Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Moed Katan 13, treats us to a reminder that preparing for a festivity is often just as important, if not more so, than the party itself. What might we do to master the art of preparation? 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 One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and Robert Scaramuccia.Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Moed Katan 11 and 12, suggest that important people are just different than you and me and ought to be held to a higher standard. Historian Tevi Troy, the Presidentisher Rav, joins us to talk about two American presidents who grappled with this question, one getting it just right and the other very, very wrong. What did FDR serve for lunch when the Queen of England dropped by for a visit? 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 One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and Robert Scaramuccia.Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Moed Katan 9 and 10, tell a very curious story about the year they canceled...Yom Kippur. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to tell us how this miraculous occurrence happened, and what it can still teach us today. Why was there one year of eating and rejoicing rather than fasting and prayer? 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 One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and Robert Scaramuccia.Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Moed Katan 8, introduces us to the Talmudic figure of the professional eulogizer. Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern joins us to discuss the subtle, spiritual art of saying farewell. How do you meaningfully eulogize someone you didn't even know? 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 One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and Robert Scaramuccia.Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Moed Katan 7, asks the big question: How should we live life? Pursue our own pleasures, no matter what, or sacrifice for the sake of others? Michael Scott Alexander, the author of Making Peace with the Universe: Personal Crisis and Spiritual Healing, joins us to discuss spiritual practice as therapy, and why pleasure and joy are two completely different things. Which surprising bit of ancient wisdom inspired the author at a moment of profound personal breakdown? 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 One is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and produced by Josh Kross, Sara Fredman Aeder, and Robert Scaramuccia.Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Moed Katan 6, finds the rabbis extolling the virtues of taking risks. What happens when you live life with caution always on your mind? What's the price we pay for trying to eliminate risk altogether? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Moed Katan 4 and 5, tell us about Rabban Gamliel and his decision to... overrule the Torah? Rabbi Meni Even-Israel, the executive director of the Steinsaltz Center in Jerusalem, joins us to explain this unlikely occurrence and the man who had the courage to assert his rabbinic authority. What can we learn about leadership from the wise ancient rabbi? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Moed Katan 2 and 3, launch a brand new tractate, all about those magical days in between holidays, which are neither ordinary nor entirely sanctified. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us for a festive lunch and a preview of what's ahead. How does the tractate help us rethink the meaning of time? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Megillah 32, brings us to the end of Tractate Megillah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recap what we've learned, and what powerful lessons the tractate still offers us today. What's the difference between a book and a letter, and why does it matter? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Megillah 31, surprises us with a tender insistence that you can't mention God without mentioning his humility. Sheikh Faiyaz Jaffer of NYU's Islamic Center joins us to discuss how the Creator can be both almighty and humble, and what concrete behavioral and psychological lessons this insight offers us today. How does prayer help us remember God's infinite mercy? Listen and find out.