Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 97 and 98, the rabbis bring up our inheritance, and inquire about our privileges and our duties when we're lucky enough to have something of value passed down from one generation to the next. Josh Kross returns to share a story of one ugly painting and its beautiful meaning. How do family heirlooms inspire us to be better people? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 96, asks only this: What's the difference between that first OG Pesach sacrifice and all the others that follow? Or, put differently, has anything really changed since the Exodus? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to tell us a charming story of a Hassidic master's first insight, and how Passover inspired him to find meaning in the way we jump into new resolutions in lif...

In today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 95, the rabbis discuss the second Pesach, Judaism’s great do-over. Kylie Unell joins us to talk about second chances and why no religion can ever work with out them. What do Jay Z and Beyonce have to do with Passover? 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 pages, Pesachim 94, mentions perhaps the most maligned of all Hebrew months, Marcheshvan. Does its name really mean "bitter"? Was the calendar really that unkind? Tevi Troy returns to help us make sense of the Hebrew year's most frequently discussed month. Why are we so obsessed with Cheshvan? Listen and find out. Like the show? Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us o...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 92 and 93, bring up a tricky question: How can we really measure distance? The answer, of course, is through time, which teaches us a valuable lesson on how to go very far even when we may think it impossible. What crucial time management skill can we learn from the rabbis? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 90 and 91, bring up the question of whether a portion of the Paschal sacrifice may count as payment to a prostitute for her services. Rabbanit Leah Sarna joins us to make sense of this thorny passage. Is the Talmud belittling prostitutes, or being wildly inclusive? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 89, gets downright uncomfortable when it talks about how members of a community act when they share finite resources and believe that one of them has gotten more than his share. Cantor Jacob Greenberg joins us to talk about the ethics of the COVID vaccine, and how we behave when demand for a cure is high and the rules less than clear. Why can't we all simply wait ou...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 88, kicks things off with an audacious claim: When all Jews return home to the Land of Israel, it will be a more monumental day than the day the heavens and the earth were created. Marc Rosenberg, the Vice President of Nefesh B'Nefesh, joins us to talk about making aliya, and about the emotional insights the Talmud has into emigration. What three questions must ever...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 87, tells us the rolicking story of the prophet Hosea, which includes rancor and despair and prostitution. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to celebrate this minor prophet's very major and timely message. What does Hosea teach us about getting along even, or especially, with those we don't really like? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 85 and 86, ponder whether or not the prayers of outsiders are heard just as loudly and clearly. Rabbi Hart Levine joins us to tell us to talk about the logic of prayer, and why God listens even to those who go nowhere near the shul. What is the number one reason some people just don't feel comfortable with prayer? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 83 and 84, warn us against breaking the bones of the paschal sacrifice. Dr. Adina Minkowitz Silberman joins us to tell us why this act is an invitation to dignity even under the most dire circumstances, and share with us a few delicious bone-related recipes. Why is there a secret dignity in bones? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 82, is all about shaming. Is it ever OK to shame someone if by embarrassing them we can make sure they do the right thing? Rabbi Josh Lookstein joins us to discuss shaming in the time of COVID-19 and how the school he runs works hard to make sure no kid feels embarrassed or left out. Why do we still feel so much shame about shaming? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 81, brings up a mysterious concept: the impurity of the deep. Put simply, it revolves around the following question: If someone, somewhere in the world dies and no one knows about it, are all of us impure because of the possibility that we might've inadvertently come into contact with a dead body? Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier joins us to explain this Jewish Zen koan and...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 80, raises the question of how to proceed with the Paschal sacrifice if some tribes are pure and others impure, which is a great way of thinking about the divisions that still tear the Jewish people apart. Moshe Koppel joins us to discuss why religious and secular Jews often see the world in starkly different terms, and what could be done to bring them closer togeth...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 78 and 79, bring up a curious conundrum: Is it possible for all of Israel, the entirety of the Jewish people, to be impure at the exact same time? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin explains why the Talmud brings up this thought experiment, and what it has to teach us about Jewish history and the Jewish future. Why didn't God give the Torah to Abraham? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 76 and 77, raise an interesting question about what happens if a piece of bread absorbs the scent of wine set aside as a contribution to the priests. Does the bread, too, become holy simply because it now smells like the wine? Alana Newhouse, Tablet's editor in chief, returns to tell us how the brain processes our senses, and what it has to do with sanctity. What m...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 75, finds the rabbis discussing how to go about executing a person who has transgressed. Sister Helen Prejean joins us to share her experiences as America’s foremost critic the death penalty, and talk about how Catholic and Jewish traditions come together—and how they differ—when it comes to thinking about sanctioned killings. What did Sister Helen feel the first ti...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 74, is all about meat: How to roast it, eat it, and savor it. Producer Josh Kross returns to talk about the joys of ambling up to the grill, and how meat triggers the primordial memories us moderns thought we've suppressed. Why is meat such an important part of so many religions? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 73, finds the rabbis talking about ritual sacrifice but meditating on animal rights. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz joins us to talk about why it's crucial not to lose sight of animal suffering even when eating meat, and how our rituals have evolved to reflect an increasingly more compassionate sensibility. What is one of the gravest moral disasters we still commit uncriti...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 71 and 72, offer an inspired vision of what we need to be happy: Clean clothes and old wine. Adam Teeter joins us to explain why so many of us feel intimidated when it comes to picking the perfect bottle, and give us some tips on how to enjoy wine and figure out what it is we truly love. How is wine literally magical? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 69 and 70, make the curious connection between the Korban Pesach, the sacrificial Paschal lamb, and Brit Mila, or circumcision. Sara Fredman Aeder returns to shed light on the uncomfortable similarities between both practices, and what she, as an Orthodox mother to a newborn baby boy, felt before his Bris. Why all this bloodletting in our ancient rituals? Listen an...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 68, asks a piercing question: Should we use whatever powers we have for good? Or are they ours for our own benefit? Comic book writer and editor Jordan Gorfinkel joins us to talk great power, great responsibility, and what the Bible's protagonists have in common with our modern superheroes. What could the Talmud have taught Spider-Man? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 67, calls for the isolation of those suffering from a set of contagious conditions, a topic that hits close to home in the time of COVID-19. Vineet Chander, the Coordinator for Hindu Life and Hindu chaplain at Princeton University, joins us to talk about how he, as a college chaplain, comforts students struggling with social distancing, and what his faith tradition...

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 66, tells a story of a great rabbi humbled and delivers a crucial lesson about what to do when you have no idea what to do. Shira Telushkin joins us to deliver some insight about why Jews are prophets or the sons of prophets, and what this means for each and every single one of us. Why should we never feel embarrassed about not knowing enough about our faith and tra...

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 64 and 65, deliver a reminder that we must never tarry when performing a mitzvah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns with a masterful hassidic interpretation of this deep Talmudic principle that teaches us how to turn off the voices of self-doubt and criticism that plague us all as we strive to do and be better. Why should we learn to cut ourselves some slack? Listen an...