Take One Daf Yomi

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? 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, 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 and forth as they pray? 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, 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@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, 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 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, 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 @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, 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 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, 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 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, 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 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, 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? 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, 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 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.