Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 44 and 45, begin with talk of the fruit of Ginosar, magical treats that are so potent they make the rabbis literally lose their minds. It's a passage so deliciously comical that even the Gemara acknowledges it's pure hyperbole. But reflect on it long enough, and you'll see a lesson in longing, for home and youth and freedom. What do the fruit of Ginosar have to do with modern-day Tel Aviv? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 42 and 43, introduce us to a curious concept: Pas HaBah B'kissnin, a sort of sweet pastry that is made without water and is therefore exempt from the traditional blessing over bread. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain the great debate about whether or not you have to ritually wash your hands when grabbing a slice or two of pizza, and unlocks a host of other doughy mysteries. What are Mezonos Rolls, and why do airlines love sticking them in Kosher meals? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi, Berakhot 41, gets us into the nitty-gritty of how to say different blessings over different foodstuffs. It's all fine and well when we're talking wine, say, or bread, or an apple; but what about Sushi? Do we bless the fish? The rice? The occasional bit of avocado? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a breakdown of a fascinating conversation about how to think about what we eat. Why does every single kosher restaurant, even the pizza parlors and burger joints, also offer sushi? Listen and find out.

Today's Daf Yomi, Berakhot 40, teaches us an important lesson: We're not allowed to eat before feeding our animals. But how does that compassionate commandment fit in with a religion that isn't shy about slaughter? Mark Oppenheimer, a casual vegetarian and animal lover, returns to offer his insights into how we should treat all of God's creatures. Should we change the definition of kosher to insist that the animals we consume have been ethically raised? Listen and find out.

Today's Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 39, asks a poignant and important question that haunts us each Shabbat: Why two challahs? Isn't one loaf of doughy goodness enough, and isn't splurging on two a tad wasteful? Producer Josh Kross returns to channel the rabbis of old as well as grace us with the perfect recipe for French toast. Why is so much bread a requirement? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 37 and 38, begin with an argument resolved over a hearty meal, and raises a thorny question: Is the dinner table still the center of civic life now that so many of us simply use apps to order groceries and food straight to our door, no human interaction necessary? The show's host, Liel Leibovitz, turns to the rabbis for advice on how to make dinnertime sacred again. Why is ordering your Starbucks online bad for your soul? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 35 and 36, begin a long and intricate discussion about food and what blessing ought to be said over what fruit, vegetable, or grain. It’s a terrific reminder of why it’s so important to watch what you eat, both physically and spiritually, and it drove the show’s host, Liel Leibovitz, to meditate on going kosher and having to give up his most favorite food: bacon. Why is meaning better than meat? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 34, is all about Teshuvah, or return. Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, the social media editor of Chabad.org and the entrepreneur behind Tech Tribe, returns to tell us why the most difficult and flawed life experiences can serve as spiritual rocket fuel. Why did the Talmud suggest that those who have done Teshuvah are preferable even to the purest among the righteous? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi, Berakhot 33, features a story about a righteous person doing battle with a terrible snake. But as our guest, Jordan B. Gorfinkel—renowned comic book creator and the genius behind both the illustrated Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel and D.C. Comics’ Birds of Prey, soon to be a very major motion picture—explains, the story lives on through the generations, appearing as a major plot point in the most recent Star Wars film. What did Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa teach Rey Skywalker? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 32, tells us a strange story: God, the rabbis recount, thanked Moses for no less a miraculous feat than breathing life into the Almighty himself. Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone (known on Twitter as @mottel), the social media editor of Chabad.org and the entrepreneur behind Tech Tribe, joins us to discuss what we ordinary humans can do to serve God in the same way, and why we should all be lamplighters in this world. What can we learn from Moses? Listen and find out.