Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 36 and 37, ask a question that should be obvious: What, exactly, is a Matzah? Rabbi Ethan Tucker, himself an enthusiastic Matzah-baker, joins us to explain the many traditions and arguments that went into creating our beloved unleavened bread. Why does the Matzah have holes? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 34 and 35, start off with a Talmudic take on a rap battle, with the rabbis of Eretz Yisrael calling the rabbis of Babylon dumb. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain the tensions between the two communities, and offer a surprisingly relevant nugget of wisdom for our troubled times. Why does dwelling in darkness inspire talking to God? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 33, dives down into accidents and mistakes. Does action matter most? Or is it intentionality? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to riff on Judaism's majestic, complicated, and deeply humane system of adjudicating errors and slip-ups. Why do we treat mistakes on Shabbat differently? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 32, tells us a bit about the privileges of the Kohanim, the priests who served in the ancient Temple. But do modern-day Kohens still enjoy any perks now that the Temple is gone? Rabbi Nuriel Klinger joins us to shed light on some well-known, and some largely obscure, benefits of being a Kohen these days. Why must a Kohen redeem the firstborn donkey? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 31, is all about the boundaries Jews and gentiles must keep to live peacefully with each other. Rabbi Stuart Halpern joins us to help us to argue that respecting clear distinctions and differences makes society more, not less, cohesive. Why wouldn't he, a TV afficionado, let his kids watch that very special episode starring Santa? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 29 and 30, introduce the peculiar concept of Noten Ta'am, something that gives flavor, an idea that sounds like it belongs more on a cooking show than a page of Talmud. Rabbah Sarah Hurwitz joins us to explain this idea, and what it teaches us about the essence of Kashrut. What does taste have to do with keeping exclusively kosher pots and pans? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Pesachim 27 and 28, raises everyone's favorite Passover pastime, the selling and buying of Chametz. Elana Stein Hain returns to make sense of all this wheeling and dealing, and explain why sometimes the deepest and most profound truths rest in legal loopholes. Is their secret poetry in our fine print? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 26, is a festival for the senses. Rabbi Gidon Rothstein joins us to help us make sense of what we're supposed to think, say, or do, when we smell, see, and touch. Does the Talmud suggest a hierarchy of senses? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 25, asks a pointed question: Are there values worth losing your life for? Rabbi Rena Singer joins us to discuss what's worth dying for and why. Is idolatry on the list, and what is it anyway? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Pesachim 24, the rabbis admit that prohibitions against eating certain things apply only if said things are eaten in the "usual manner." But what's the usual manner? Josh Kross returns to meditate on food snobbery, culinary expectations, and why innovation and tradition need each other sorely. What's the silliest way in the world to eat a burger? Listen and find out.