Take One Daf Yomi

Today's Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 156 and 157, bring to its conclusion the Talmud's longest tractate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to sum up the wisdom we've learned over the last few months, and deliver a much-needed reminder of the beauties and difficulties of being an adult. Why was so much of the tractate spent on technicalities and so little on the magic of our day of rest? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 154 and 155, teach us that God has a soft spot in His heart for dogs. Lily, 9, and Hudson, 7, join us to talk about their love of dogs, and dispense advice on how to be kinder to your pooch. What's the most important thing you can do to make your dog happy? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 153, delivers a stunning teaching from the rabbis: Repent one day before your death. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to help us unlock this quizzical statement, and teach us how to repent better. How does your need to make amends change as you mature and grow? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 152, contains one curious bit of life advice from the rabbis: You should spend your first forty years on this planet taking pleasure in food, but once you turn forty, it's time to get serious about drinking. Alana Newhouse, Tablet's editor in chief, returns to talk about how drinking in your forties is different than drinking in your twenties, and what different insights you find in cocktails throughout the years. What's the perfect drink for the middle-aged? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 151, delivers a painful reminder of a universal truth rarely acknowledged: That poverty is cyclical, and that we are all, at some point or another, likely to feel its sting. Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, joins us to compare the attitudes to poverty in the Jewish and Catholic traditions, and leave us with some useful advice about how to be more compassionate. Why is it so important to get to know your less fortunate neighbors? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 149 and 150, find the rabbis raising one of the humanity's most ancient and most difficult questions: What, exactly, is art? Ben Kovalis, co-founder of a company that uses artificial intelligence to create original works of art,  joins us to talk about what it takes to train a computer to generate something that previously took a human artist. What would Rashi say about machines learning to emulate our greatest masterworks? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 147 and 148, bring up a point that couldn't be any more pertinent: What to do when you feel a strong need to criticize someone? Writer Bethany Mandel joins us to share some of her experiences of being frequently lambasted online, as well as a heartwarming story of what happens when the better angels of our nature prevail. Why should you sometimes try to engage with hateful people? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 146, begins with a meditation on original sin and then goes on to ask whether converts were present at Mount Sinai. Fresh off of her visit to the mikvah, Kerigan Kelly joins us to talk about her conversion process, what inspired her, and what she finds comforting and challenging about being Jewish. Why did the rabbis believe converts each had a guardian angel? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 145, ponders the differences between scholars in Israel and in Babylonia, and delivers a powerful meditation on belonging, exile, and redemption. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain why sometimes being a minority means having to strive to translate your own experience to the rest of the nation, and how such an experience can create great artistic and religious depths. Why is it sometimes a blessing in disguise to be in exile? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 144, encourages us to question authority. Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern joins us to explain why the relationship between rabbis and their congregations is a delicate dance, not a series of dictates. What to do when you disagree with your rabbi, your boss, or your Congressperson? Listen and find out.