Take One Daf Yomi

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 108 and 109, Yalta observes that for everything the Torah forbids, God provides something permitted in its place. It’s a striking teaching from one of the Talmud’s most fascinating women, whose appearances range from smashing 400 barrels of wine in a rage to offering profound insights into Jewish law. What happens when law and poetry meet? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 106 and 107, a discussion of handwashing leads to stories of culinary confusion, marital disaster, and a very dirty mustache. Centuries later, Ignaz Semmelweis would discover just how deadly unwashed hands could be—and pay a terrible price for trying to convince the world. Why are the invisible dangers sometimes the hardest to believe? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 105, two rabbis encounter a witch who uses an incantation to stop their boat in its tracks. Their eerie encounter opens a centuries-old Jewish debate over whether magic is real—and offers a surprisingly mundane prescription for confronting the supernatural. How do you protect yourself from a witch? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 104, the rabbis ask just how far the prohibition against mixing meat and milk really extends. Their debate over chicken and cheese becomes a master class in Talmudic reasoning—and a reminder that even our most familiar traditions invite us to ask why. So what, exactly, is wrong with chicken parm? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 103, the rabbis ask a slightly stomach-turning question about whether eating something once means you can ever truly eat it again—and discuss whether eating happens in the stomach, where food is digested, or the throat, where it is enjoyed. Along the way, a forgotten teaching offers a lesson in how even the wisest among us should be reminded of what they once knew. What can eating teach us about the pleasures of learning? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 101 and 102, the rabbis conclude Tractate Chullin, and with it our Summer Barbecue series comes to an end. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special finale with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on how a tractate about kashrut ultimately became a meditation on gratitude, responsibility, and seeing the world more completely. What happens when we stop looking only at what’s on our plate and begin to see everything behind it? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 99 and 100, the rabbis explore the principle that flavor—not appearance or texture—is what truly defines food. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism takes the invisible transmission of flavor so seriously, and what that teaches us about the unseen ways people, experiences, and actions leave their mark on our lives. What kind of flavor are we leaving behind? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 98, the rabbis continue exploring the laws surrounding meat. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism elevates meat only when it serves something greater—Shabbat, holidays, Torah, and community. Is the food at the center of the celebration, or is it simply helping us celebrate what really matters? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 97, the rabbis explore what happens when permitted and forbidden foods become accidentally mixed together. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on how Jewish law was designed not for a world of certainty, but for one filled with ambiguity and doubt. How do we make faithful decisions when we can’t know everything? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 96, the rabbis explain why an olive-sized portion has become one of the foundational measurements in Jewish law. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on moderation, intention, and why Judaism so often seeks the middle path rather than the extremes. What does it really mean to eat? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 94 and 95, the rabbis discuss signs and omens, prompting a conversation about the place of superstition in Jewish life. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism rejects magical thinking while embracing rituals that inspire hope, prayer, and intentional living. When does a good omen become an act of faith instead of superstition? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 92 and 93, the rabbis forbid sellers from misrepresenting what they’re offering, insisting that honesty belongs in every transaction. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism demands integrity not only in the marketplace, but in every human relationship. Is telling the truth simply about avoiding lies—or about honoring the people we deal with? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 91, the rabbis revisit Jacob’s struggle with the angel and the prohibition against eating the gid hanasheh. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on what that encounter teaches us about Jewish identity, belonging, and the responsibility never to give up on one another. What does it mean to hold on to someone until they become a blessing? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blurb: On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 90, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws of kashrut, reminding us that Jewish life is shaped not only by what we eat, but by the homes and families we build. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism’s ancient holiday of love still has something profound to teach us about dating, marriage, and commitment. In an age of endless options, how do we learn to choose commitment? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blurb: On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 89, the rabbis continue their exploration of the laws of kashrut, prompting a modern question they never could have imagined: plant-based meat. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores whether kosher versions of traditionally forbidden foods honor the spirit of Jewish law—or undermine it. If Impossible Pork is kosher, should you eat it? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 87 and 88, the rabbis debate who gets to perform a mitzvah when more than one person is ready to act. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers what it means to treat every mitzvah as an opportunity rather than a possession. How should we respond when the chance to do good presents itself? Listen and find out. Plus Dr. Tevi Troy joins us for a bonus take on the daf, and how it warns you to prepare for debate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 85 and 86, an extraordinary story about Rabbi’s family becomes a meditation on inheritance, healing, and hope. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers how every generation carries the burdens of those who came before—and the opportunity to redeem them. What if redemption begins at the family table? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 84, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws surrounding food and sustenance. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on Tisha B’Av, exploring the destruction of the Temples, the enduring lesson of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, and why the ultimate redemption of the Jewish people remains incomplete. What are we really mourning on Tisha B’Av? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 83, the rabbis highlight the enduring connection between meat and Jewish festivals. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why meat has long been associated with Shabbat, holidays, and celebration—and how every festive meal echoes the sacrificial service once performed in the Temple. Why does Judaism reserve meat for our happiest occasions? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 82, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws surrounding kosher slaughter, inviting us to reflect on what this remarkable tractate has taught us about eating meat. Recorded around a picnic table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross shares three different perspectives on food, tradition, and why eating meat should never become thoughtless. How can a meal become an act of mindfulness? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 80 and 81, the rabbis wrestle with the curious case of hybrid animals. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores what crossbred creatures—from mules to the mythical turducken—can teach us about dignity, difference, and the way Judaism understands the natural world. Do hybrids deserve to be treated any differently? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, ⁠Chullin 78 and 79, the Talmud invites us to think more deeply about the animals with whom we share the world. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism teaches both profound compassion for animals and a profound appreciation for what makes human beings different. How do we honor both without diminishing either? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 77, a discussion about avoiding the practices of the Amorites becomes a meditation on Jewish identity. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers how traditions, customs, and everyday habits shape a uniquely Jewish way of life. Is Jewish continuity built on laws alone, or on culture as well? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 76, an ancient discussion of animal welfare becomes a surprisingly contemporary conversation. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross asks whether Judaism’s concern for animals should influence not only how we slaughter them, but how we raise them as well. How far should we go to prevent animal suffering? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, ⁠Chullin 75, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws of kashrut, prompting a broader conversation about what those laws should—and shouldn’t—cover. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers whether kashrut should expand to include the treatment of animals, workers, and the broader ethics of food production. Is it time to redefine what “kosher” means? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 73 and 74⁠, a technical discussion about sacrificial animals becomes a conversation about one of Judaism’s oldest mysteries. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross asks why a religion so deeply concerned with compassion ever placed animal sacrifice at its center. What was sacrifice really meant to accomplish? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 71 and 72⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of ritual purity becomes an opportunity to reflect on memory, legacy, and the responsibility to preserve our greatest treasures. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross celebrates the launch of Talmud Daily⁠, a new home for generations of Talmudic learning. How do we ensure that what matters most outlives us? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 70⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of the firstborn opens the door to one of life’s greatest transformations. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on family, responsibility, and the profound moment when a child turns someone into a parent. Why does Judaism give the firstborn such a special place? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 69⁠, we step back from the details of kosher law to confront a timeless ethical question. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers why Judaism permits eating meat at all—and why that permission demands mindfulness, gratitude, and restraint. If Judaism places so many moral limits on eating animals, why eat meat in the first place? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 68⁠, the Talmud’s discussion of pregnant animals takes an unexpected turn into real life. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross is joined by an unplanned guest: Josh’s neighbor, who spent years raising veal calves. What can a former veal farmer teach us about one of the Talmud’s most sensitive discussions? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 66–67⁠, the rabbis turn from land animals to fish. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why fish require no ritual slaughter, what that says about consciousness, and why alien life might complicate our understanding of humanity’s place in creation. Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 64–65⁠, the rabbis tackle one of the Torah’s most surprising menu items: kosher insects. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores how Jewish food traditions are formed, why planning what we eat matters, and what kashrut teaches us beyond simply what’s permitted. What makes a cuisine authentically Jewish? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 63⁠, a debate over birds becomes a conversation about America itself. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores how early American Jews navigated unfamiliar species, new traditions, and the challenge of remaining authentically Jewish in an entirely new world. How do you preserve tradition when everything around you is new? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 62⁠, a long list of birds launches something much bigger. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer series with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores the Talmud’s rich and surprisingly modern conversations about meat—from brisket and barbecue to fake pork and the ethics of eating. What can a backyard barbecue teach us about one of the Talmud’s meatiest tractates? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 61, the rabbis wrestle with a surprisingly practical question: how can we tell whether an unfamiliar bird is kosher? Their discussion has echoed through the centuries, resurfacing whenever Jews encounter a new species—including one now found on millions of Thanksgiving tables. How did the turkey become kosher? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 59 and 60⁠, the Talmud pauses its legal discussions to tell stories—unforgettable stories featuring lions, emperors, and the incomparable Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah. Through wit, parable, and imagination, the rabbis teach truths that argument alone could never convey. Why is storytelling one of Judaism’s greatest teaching tools? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 57 and 58⁠, the rabbis tell a shocking story in which terror quite literally saves a man’s life. Far from being merely an unpleasant emotion, fear emerges as a force that can reshape both body and mind. Modern psychological research suggests they may have been onto something. Why do we voluntarily scare ourselves, and what can fear teach us? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 56⁠, a debate about birds and weasel bites turns into a lesson in intellectual honesty. After advancing one position, Rabbi Zeiri later reexamines the evidence, changes his mind, and informs his colleagues of his mistake. In an age when everyone is expected to double down, what does it mean to simply admit you were wrong? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 55⁠, the rabbis demonstrate a remarkable commitment to evidence, devising a method to determine whether an animal’s condition arose naturally or through external harm. Their willingness to question assumptions and seek verifiable answers serves as a powerful reminder that knowledge grows through inquiry, not conformity. Featuring remarks from Sinai Award recipient Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, and an introduction by Walter Kirn. Why is the search for truth worth defending? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 54⁠, a technical discussion about missing organs yields an unexpectedly hopeful lesson. Again and again, the rabbis rule that an animal can survive conditions that seem impossible at first glance. The result is a reminder that life is often sturdier than we imagine and that setbacks we assume are fatal may not be. What if we are more resilient than we think? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 52 and 53⁠, a debate about foxes, dogs, cats, and other predators becomes a meditation on the importance of particulars. Rather than treating all threats as identical, the rabbis carefully distinguish between different actors, different behaviors, and different consequences. The result is a model of thinking that resists slogans and demands close attention to facts. What happens when we stop arguing about categories and start looking at cases? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 50 and 51⁠, a seemingly technical discussion about an animal falling from a roof takes an unexpected turn when the rabbis tell the story of a goat that saw food below and jumped for it. Rather than assuming disaster, the sages conclude that the goat understood the distance and made the leap deliberately. The result is a surprisingly modern lesson about analysis paralysis, self-doubt, and the opportunities we miss when we spend too much time worrying. What can a hungry goat teach us about courage? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 50⁠, a discussion about injuries and defects in an animal’s digestive tract reminds us how carefully the rabbis examined every detail of the world before them. As we conclude our week-long series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the day of his yahrzeit, Rabbi Motti Seligson joins us to reflect on the Rebbe’s enduring intellectual and spiritual legacy. Together, we consider the immense scope of the Rebbe’s teachings and the powerful idea that all of Torah—and indeed all of life—forms a single interconnected whole. What happens when you begin to see the world that way? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 48⁠, a rabbi chooses not to impose his own stringency and instead directs questioners to a colleague whose ruling will bring them closer to Jewish life. Continuing our series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone joins us to discuss one of the Rebbe’s most enduring ideas: that there are no faraway Jews. What if the goal is not to bring Jews closer, but to recognize how close they already are? Listen and find out Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 47⁠, a remarkable story about a child’s survival becomes the starting point for a conversation about education, growth, and human potential. Continuing our series honoring the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Mendel Banon joins us to explore the Rebbe’s vision of education—not merely as the transfer of information, but as the cultivation of identity, values, and purpose. What is education really supposed to accomplish? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 45 and 46⁠, the laws of kashrut provide a window into the worldview of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Together with Dovid Margolin, Liel examines the Rebbe’s famous kosher campaign and his insistence that holiness is found not only in study and prayer, but also in kitchens, grocery stores, and dinner tables. The conversation offers a powerful reminder that Judaism asks us to sanctify the material world rather than escape it. Where does spiritual life actually happen? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pages, Chullin 43 and 44⁠, a technical debate about ritual slaughter opens onto a broader question about character and judgment. The rabbis insist that constantly switching between competing philosophies based on convenience is a recipe for confusion, while rigidly embracing every stringency is no better. The challenge is to choose a path thoughtfully and then follow it consistently. What happens when we try to have it both ways? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 42, the rabbis begin a lengthy exploration of one of Judaism’s most misunderstood categories: the treifah. Most of us use the word to describe any non-kosher food, from bacon to cheeseburgers, but the Talmud has something much more specific in mind. Through a detailed discussion of wounds, injuries, and mortal conditions, the daf reveals that a treifah is not merely forbidden food, but a kosher animal suffering from a fatal defect. Have we been using the wrong word all along? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s page, Chullin 41, the rabbis wrestle with a difficult question: how do we identify those who have fundamentally broken with the values of the Jewish community? What begins as a technical discussion of ritual slaughter and idolatry quickly opens onto a much larger story about disagreement, belonging, and the boundaries of Jewish life. The daf reminds us that Jews have been arguing over first principles for thousands of years—and that some of those arguments are still very much alive today. In this special episode, we’re also sharing a brief excerpt from the first installment of our new three-part series, The Battle for Israel’s Soul, which explores one of the most consequential Jewish debates of our own time. What happens when two Jews envision radically different futures for the same people? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blurb: On today’s page, Chullin 40, the Talmud asks what happens when two people jointly perform an act, but only one brings corrupt intentions to it. The answer is severe: the whole slaughter becomes invalid, even though one participant may have meant no harm. The daf turns this legal problem into a broader warning about the company we keep and the partnerships we form. Can one bad partner ruin an otherwise worthy project? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices