Take One Daf Yomi

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 18, there is a discussion of what to do if a slave steals property that is worth more than their value, and what to do when they are worth more than the value of what they steal. Rabbi Adam Baldachin joins us to explore how to deal with a question that seems so foreign to our modern ears, and explains that this section is truly an opportunity to consider each person’s value, and the ways in which we are all made in the image of God. How should we consider topics in the Talmud that don’t directly impact our lives today? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 17, the rabbis instruct us that we all deserve liberty and dignity, no matter how useful we are or how industrious. Professor Brian Horowitz, the editor of a new translation of a work by one of Russia's greatest forgotten Jewish writers, Lev Levanda, joins us to talk about the artist's belief in the emancipation of Russia's Jews, and about how his optimism soured first into despair and then into mental illness. Why is emancipation the beginning of the journey rather than its end? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 16, we read about the severance that must be paid to a slave at the end of their term of service. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to teach us about the mitzvah of not sending a worker away empty handed, and explores what this can teach us about appreciating those who play pivotal roles in our lives, and how sending them off with a gift expresses how important they are to us. How should we think of those with whom we have a transactional relationship? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 14 and 15, we read that it is required that slaves are treated honorably, and their living conditions must be equal to those of the master. The Rabbis are encouraging us to make it possible for all people, whether they be landowners or day laborers, to succeed and reach their potential. Over the course of the past sixty years the gulf between the salary of owners and workers has skyrocketed from a 20 to 1 ratio all the way up to 399 to 1. What needs to change for workers to be treated fairly? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 12 and 13, we hear the story of a man who betroths with a worthless mat of mertyl. The Talmud questions whether the woman is truly betrothed when faced with a betrothal of such low value. This leads us to reflect on where the value of an item comes from, and how some items can be of great value to one person, and of none to another. Consider all the collections that you may have had as a child (or still do) and how those baseball cards or comic books may seem valueless to others, while to you they hold unlimited potential value. How should we determine the value of an item? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 11, the Rabbis discuss the minimum amount of money that a woman should accept as the fee for betrothal. While this is a wonderful statement of respect for self-worth, Jewish texts are short on conversations about self-worth, and rather focus more on being humble, and doing for others, and not for ourselves. Rabbi Simcha Bunam tells a tale with the instructions that we should all have two notes in our pockets, one that says “For my sake was the world created”, and another “I am but dust and ashes.” What can we learn from these two notes? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 10, the Rabbis ask when and how betrothal occurs. In trying to make sense of these questions, Rav Haym Soloveitchik explains that there is a difference between kiddushin (betrothal) and nissuin (marriage) in that one is legalistic, and the other impacts the day-to-day life of the couple. How do our physical acts impact our spiritual lives? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 9, we hear stories of interactions between men and women, in which the man is doing a poor job at expressing his interest. Lisa Ann Sandell returns to the podcast to discuss her first interaction with Liel, and how his pickup line left her a bit confused. What was the successful line that has resulted in nearly nineteen years of marriage? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hostedby Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 7 and 8, there is a detailed conversation of the minutia of how wedding contracts are written with all of their provisions, conditions, and stipulations. Reading all of this contract talk at the start of Elul brought to mind a conversation from a recent episode of our sister podcast Unorthodox with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin in which we discussed the personal work that one needs to do to re-up their personal contract with God during the month of Elul. What are the steps that we need to take to prepare before Rosh Hashanah? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Kiddushin 5 and 6, there is a discussion about whether the benefit of money, intercourse, and documents provide pleasure. To delve into this strange triad of items that may provide pleasure, we are joined by Tablet Magazine Editor in Chief, Alana Newhouse, who explores the ways that documents, money and intercourse can provide pleasure, but how that benefit may just be a means to an end? How do two magazine editors feel about the pleasures of a good piece of writing? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 4, there is a comment that a young woman remains a minor until the age of twenty, when she immediately becomes a woman. Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick joins us to explore the strangeness of the choice of that age, and discusses how becoming a Bat Mitzvah is now considered being a responsible member of the community, but how truly becoming an adult is a longer process. At what age did Stephanie finally feel like an adult? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 3, asks us what just may be the most important question ever posed: What is love? Is it just a series of grand romantic gestures, the kind we love reading about in novels and watching in rom-coms? Or is it a series of boring negotiations about taking out the trash and balancing the checkbook, better attempted by lawyers, not lovers? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Kiddushin 2, introduces us to a new tractate that’s all about marriage. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a preview of this tractate, and to explore the definition of the word Kiddushin, which does not just mean marriage, but also holiness. What can we expect from this new tractate? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 89 and 90, bring us to the end of Tractate Gittin. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to reflect on this tractate, and how while it is at its core about the dissolution of a marriage, it is more deeply about the connection or absence of a connection with God. What does it mean that an altar sheds tears at the divorce of a couple? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 87 and 88, asks whether a single divorce decree can be used for multiple people if a list of husbands and a list of wives are written and it indicates that they will be divorced. Rabbi Daniel Isaak, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Neveh Shalom joins us to discuss the experience he had when performing a collective marriage, marrying six couples, who had been previously married by civil law, but had not had a Jewish wedding. He shares which parts of the ceremony could be done in unison, and which needed to be done couple by couple. What are the obstacles of marrying multiple couples at once? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 86, asks whether the fact that birds drink from a water basin, disqualifies that water from being purified, because as it drinks some water will spill back into the basin. This provides us an opportunity to reflect on birds, and the meditative experience of bird watching. In Jonathan Rosen’s book The Life of Skies, he explores the parallel between birding and hunting. The difference being that once you have found your target, you just take the time to appreciate it. What can we learn from going outside and looking up at the sky? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 85, it states that a divorce with the restrictions that a woman not marry someone to whom she could never marry anyway, is a valid divorce. Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin joins us to explore the finality of divorce, and the reasons why putting other limits in a divorce decree makes the decree invalid. Which two letters are never read next to each other in the Torah? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 84, asks what happens when impossible conditions like flying through the air, or walking on water, are placed on the validity of a divorce decree. We are joined by circus acrobats Yoni Kallai and Angela Buccinni Butch of The Muse to discuss what goes into making the impossible possible as they perform together. They share the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication to build the trust that one needs to succeed. What would we learn if we gave ourselves permission to play? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 82 and 83, is full of questions asked and answered. This provides us with another opportunity to consider the broader questions that we have about the Talmud. Producer Darone Ruskay is once again joined by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin for our second “Talmud Explainer” episode. Rabbi Bashevkin answers questions posed by our listeners on our Take One Facebook page about topics ranging from how the rabbis from different eras seem to be in conversation with one another, how to better understand the final answers to the disagreements that are debated within the Talmud, and finally providing a meditation on the hadran alach prayer that is recited at the end of each tractate of the Talmud. Is there a cheat-sheet to better understand the character of the rabbis in the Talmud? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 80 and 81, tell a tale of documents unknowingly given to the wrong people, and the results of such a mistake. This reminds us of the types of mistakes that we see in many of the works of Shakespeare. We are joined by Shaina Trapedo who shares with us the many examples that we see throughout the work of the Bard that rely on letters, and the ways in which miscommunication can result in everything from making peace, to finding love, to being killed on the spot. What can we learn about the intention needed as we send our daily emails? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 79, discusses what happens when something is in mid-air. To further explore the feeling of being in flight, between the land and heavens, we welcome back Hudson Leibovitz who joins us to share what it is about air-travel that he enjoys so much. From the magic of being able to do something that humans were not intended to do, to getting to watch an in-light movie, Hudson seems to enjoy it all, and shares his tips about what you can do to make the experience of flying more enjoyable. Does anyone really enjoy airplane food? Listen and find out.Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 78, discusses the personal space that is one’s lap or one’s basket. Unorthodox co-host Stephanie Butnick returns to share her experiences of functioning in cramped spaces. From an aversion to having her pants touch the pants of the stranger sitting next to her on the subway, to her fondness for having her daughter in her lap, or her husband snuggling close, she shares the multiple responses to others invading her space. How might an Israeli experience a lack of personal space differently? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 77, talks about the importance of being on time, and shares how long one must wait beyond a deadline before moving on. Podcast producer Darone Ruskay joins us to share a sad story of when he was left waiting, and the maxim he lives by and has taught his children, about what it means to be on time. Is being late ever acceptable? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 75 and 76, teach that if one is instructed not to write a bill of divorce until a certain time, it will not be considered valid if it is written early. This teaches us an important lesson, one that is central to Judaism, that everything has a time. One of the first commandments that was received was to look at the moon to determine the new month. From the very start God taught that time, and the respect for it, was a gift that enabled us to organize our lives. Do restrictions on our time help us live fuller lives? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 73 and 74, explores the idea that one who sells a house has twelve months to change their mind. Our resident real estate expert Scott Harris, of Brown Harris Stevens joins us to think about how central one’s home can be, and how that can lead to buyers and sellers remorse when it comes to real estate transactions. What makes buying and selling a home such a powerful experience? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 72, explains that a request for a divorce decree to be written must be made verbally, and not just in writing. Alex Pappademas, author of Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan joins us to discuss the importance of words in expressing our deepest emotions, and the ways that the lyrics of Steely Dan, as written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen did this in their songs. What can we learn from the song ‘Rikki Don't Lose That Number”? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 71, it states that testimony should come in spoken form rather than in writing. Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin returns to discuss why a witness needs to testify in person rather than in writing, and posits that it is not just a question of halacha, Jewish law, but rather that it is instructive on how to best transmit ideas. Do we deepen our relationship with Torah by hearing it taught rather than just reading it? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Gittin 70, shares a list of eight items that the body and soul should enjoy in moderation. Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern gives advice on ways to enjoy life, while also living in moderation. As an example of this, he shares the story of when George Will entered the Beit Midrash, the Study Hall of Yeshiva University, and wondered how anyone could learn in the cacophony of noise the came from the students as they studied together. How do you enjoy a baseball game during the nine days? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 68 and 69, tell stories as wide ranging as a comedy of manners, fantasy and suspense discussing demons of all types, and practical advice including the ancient remedy for migraines and nosebleeds. For a set of pages like these we could only invite one person, and so Jordan Gorfinkel joins us to walk us through the wonderful stories of this page with his special cinematic take on these stories. In the end we realize that all of this is just a way to learn the lesson that we should embrace our loved ones. What can you learn from whether a person is wearing socks? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 66 and 67, Isi ben Yehuda recount the praise of the Sages, listing each scholar with a descriptor of their wisdom. One Rabbi however, Rabbi Yehudah, is mentioned as “a scholar when he chooses.” Rabbi Dovid Beshevkin joins us to say that rather than the type of language that you wouldn’t want to see on your report card, this descriptor is a praise in that R. Yehudah was able to find small times within his life to study. What can we learn from praising others? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 65, the rabbis discuss the need for a request of a divorce decree to be slightly impolite in order for it to be valid. Tablet Editor in Chief Alana Newhouse expresses her surprise that the rabbis seem to be showing a lack of sensitivity in this discussion. The process of ending a marriage is fraught with complicated and difficult feelings that impact more than just the married couple, and we must fight the impulse of self-interest to focus on all of the people affected. Is sensitivity the enemy of clarity? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 64, the rabbis discuss how to tell if a child is mindful of the value of money and property. Producer Josh Kross joins us to discuss how he taught his three children to value money. His methods include giving them an allowance, creating opportunities to earn money, and the space to make mistakes with their money. Will a child learn more about the value of money when they have spent their own money for something? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 63, the rabbis discuss the legality of a divorce decree when it is delivered by an agent who sees themselves as having the job of receipt rather than of delivery. What are the different archetypes of agents in popular culture. There is James Bond who is explicitly tied to his country, and Ethan Hunt, who chooses what jobs to take and not to take and is as committed to his friends as he is to his country. What can we learn about the importance of taking on difficult tasks from the movies, and from Talmud? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 61 and 62, expresses the importance for Jews to support gentiles in need in the same way that they support Jews in need. Luke Moon from the Philos Project joins us to discuss how his organization promotes positive Christian engagement in the Near East by creating leaders, building community, and taking action to support the Jewish community when they are threatened, and what drew him to this work. What can we learn from other faith communities about how to stand with one another? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 59 and 60, the Rabbis ask if we can produce a torah portion by portion, in order to make it easier for a child to learn, or whether it must be produced in full. Hudson Leibovitz joins us to discuss how he best learned, piece by piece or all at once, and tells us his favorite portion of the Torah. Is there a better way to teach our children? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 58, we hear a tale of an unfaithful wife, an untrusting husband, and a conniving apprentice. The story ends by saying that because of these three actors, the Jewish people were forced to suffer. This actors in this allegory represent God, the Jewish people and the embodiment of all of the Jews enemies. What should we really learn from this strange Talmudic story? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 57, we learn of a conversation between the translator Onkelos and Jesus of Nazareth. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to dig into this story, and explores the ways that the Talmud focuses on how Jews are to sustain their connection to God once the Temple was destroyed. Why was Onkelos the only character who could have had such a conversation with Jesus in the Talmud? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 56, we hear a story of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai who while visiting with Vespasian at the moment when a messenger arrived to let Vespasian know that he was the new Emperor of Rome. Tevi Troy, former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and the author of Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, joins us to reflect on the moments in American history when vice presidents have the mantle of leadership thrust upon them. What can we learn about being prepared to take on leadership responsibilities? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 54 and 55, we hear the story of one person using the terms “convert” as an insult against another. The idea of considering a convert less than is difficult to comprehend in these modern times. To respond, we share this piece by Nissim Black from the Unorthodox Conversion episode from 2021 in which he shares his journey to Judaism. What can we learn from the fact that King David was a descendant of Ruth, the first convert to Judaism? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 52 and 53, we hear a story of when Satan came to visit two men who would fight each Shabbat evening. Tevi Troy, former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and the author of Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, joins us to tell the story of the fraught relationship between New York Times columnist William Sapphire and director of the Office of Management and Budget for President Carter, Bert Lance. The story tells of how the two reconciled with one another. How can a Christmas card help fix a fractured relationship? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 51, it states that a child, be they a minor or an adult is not responsible for the affairs of their parents, as we all find it so difficult to wrap our heads around the experiences of our ancestors. This was deeply felt on a visit to Deadwood, South Dakota, which was included in a recent Across the JEW.S.A. segment of our sister podcast Unorthodox. What were the Jews doing during the Gold Rush? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 50, the rabbis discuss the quality of land a woman receives from her marriage contract, and whether the poor quality of land has to do with the greater desire that a woman has to be married then a man does. Podcast producer Quinn Waller returns to discuss the trials and tribulations of finding one of the few good men in New York. Will men ever learn to pick up their dirty socks from the floor? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 49, we learn that when a creditor is to collect land from a debtor, they are only to take the intermediate-quality land, and not their best land, as it is because of this middling land that they needed to take the loan in the first place. Reflecting on the importance of mediocrity, we share an essay that reflects on the thin line between great and good. What do we learn as we fail and fail again in better and more interesting ways? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 47 and 48, we hear the tale of when Reish Lakish was captured by cannibals. Tevi Troy, former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and the author of Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, joins us to tell his favorite from the canon of cannibal jokes that teaches us that Jews must be hit first before we hit back. What rules are there about defending ourselves ? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 45 and 46, shares a wild story of Rav Ilish who was in prison until told by a bird that he could escape, and his choice of who to trust and who to take with him. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin adjusts our reading of this page to see it as a conversation about rupture, within a family or between God and the Jewish people. What can we learn about trust within a family through this story? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 44, there is a discussion about a child’s responsibility or lack or responsibility for the penalties assessed to a parent. The Talmud is teaching us that we each have the opportunity to make choices of our own in our relationship with God and Jewish practice. What are the different choices that each of us may make from those of our parents? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 43, we read an amazing line that indicates that one must stumble in order to understand Torah. Rabbi Lauren Tuchman returns to explore the many places in Jewish learning where we must struggle with a text and return to it again and again in order to begin to comprehend its deeper meaning. How does our struggle help our understanding? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud page, Gittin 42, we read a conversation asking who should be paid if a slave is killed by an ox. This page, which deals with an issue so foreign to our current sensibilities, allows us the opportunity to meditate on the ways that even in our modern lives, we sometimes feel only half-free. What are some lessons we can learn about appreciating freedom? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 40 and 41, it is asked if a half-slave can marry. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to talk about the centrality of the obligation to be fruitful and multiply, and how more than just to have children, the commandment is the obligation to give to others. How can we fulfill our most important life goal? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

In today’s Talmud pages, Gittin 38 and 39, we hear that gentiles hold Jews in high regard. Richard Hurowitz, author of In the Garden of the Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust, joins us to share some of the lesser-known stories of non-Jews who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Do we spend more time focusing on the perpetrators than the rescuers? Listen and find out. Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.