Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 78 and 79, bring up a curious conundrum: Is it possible for all of Israel, the entirety of the Jewish people, to be impure at the exact same time? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin explains why the Talmud brings up this thought experiment, and what it has to teach us about Jewish history and the Jewish future. Why didn't God give the Torah to Abraham? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 76 and 77, raise an interesting question about what happens if a piece of bread absorbs the scent of wine set aside as a contribution to the priests. Does the bread, too, become holy simply because it now smells like the wine? Alana Newhouse, Tablet's editor in chief, returns to tell us how the brain processes our senses, and what it has to do with sanctity. What must it have been like to stand outside the Temple as sacrifices were offered? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 75, finds the rabbis discussing how to go about executing a person who has transgressed. Sister Helen Prejean joins us to share her experiences as America’s foremost critic the death penalty, and talk about how Catholic and Jewish traditions come together—and how they differ—when it comes to thinking about sanctioned killings. What did Sister Helen feel the first time she looked a death row inmate in the eye? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 74, is all about meat: How to roast it, eat it, and savor it. Producer Josh Kross returns to talk about the joys of ambling up to the grill, and how meat triggers the primordial memories us moderns thought we've suppressed. Why is meat such an important part of so many religions? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 73, finds the rabbis talking about ritual sacrifice but meditating on animal rights. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz joins us to talk about why it's crucial not to lose sight of animal suffering even when eating meat, and how our rituals have evolved to reflect an increasingly more compassionate sensibility. What is one of the gravest moral disasters we still commit uncritically? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 71 and 72, offer an inspired vision of what we need to be happy: Clean clothes and old wine. Adam Teeter joins us to explain why so many of us feel intimidated when it comes to picking the perfect bottle, and give us some tips on how to enjoy wine and figure out what it is we truly love. How is wine literally magical? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 69 and 70, make the curious connection between the Korban Pesach, the sacrificial Paschal lamb, and Brit Mila, or circumcision. Sara Fredman Aeder returns to shed light on the uncomfortable similarities between both practices, and what she, as an Orthodox mother to a newborn baby boy, felt before his Bris. Why all this bloodletting in our ancient rituals? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 68, asks a piercing question: Should we use whatever powers we have for good? Or are they ours for our own benefit? Comic book writer and editor Jordan Gorfinkel joins us to talk great power, great responsibility, and what the Bible's protagonists have in common with our modern superheroes. What could the Talmud have taught Spider-Man? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 67, calls for the isolation of those suffering from a set of contagious conditions, a topic that hits close to home in the time of COVID-19. Vineet Chander, the Coordinator for Hindu Life and Hindu chaplain at Princeton University, joins us to talk about how he, as a college chaplain, comforts students struggling with social distancing, and what his faith tradition has to teach us about community and isolation. On what do the Talmud and the Bhagavad Gita agree? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 66, tells a story of a great rabbi humbled and delivers a crucial lesson about what to do when you have no idea what to do. Shira Telushkin joins us to deliver some insight about why Jews are prophets or the sons of prophets, and what this means for each and every single one of us. Why should we never feel embarrassed about not knowing enough about our faith and tradition? Listen and find out.