Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 93, wonders what happens when guests come in and cause all sorts of inconveniences. Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal joins us to talk about why guests can be both annoying and a true pleasure, and what obligations we have to make them feel welcome. How can an ancient ruling about eruvin make us better hosts? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 91 and 92, ask a poignant question: Are we permitted to modify our laws based on how we've behaved during a time of danger? Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett joins us to discuss the ways in which COVID impacted his congregation, and talk about what life might look like after the plague. Are there any innovations brought about by the pandemic that might continue to inspire us even after it is gone? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 89 and 90, finds two rabbis engaged in a philosophical conversation about the very way we see reality. Rabbi Avi Straussberg joins us to explain why this particular debate -- involving a ship sailing in a clear blue sea -- matters, and what it can teach us about life today. Is the ocean half empty or half full? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 88, asks a cheeky question: If you stole something, do you get to keep it? Ben Schachter, an artist and the author of Akhnai Pizza, a new graphic novel based on one of the Talmud's most famous tales, joins us to ponder this problem, especially as it pertains to copyright, intellectual property, and ideas. How can we encourage remix culture while still making sure artists get supported and paid? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 87, inquries whether a lake could count when determing an eruv. Rabbi Tzvi Sinenski joins us to tell a story about the late great Rabbi Norman Lamm, and how he wrestled with precisely this question to establish the eruv on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Does an eruv count even if you can't see it? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 86, contains an unlikely recommendation: revere the rich. Professor Lila Corwin Berman joins us to shed some light on how Jewish philantrophy changed drastically over the last few decades, and what that means for the Jewish community's most fortunate and for everyone else. What happened that gave the top one percent of donors more power than ever before? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 84 and 85, give us one charming anecdote that helps dive right into the true meaning of the eruv. Rabbi Hart Levine joins us to tell us about the diverse and welcoming community he'd built in New York, and how it was inspired by the laws and the logic of the eruv. What does it take to turn a bunch of Jews into a thriving community? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 82 and 83, introduce a curious prohibition against gamblers giving testimony in a court of law. Joe Bednarsh, Athletics Director at Yeshiva University and a world-class Poker player, joins us to discuss why the rabbis suspected anyone who made a living rolling the dice. Why do card sharks look down on those in the Casino who merely play the Roulette? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 81, reaches into the book of Ezekiel to discuss one of the Bible's most notoriously scatological references, the poop sandwich. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to help us figure out what this unappetizing snack means, and why the Talmud seems to devote so much time to number two. Why is the punishment for mocking the rabbis being boiled in excrement? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 80, tells a story of a woman who defies her husband to make an eruv possible. Sara Shalva, Chief Arts Officer at the JCC in Baltimore, joins us to talk about how women create community, and what that means for gender roles and division of labor, especially during a pandemic. What would happen if we left socialization up to the men? Listen and find out.