Take One Daf Yomi

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 99, gives us a glimpse at the Cherubs, those heavenly creatures there to guard the Ark of the Covenant. But which way, exactly, were they looking? And how might answering this seemingly technical question help us understand just how we're supposed to approach 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 98, discusses who is at fault when good wine goes bad. Is it the seller, who probably failed to keep it in proper conditions? Or is it the buyer, punished for his ignorance and arrogance? And does this debate finally decide the awkward question of whether or not you're ever allowed to send a bottle of wine back at a restaurant? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 96 and 97, teach us that when making Kiddush on Shabbos, one must use wine that would've been good enough to be offered in the Temple. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this curious idea, and how it elevates each Jewish home into a place of great passion and intentionality. What's the secret to transforming your own home into a sacred space? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 94 and 95, tell the story of a strange way to resolve a financial dispute involving locking some of the money up and waiting for the Prophet Elijah to return to earth and adjudicate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why waiting for the Messiah is really an invitation for all of us to mend our ways here in this world. What would you do differently in your own life once the Messiah arrives? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 93, shares an old custom they used to have in Jerusalem, punishing anyone who messed up dinner. Why is the meal so important? And what can us moderns do to take it more seriously? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 92, finds the rabbis talking about guarantees. Does a seller owe the buyer anything should a product not meet the buyer's satisfaction? And how might the answer help the retail industry deal with more than $800 billion lost each years to customers sending back stuff? And just what, pray tell, is "wardrobing"? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 91, contains a difficult prohibition: the prohibition on living outside the land of Israel. How are we to grapple with this difficult notion? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 89 and 90, explore ethical practices in the market place. Producer Josh Kross joins us to discuss fair business practices. According to the Rabbis, how should we purchase Taylor Swift tickets? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 87 and 88, ponder a question that is every parent's nightmare: Who is responsible when your kid breaks something valuable? As a recent story from Israel, involving a 3,500 year old vase and a very curious toddler, demonstrates, it's a profound question about parenthood, education, and what kind of society we want to be. So why should we let children touch things even if they're likelyt o break them? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 86, discusses the manner of acquiring small animals, and concludes that they do not like being manhandled. It's an insight that modern science, addressing the same questions millennia later, confirms. Why do dogs really, truly hate being hugged? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 85, dives deep into the difference of commercial transactions occurring in the private versus the public domain. It's a tension that's still alive and well, as a new show, hosted by Rabbi Diana Fersko and producer Josh Kross explores; called Re-Form, it looks at the history of Reform Judaism in America, and how it navigated challenges of private versus public, tradition versus modernity, and other questions that are still very much relevant to American Jews today. What can we learn from these challenges in the wake of October 7? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 84, lists the surprisingly physical things we must do in order to consolidate an act of acquisition. Why did the rabbis require lifting and pulling before a commercial transaction was concluded? And what could their insights teach us about the possibility that shopping, derided as a soulless activity, is actually much more spiritually beneficial than we had previously considered? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 82 and 83, are all about the difference between praying and learning Torah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on this important spiritual distinction. Why should we always endeavor to emulate King David and "be the prayer"? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 80 and 81, have honey on the mind. But wait a minute: Why is honey even kosher? Bees, after all, aren't, and honey is very likely to have bits of bees in it. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to clear things up, and give us a timely teaching about honey's transformative power. So why do we dip our challah in honey on 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 79, warns us that whoever separates themselves from learning Torah can expect to be burned by fire. Why this harsh measure? What does it teach us about distancing ourselves from junk food, reality TV, and other things that aren't good for our hearts, minds, and soul? And how does C.S. Lewis's celebrated demon, Screwtape, fit into this stunning lesson in morality? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 78, teaches us all about ona'a, or the prohibited practice of charging someone unfairly in a business deal. Sadly, this prohibition is more relevant than ever, as big tech companies now use algorithms to compensate workers differently for the exact same tasks. How can the rabbis of the Talmud help us think our way into a more fair labor policy? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 77, discusses how words help us make meaning. Executive producer Courtney Hazlett is joined by director Nathan Silver and comedian Robert Smigel to discuss their new film Between the Temples. How can words, expressed and not, affect our 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 75 and 76, deliver a delicious disquisition on that ideal heavenly treat... whale meat. Why was the whale the food of the afterlife? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 73 and 74, give us a rare glimpse into the rabbis' view of cosmology. Dr. Jeremy Brown joins us to discuss why our wise ancestors believed in a place where the heavens touched the earth, and how this belief informed their view of the stars, the universe, and everything in it. How is the Talmudic cosmos like one of those airport luggage conveyor belts? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 72, gives us the story of the grafted carob as metaphor. What's so special about this tree that it was considered both a tree and akin to land? And what lesson does its seemingly contradictory status have to teach us as we go on a spiritual detox in preparation for the High Holidays? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 71, offers us one peculiar Hebrew phrase that unlocks a whole world of spiritual instruction we could use just about now. What did the rabbis mean when they insisted we see the world with a beautiful eye? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 70, kicks things off talking about investments. The discussion, however, soon evolves into a debate of what, precisely, we tell our kids about business. Do we share with them our financial affairs? Or is it better to leave them in the dark? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 68 and 69, contain a little nugget of great importance. It's a discussion of cultivated carob trees, and why, if you want them to be fruitful and tall, you should graft a few cultivated branches onto the wild trees that are strong but not very fertile. How is this insight a metaphor for all of human civilization? And what can it teach us about social media influencers? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s pages, Bava Batra 66 and 67, continue discussing the objects that are part of a home, and where an olive press fits in. Why was olive oil such a staple of the Talmudic diet? Why bother buying extra-virgin olive oil at all? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 65, is all about the things we keep in our kitchen, and what these appliances mean to us. How do our kitchen gadgets help make a house into a home? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 64, finds the rabbis discussing the soul of commerce. Should commercial transactions bring people closer together? Or drive them further apart? Producer Courtney Hazlett addresses these questions by interviewing Ben Zion David, an eighth generation Yemeni jeweler in Jaffa. How can buying and selling stuff build community? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 63, is a master class on how to write, and read, legal contracts. Sure, arguing over the meaning of every word can be exhausting, but it's also immensely edifying. What can we non-rabbis and non-lawyers learn from the Talmudic attention to every possible nuance? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud Pages, Bava Batra 61 and 62, discuss the meaning of silence during important conversations. The Presidentisher Tevi Troy, joins us to explore how this applies to modern politics. Does silence equal agreement? Listen and find out. Also, The Presidentisher Rav has just released a new book, "The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry." Gadol Hador Yuval Levin wrote of the book that "The Power and the Money" is "filled with rich anecdotes and analysis, and it weaves them all together compellingly." As Yuval puts it, "it’s a new book by Tevi Troy, so you should read it."

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 59 and 60, deliver a disquisition that couldn't be more timely. How, the rabbis are asking, should we go on living our lives in times of great sorrow, mourning, and grief? Can we continue to celebrate joyous occasions even amid so much loss and suffering? And, if so, how? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 58, gives us a collection of stories about the adventurous Rabbi Bena'a, who at some points even meets Abraham and Adam. Why did the Talmudic sages believe that all of us simply got worse and worse with each passing generation? And how is this concept of evolution in reverse actually an invitation to a more graceful and emotionally balanced life? Listen and find out

Todays page, Bava Batra 57, discusses the proper attire for torah scholars.Tablet’s General Manger and resident Fiber Arts specialist Tanya Singer joins us to discuss dressing properly for the task at hand. Do clothes make a difference when getting things done? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 56, raises a question that is still a political hot potato to this day: What, precisely, are the boundaries of the Land of Israel? But the rabbis, as they always do, dig even deeper, teaching us a lesson about the dangers of sameness and the dignity of difference. Why was Liz Lemon of 30 Rock fame wrong when she opined that all everyone truly wants is to sit down in peace and eat a sandwich? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 54 and 55, mention the Hatzav, a peculiar plant used to demarcate fields in the olden days. But the Hatzav has since become an absolute darling of Israeli poets, writers, and musicians, who have come to see it as the perfect metaphor for life in a demanding and beautiful and perilous land. Why? And what did the Israeli version of the Rolling Stones do when a big bank paid them to write a song about a Hatzav? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 52 and 53, make an argument that one good way to establish ownership of a piece of real estate is simply to lock the door. Producer Josh Kross joins us with his teenage daughter, Violet, to talk about privacy, door-locking, and the other thrills of parenting an adolescent. Just what is the appeal of door-locking anyway? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 51, finds the rabbis in the mood to praise the greats. Rabbi Meni Even-Israel, who heads the Steinsaltz Center in Jerusalem, joins us to talk about his father, the late, great Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, the scholar who has done more than anyone in modern times to make the Talmud accessible. What was it like arguing about presents with a singular Talmudic mind? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 50, mentions Usha, the ancient town in the Galilee where the rabbis set up court after the destruction of the Temple. What was so special about Usha? And what timely lessons does it have for those of us struggling with difficult realities today? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 49, is all about how couples should share their money—or not. Writer and editor Lisa Ann Sandell joins us to talk about the dos and don'ts of making money and marriage alike work. Who, exactly, owns the dog? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 47 and 48, raise a tough question: If we're forced to do something, does that thing really count? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to shed light on the soulful principle behind what, on paper, sounds like a harsh Halachic ruling. What to do when you come across a particularly pushy salesman? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 45 and 46, raise an interesting question: What to do when you accidentally picked up someone else's coat in shul? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain how and why this seemingly mundane-sounding question contains multitudes, and can teach us a surprisingly soulful lesson in how to live. What's the most Jewish article of clothing ever created? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 44, informs us that real estate is different from movable objects because it has a kol, literally a voice, meaning people talk about it and therefore tell each other everything there is to know about any piece of property. Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern of Yeshiva University's Straus Center joins us to talk about the wild real estate situation in Modi'in, Israel, where buying a home is a contact sport. What is the one thing you should never, ever do when trying to buy some property in the Promised Land? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 43, tells a story of a community that loses its Torah scroll in a brazen break-in. What should we do when we suffer such attacks? And what advice do the rabbis have for us as we, too, struggle to find some light in a benighted world? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 42, discusses the categories of people who may work very hard, and be well-compensated, but who may never claim true ownership. How is there condition similar to that of our best compensated meritocrats? And why are so many of the most fabulously salaried Americans so miserable? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 40 and 41, teach us the concept of the Moda'a, a difficult legal tool that allows someone forced to do something under duress a way out of a bad situation. Why did the rabbis question whether this tool might also invalidate the entirety of 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 38 and 39, discuss what happens to legal arrangements and normal life if and when the land of Israel is ravaged by war. Producer Courtney Hazlett joins us with a dispatch from Israel, shining a light on the life of one ordinary family living with ten months of war. What do ordinary people do in extraordinary circumstances? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 37, kicks things off with a vexing question about two people arguing over a piece of land, and soon evolves into a discussion of hope, grit, and keeping on. How did an elderly shoemaker inspire a very learned rabbi to denounce despair? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 36, praises the principle of dissent, of speaking your mind precisely when the many and the mighty think differently. What did some of the greatest dissenters in the history of the Supreme Court learn from Talmudic idea of an argument for the sake of heaven? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 35, introduces us to a concept called shudda de'dayanei, or judicial discretion, allowing judges to exercise their authority in difficult and contentious cases. Sivan Rahav Meir, host of the Sivan Says podcast and one of Israel's leading journalists and Torah teachers, joins us to discuss great power, great responsibility, and how to use both well. What did the celebrated Israeli Supreme Court justice do every morning before hearing difficult cases? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 33 and 34, delivers a crucial lesson about prioritizing those among us who can barely defend themselves. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why we should take special care when dealing with the disadvantaged. Why did the rabbis insist on a special oath when doing business with orphans? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Batra 31 and 32, deliver a bit of wisdom that served the rabbis well while discussing property rights, but that couldn't be more relevant to us in these contentious political times. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the fascinating and timely notion of being presumed Kosher. Why should we treat everyone as if they're worthy of our trust? 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. We think that you may also enjoy Liel's new book How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book, available directly from the publisher, or wherever you purchase books. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Batra 30, tells us the story of a man who was so busy he failed to notice his friend was living in his house for three years. What can we learn from this outlandish tale about our own relationship with productivity and stress? And was the wise Rava right to rule that keeping really, really busy is kind of good for you? Listen and find out.