Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 66, reminds us of the sheer power of language, a power on full display when the Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies and uttered the explicit name of God. To reflect on what words can do, we bring you a conversation with poet Christian Wiman that aired on our podcast Unorthodox, where he discussed how some words, when written or said in just the right way, can move us...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 65, asks what happens if some money is put aside for sacrificial use and is then stolen or lost before being miraculously retrieved. Does it count towards next year's offerings? Professor Ethan Leib joins us to talk about the legalistic and spiritual aspects of this not-so-simple question. What does this rabbinic disputation teach us about being able to always change ou...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 63 and 64, kick things off with a meditation on causality that sounds like something straight out of a trippy science fiction novel. Author Gavriel Savit joins us to talk about Judaism's view of alternate universes, and how it inspires him as a fantasy writer. What advice does the Talmud have for aspiring Tolkiens? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 61 and 62, are all about one of Yom Kippur's most intriguing rituals, that of sacrificing one goat while sending another into the wilderness. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain the inner logic of the scapegoat, and why it still matters today. Why must both goats, the one sacrificed and the one set loose, be exactly identical? Listen and find out.  Like the show?...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 60, contains a long discussion of which garments the High Priest wore while conducting the different services on Yom Kippur. Mark Oppenheimer joins us to talk about the connection between the way we dress and the way we feel, and explain why Judaism sometimes takes a turn towards the sartorially fancy. What is the symbolism of the Kohen Gadol's white garments? Listen an...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 59, finds the rabbis quoting a popular folk saying. Professor A.J. Berkovitz joins us to shed light on the rabbinic system of knowledge, which revolved around studiousness and expertise but realized that wisdom resides in all corners of society and was open to learning from ordinary people as well as experts. What might today's professors learn from the rabbis' approach...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 58, brings up the sacrifice the Kohen Gadol, or High Priest, offered to God on behalf of unwitting communal sins. Rabbi Sari Laufer joins us to explain this moving ritual, and how it helps turn a host of individuals into a community. Might Facebook qualify as a modern-day unwitting communal sin? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.co...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 56 and 57, asks a searing question: Does God love us even when we're impure? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to address this seminal theological conundrum. What does the High Priest's sprinkling of blood on Yom Kippur have to do with helping us understand the Creator's idea of mercy? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 54 and 55, dive into one of the Jewish people's greatest mysteries: Exactly what happened to the Ark of the Covenant after the Temple was destroyed? Yeshiva University professor Steven Fine joins us to explain the various theories that have inspired Jews and non-Jews alike for millennia, and why we remain obsessed with this question. So did Indiana Jones get it right?...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 53, opens up one of the strangest and most terrifying deaths in a book, the Bible, thick with them: the striking down of the two sons of Aaron, Moses's brother. Why did they have to die? Rabbi Shmuel Hain joins us to explain their sin, its interpretation in rabbinic literature, and why the ongoing fascination with Aaron's sons reflected the rabbis' insecurities about th...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 52, begins with a bold claim: The Jewish people, and they alone, speak directly to God. To investigate this claim, we asked Hudson, age 7, Lily, age 9, and Daniel, age 10, to report on their conversations with the Creator. What do these young Jews believe about talking to God? And what do they ask for when they chat with Hashem? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 51, contains a delightful discussion of the Parochet, or the curtain separating the Holy of the Holies from the rest of the Temple. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to discuss the meaning of this sacred curtain, and what it can teach us about finding holiness even in boundaries and limitations. How does the Parochet continue to inspire contemporary synagogue architecture a...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 49 and 50, describe, in great detail, how the Kohen Gadol, or High Priest, dispensed the incense on the one day a year he was allowed into the Holy of the Holies. What if we took such care with everything we did? What would happen if we paid as much attention to detail when, say, we made our daily cup of coffee? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at ta...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 47 and 48, find the rabbis grateful for their existence and their upbringing, so, naturally, they thank their mothers and then dive right into a discussion of just what it was that their mothers did to raise such fine sons. Alana Newhouse, editor in chief of Tablet Magazine, joins us to discuss the tension she feels about bringing God into the motherhood conversation,...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 46, teaches us that the Sabbath is a communal, not personal, undertaking. Sohrab Ahmari, the author of the new book The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos, joins us to talk about how tradition is the key to making us happier and more self-assured, and how it can only be practiced together with others. What did this committed Catholic...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 45, finds the rabbis at their most glittery, talking about different kinds of gold and what each one means. Lisa Ann Sandell, the host of the Anxiously podcast, joins us to talk about the secret life of jewelry, and why a simple piece of gold can do so much to transform hearts and spirits alike. Why does wearing jewelry make us feel elevated? Listen and find out.  Like...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 44, brings up an interesting question: Why did the ancient rabbis believe that burning incense made up for the sin of Lashon Harah, or gossip? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the mystical bonds that tie these two actions together, and how the Hassidic master Rabbi Tzadok taught us a moving lesson about the inclination we all feel to sometimes speak ill of each...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 42 and 43, give us a bit of insight into the rituals of the High Priests that have much to teach us about that most difficult of all modern questions, namely how to successfully and peacefully and happily live with other people. What should we do to better understand ourselves and others? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Fol...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 40 and 41, contemplate one of the most iconic rituals in all of Judaism, that of the goat dispatched into the wilderness on Yom Kippur. We have the honor of sharing a teaching from the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks about the meaning of the scapegoat and what this dusty, desert tradition can still teach us today. How does the ancient custom give rise to new reservoirs of ho...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 39, tells a very eerie story about Shimon Ha'Tzadik seeing his own death. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the real meaning of Shimon's mysterious apparitions, and what they can teach us about optimism, responsibility, and leadership. Who was the ominous man in black Shimon saw just a week before he died? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at t...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 38, is all about the Kohen Gadol, or the High Priest, and his duties during the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. Yishai Ribo, one of Israel's most popular singers, wrote a song capturing the Kohen Gadol's duties and feelings on that awesome day, which we're thrilled to share. How can the Kohen Gadol's ancient experiences move us today? Listen and find out.  Like the...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Yoma 33 and 34, raise one of the most ancient and profound questions in all of the Talmud, the question of action versus thought. Which comes first? Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky joins us to air some ancient grievances and deliver some surprisingly modern conclusions. Are we wrong for being over-analytical and thinking everything through? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 32, dresses all in white. Why? Rebekah Tokatlilar joins us to drill down on the significance of the priestly garments, and the symbolism of wearing all white on Yom Kippur. How does our outfit reflect our spiritual situation? 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...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 31, asks a big question: How, exactly, do rabbis decide and interpret Jewish law? And why does the Talmud tell us that all the ordinances they instituted were decided in parallel to the ones decreed by the Torah?  Rabbi Ari Lamm joins us to explain the foundational principle of personal and communal responsibility, and how it enabled Jewish life to survive and thrive fo...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Yoma 30, discusses the true meaning of immersing ourselves in the mikvah: Do we do it to become pure, holy, or both? Rabbi Sara Luria joins us to discuss this ancient ritual and what it can still teach us today. Why should even those among us who aren't observant give the mikvah a shot? Listen and find out.  Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us o...