Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 35 and 36, raises one of the most loaded concepts in the entire Talmud: Bein Hashmashot, or Twilight. It's extremely significant for a host of religious obligations, yet the rabbis, in pure Talmudic fashion, couldn't decide on how long, precisely, twilight actually was. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this strange and fascinating concept. Why did some rabbis believe you had to view Mt. Carmel from the Mediterranean in order to grasp the truly meaning of twilight? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 33 and 34, tell a wild story of a mighty rabbi and his son, so disgusted with the ways of this world that they chose to retreat and live in a cave for 13 years. When they emerge, however, trouble ensues. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to teach us about the perils of very smart and serious people believing themselves to be better than the rest of us, and about why mysticism means seeing the divine sparks everywhere. Why should we never assume our scholarship and intelligence gives us special status? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 32, gives us a brief but fierce paragraph about those about to die, and what they should and shouldn't be doing as they are about to pass. This passage feels a bit too real in the midst of a deadly pandemic, and we welcome The New York Times writer Bari Weiss to discuss her piece about hospital chaplains and the holy work they do these days. Why is visiting the sick the holiest of mitzvahs? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 30, gives us a peak into the birth of modern politics: King David, dying, asks God how much time he has left, and God, refusing to answer, informs the aged monarch that the reign of his son, Solomon, is already set to begin. It's like an epic episode of HBO's Succession, as well as the moment of transition from the ancient world's view of kings as omnipotent to our contemporary understanding of rulers as servers of the people. Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to talk about the glories of this story. What can the Talmud teach us about our current moment in American politics? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 28 and 29, features talk of the Tachash, a mysterious beast who may or may not have had a single horn, an enormous body, and a six-colored skin. Was he a Technicolor Jewish unicorn, or a Jewnicorn? Different commentators offered divergent interpretations, but in today's episode we take a page from one of our greatest Hasidic masters and read the Jewnicorn as a metaphor for human kindness. Why? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 27, features the debut of what is arguably the oddest and most difficult to comprehend of all the mitzvot: The prohibition to wear Shatnez, or clothes made of both wool and linen. Why this specific ban? We welcome AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically, to make sense of this curious commandment and tell us about the time he invited a Shatnez inspector to raid his closet. What do wool and linen have to do with Cain and Abel? Listen and find out.Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirituality.org/Takeone and when you check out, put in the code Takeone20 for a 20% discount.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 26, begins with the Talmud's equivalent of a Law & Order episode, telling a gruesome tale of a woman who sets her daughter-in-law on fire. Thankfully, not all of us have such murderously acrimonious relationships with our-laws; Stephanie Butnick, co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast, joins us to make sense of the grizzly story and give us some tips about how to manage your relationship with the family you had married into. What's the secret to being close with your mother-in-law? Listen and find out.Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirituality.org/Takeone and when you check out, put in the code Takeone20 for a 20% discount.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 25, finds the rabbis in an existential kind of mood. What truly matters in life? Some say money, others say companionship, and others yet, well, go a more scatological path. Mark Oppenheimer, the self-styled Corduroy Rav and co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast, returns to talk about how your desires shape your life. Would you trade a large sum of money for an uninterrupted hour in the bathroom? Listen and find out.Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirituality.org/Takeone and when you check out, put in the code Takeone20 for a 20% discount.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 23 and 24, revolve around a fascinating question: Should we treasure life's beautifully mundane moments, or hold up for rare and splendid miracles? Rabbi Scott Hoffman joins us to talk about getting our priorities straight, especially in times of crisis. What can candles and menorahs teach us about our values? Listen and find out.Take one is sponsored this week by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirituality.org/Takeone and when you check out, put in the code Takeone20 for a 20% discount.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 21 and 22, contain a well-known discussion of how to light the Hanukkah menorah. Which, coincidentally, has been the subject of a famous 1989 Supreme Court case, still considered a landmark shaping religious liberties for decades to come. Nathan Lewin, the legendary lawyer who argued the case and convinced the highest court in the land to allow the display of a menorah in a public space, joins us to talk about this important chapter in American Jewish history. What surprising pronouncement did the ACLU's lawyer make after losing the case? Listen and find out.This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this time of anxiety, Jewish-based mindfulness and meditation may the thing you need. Find out at Jewishspirituality.org/Takeone and use the code Takeone20 at checkout for a 20 percent discount.