Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Rosh Hashanah 6 and 7, entertain the bonds between coercion and community. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explore these seemingly disparate notions and their surprising relevance to Jewish life today. Is it really free will if one is forced into doing something for others? 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, Rosh Hashanah 5, invites us to think of Judaism's three main holidays as one cohesive unit. We here at Take One were inspired, and looked fondly at the other podcast we produce at Tablet Magazine, Unorthodox. Today, in a special crossover episode, it's the story of the shaggy-haired Jewish man who inspired one of the most famous and beloved characters in popular culture. Who are we talking about? 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, Rosh Hashanah 4, shares a Talmudic conspiracy theory about King Cyrus, and ponders what happens when the government goes rogue. Sharon Cameron, the author of the critically acclaimed new novel Bluebird, joins us to tell a story of a true and shocking CIA program to train unwitting assassins, and reflects on what happens when history seems stranger than fiction. Why did the American government enlist the help of Nazi scientists? 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, Rosh Hashanah 3, sings the praises of the Persian king Cyrus, who was respected and beloved by the Jews. Robert Berman, the author of a new collection of Arabic idioms, joins us to talk about cross-cultural dialogues, and why language can succeed where force so often fails. What are some folk sayings that people all over the world seem to share? 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, Rosh Hashanah 2, kicks off a new tractate, Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to give us a taste of what lies ahead. Why are there really four, not one, Rosh Hashanahs? 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, Beitzah 38, 39, and 40, bring Tractate Beitzah to its uplifting conclusion. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recount everything we've learned about what makes a holy day so holy and special. Why does having a good day necessarily require us to be with others? 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, Beitzah 37, kicks things off with a radical claim: Commerce has a lot in common with the sacred work of priests in the Temple. Shouldn't we imagine something so transactional as buying and selling to be the very opposite of holiness? And what lessons about income inequality and pursuing justice in the world can we learn from wise old Hillel? 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, Beitzah 36, instructs us that a student must never question the teacher. Mark Oppenheimer, having taught everyone from small children to Yale students, joins us to talk about why students used to be too deferential, and why too many have now moved too far in the opposite direction. Just what measure of respect do we owe our teachers? 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, Beitzah 35, asks a question that seems right out of Seinfeld: If an impure person reaches into a vat of olives, do the olives then become impure, a sort of halachic take on the double dip rule? A.J. Jacobs joins us to talk about why the concept of purity remains so enticing, how it can prove hugely helpful in a time of a global pandemic, and why it should sometimes be altogether rejected. So, once and for all, is the five second rule true, or is it a myth? 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, Beitzah 33 and 34, ponder how to go about life when the unique requirements of a holiday call for a bit of innovation. Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann joins us to talk about why religious life is about creativity, not constriction. How to go about finding new and inspired ways to celebrate the holidays when COVID-19 calls for safety measures? 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.