Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 21 and 22, give us a torrent of bodily fluids, and one astonishing story that begins with great embarrassment and ends with transcendence. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin reminisces about his mother censoring the books he'd read as a child, and takes us on a journey that begins in the gutter and ends with hope. Why did the sages pray ardently for a clean toilet? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 20, raises a difficult conundrum: Are thoughts and speech the same thing? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin helps us parse the difference between thinking and articulating, and what role each one plays in our lives. What to do with all those thoughts and prayers? Listen and find out.

Today's Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 19, asks a loaded question: What happens when religious observance clashes with personal dignity? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to guide us through everything from the complex hierarchy of the commandments to the intricacies of tearing toilet paper on the Sabbath. When does Jewish law take a back seat to basic personal concerns? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 18, asks a haunting question: What role do the dead play in the world of the living? Are they whispering to us as we pass through cemeteries, or are they removed in a realm of their own? Mark Oppenheimer, co-host of Tablet’s popular Unorthodox podcast, returns to talk superstition, premonitions, and the afterlife. What is our relationship with the departed? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 16 and 17, deliver a delightful discovery: Having concluded their prayers, the wise rabbis of the Talmud were often in the habit of uttering a few additional, and very personal, prayers of their own. What would such a modern day invocation be like? Mark Oppenheimer, co-host of Tablet's popular Unorthodox podcast, joins to deliver a meditation on this question. What can we say these days to begin and repair the world? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 14 and 15, tackle a difficult question: What's the correct order of doing things in life, from serving God to handling our earthly affairs? Shira Hecht-Koller, director of education of 929 English, returns for a close reading of a complex Talmudic disagreement that leaves us with unexpected clarity about the relationship between learning, teaching, and doing. Why should we never opine freely before we're absolutely sure we understand the thing we're opining about? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 13, brings up the complicated topic of intentionality. In other words: Is it enough to just follow all the commandments, or do you have to really mean it in your heart of hearts? We're joined by Shira Hecht-Koller, director of education of 929 English, who helps us unpack the intricacies of being fully present, no matter what it is you do. How do you direct your heart to the right place? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 12, raises a thorny question: What happens if you're at a party, say, and reach for the Budweiser, and say the appropriate blessing for beer, but then realize you've grabbed the Chardonay instead? Do you need to switch up your blessing? The question may sound confusing, but producer Josh Kross helps us arrive at an environmentally friendly meditation on why it's important to be mindful about what you eat. What does the Daf have to say about going green? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 11, begins with a loopy parable about beards that's really about something much bigger: No strangers to disagreement, the rabbis wanted to take some time and teach us all how to have a principled, respectful, and enjoyable argument. Which, frankly, is a lesson we can all use these days. So how can we fight without getting nasty? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Berakhot 10, introduces us to one of the Talmud's most formidable—and only—women. Her name is Beruria, and she delivers a wise and passionate lesson to her husband, the famed Rabbi Meir, teaching him the true meaning of compassion. Want to learn the true meaning of mercy?  Listen and find out.