely how we should be thankful. How are blessings a good preparation for a solid marriage? Listen and find out. Like th...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 44 and 45, tell us again, in no uncertain terms, that each one of us has the power to change and redeem the entire world. We're inspired by the story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who gave his life for another inmate at Auschwitz, teaching us how to be free and holy even in the world's darkest place. What might we learn from his example? Listen and find...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 43, gives us an all-too-familiar, and very funny, scene of Jews bickering among themselves. Historian Zev Eleff joins us to shed light on our people's propensity for in-fighting, explains its historical and structural roots, and regales us with a long-lost tale of a synagogue spat turned violent. Which famous American rabbi had to spend Rosh Hashanah in jail after pun...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 42, asks perhaps the one question that matters most: When and how should we start educating our kids to love the Torah? Educator Adina Fredman joins us to talk about the Talmud's approach to early childhood education, and how it measures up to her experiences as a long-time teacher and scholar. How young might a child be before she truly starts grasping complicated co...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 41, dives deep into the reasons why we remain so obsessed with the memory of the Beit Hamikdash, the ancient Temple. Novelist Dara Horn joins us to explain this eternal preoccupation of ours, how it's different from, say, a Civil War reenactment, and how the rabbis of the Talmud created an ingenious system of virtual reality to transform and preserve our religious tra...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 39 and 40, kick things off with a tough conundrum: Why do we often say blessings for mitzvot prior to performing them? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to talk about the ancient rabbinic discussion about the purpose and mechanics of blessings, and how they still inform our worship today. Why do we first pick up the etrog upside down and only then turn it rightside up? L...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 37 and 38, raise the age-old question: Why do we shake the lulav and etrog on Sukkot? Isn't simply lifting them enough? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the mystical symbolism behind these acts, and how they help us imagine that the whole world is one body, begging God for mercy. What does that have to do with the practice of many religious Jews to sway back...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 36, finds the rabbis in a judgy mood: rats, they tell us, are downright repulsive. Dr. Rivka Schwartz joins us to share her experience of life with adorable pet rats, and help us figure out if humans and rodents can find true companionship. Were the rabbis just too harsh on our little mousy friends? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletm...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 35, gives us a mystery right out of the Talented Mr. Ripley: Is the etrog we know and love secretly an impostor? Was it the humble pepper we were supposed to bless all along? Rabbi David Moster joins us to discuss the elusive fruit, and how it rose to prominence. How did a Chinese fruit embraced by the Persians come to be the hero of Sukkot? Listen and find out. Like...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 34, ponders the meaning of the lulav. NYU professor Jeffrey Rubenstein joins us to explain what the lulav meant to generations of Jews, and why we still argue over its exact nature. Why did the Jews who launched the Bar Kochba rebellion imprint a lulav on their coins? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at ...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 32 and 33, command us to bind together the willow, the myrtle, and the lulav. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain this strange custom, and how it symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people. Which kind of Jew does each of the four species represent? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 30 and 31, tells a haunting story of a screaming woman. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin helps us make sense of this chilling tale, and decipher its inspiring message, a reminder to never, ever lose hope. What bit of perennial wisdom must we all remember, taught to us by none other than Abraham? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 29, teaches us that there's a difference between extensive and intensive learning. Kylie Unell joins us to talk about why study alone doesn't change you, and about why you must learn to experience and embody the things you learn for wisdom to truly seep in. Why were German Jews huge fans of Booker T. Washington? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at t...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 28, tells us yet again about Hillel and Shammai, the two famous rabbis known for disagreeing on just about everything. Producer Josh Kross joins us to talk about how the wisdom of the ancient frenemies and their disciples can help us learn to have strong disagreements, particularly online. What tips on social media etiquette can we learn from Hillel and Shammai? Liste...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 27, finds Rabbi Eliezer issuing a strange pronouncement: God bless...the lazy? What did the ancient rabbi understand about the virtues of wasting time that an MIT professor would, millenia later, confirm? 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 Faceb...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 25 and 26, warn us against the perils of distraction. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about why the Talmud valued focus, and how the rabbis gave us the world's first form of mindfulness. Why is checking your phone while talking to friends bad for your soul? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ta...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 23 and 24, teach us that you're allowed to build a treehouse sukkah if you wish. Outdoorswoman Emily Pennington joins us to talk experiencing the divine in America's national parks, and about the special connection with creation you can only find in nature. What does it feel like to watch the sunset from a hammock at Yosemite? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 22, informs us that a sukkah can be set up even on top of a moving vehicle. Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone joins us to talk about Chabad's Sukkah Mobil, and how they bring the mitzvah and the joy of Sukkot to people everywhere. How is the spirit of the '60s alive and well in these groovy vehicles? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.co...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 21, advises us to listen very carefully whenever Torah scholars speak, for they are always dispensing wisdom, even when they don't issue halachic rulings. Today, we have the pleasure of eavesdropping on a conversation between two such scholars, rapper Nissim Black and NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, who speak about their remarkable life journeys and their friendship on Ni...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 20, tells the story of Tavi, Rabbi Gamliel's non-Jewish servant who was a pious man learned in all matters of Jewish law. Yael Eckstein, the president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, joins us to discuss how Jews and non-Jews continue to pursue their shared values today. Why would gentiles want Jews to pray for them at the Kotel? Listen...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 18 and 19, teach us that there's nothing more whole, or holier, than a broken home. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk the symbolism of the sukkah, and what a discussion about skylights and purity can teach us about the world and our place in it. How have today's pages of Talmud inspired Leonard Cohen? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Sukkah 16 and 17, spin a technical discussion of fabrics into a breathtaking lesson on compassion. Rabbi Sari Laufer joins us to talk about the beauty of Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat after Tisha B'Av, and how it guides us to comfort. What can we humans do to nudge God from the quality of justice to the quality of mercy? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at ...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Sukkah 15, teaches us a useful life lesson: If you want anything done, do it yourself. We remember the late Rav Adin Steinsaltz, who passed away last year, and his extraordinary contribution to making the Talmud accessible to all. What did Rav Steinsaltz learn from his great teacher, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@t...