Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 65, explores the age old question: Should you be early to bed and early to rise, or is it better to stay up late? The rabbis, no surprise, are of at least two minds, and modern science confirms that their ambiguity was well-merited. So who's better, early birds or night owls? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 63 and 64, pose a provocative question: Does drinking make you holier? Ruby Namdar, author, Talmud scholar, and a man fond of his drink joins us to parse this rich and strange question and what it teaches us about the rabbis' state of mind. Should you write while you drink, or drink while you write? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 61 and 62, ask pointed questions about how the whole idea of an eruv pertains to our non-Jewish neighbors, which is really another way of asking how do we conceive of insiders and outsiders in our midst. Charlotte Fonrobert, professor of religious studies at Stanford University, joins us to discuss what the eruv can teach us about setting up sovereign spaces and navigating complex political realities. What inspiration can the idea of an eruv give us in our troubled political time? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 60, ends with one of the rabbis, Rabbi Idi, strangely dismissing the whole enterprise of prophecy. Why would a sage and a scholar speak this way? A.J. Berkovitz,  assistant professor at Hebrew Union College, joins us to explain the Talmud's complicated relationship with revelation, and what important lessons it can still teach us today. How does dissing prophecy make us better students? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 59, examines what happens when a small town grows into a big city and neighborhoods change in a process we now often call gentrification. Producer Josh Kross, a city dweller who recently set up residence in the country, joins us to talk about how to be respectful when moving to a new community. What's the best way to avoid being a jerk to new neighbors? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 58, begins with a mysterious warning against using tools that are too efficient and blooms into a meditation on human experience. Why should we listen even to those who are decidedly not experts? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 56 and 57, find the rabbis in the mood to exalt the deliciousness of vegetables. Why are leeks and radishes important? And why should you eat more than meat? Mark Oppenheimer returns to teach us a lesson on the importance of a healthy and plant-based diet. How is what you eat related to how you vote? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Eruvin 54 and 55, ask a pressing question: What does the Bible teach us about how we should practice politics? Rabbi Ari Lamm returns to introduce us to the world's first politician, and teach us two Hebrew words that are essential if we'd like to heal our broken political system. What bit of inspiration does the Talmud have in this grim political moment of ours? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 53, finds the rabbis in a mood to talk about what makes good teachers and good students. Professor Agi Legutko of Columbia University joins us to discuss whether or not the Talmud's ancient pedagogical philosophy holds up. How do the best teachers approach their craft? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Eruvin 52, presents us with an image of a man standing with one foot inside the boundaries of the eruv and another outside. Why do the rabbis conjure such a strange case? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to argue that the rabbis were so obsessed with geographic boundaries because they realized that holiness, like community, was only possible if practiced in a specific and clearly defined place. What mystical meaning did the great hassidic master Rabbi Tzadok find in thinking about eruvin? Listen and find out.