Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 36, uses a somewhat complicated transactional discussion about paid and unpaid bailees to deliver a gorgeous lesson for the ages about the importance of always trying and doing and being our best. Why should we never, ever cut corners and shirk our duties? Listen and find out.

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 36 - Ever Upward

As Jews around the world engage in a seven-and-a-half year cycle of Daf Yomi, reading the entire Talmud one page per day, Tablet Magazine's new podcast, Take One, will offer a brief and evocative daily read of the daf, in just about 10 minutes. New episodes will be released daily Monday through Friday.

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Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 71, gives us a fiery lesson in business ethics. We investigate the Talmud’s claim that lending with interest is akin to denying Hashem’s existence. How should businesspeople commit to ethics in a way that’s more than just lip service? Listen and find out. 

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 71 – More Than Lip Service

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 70, tells us of a king who takes pity on the poor. We investigate this pages modern relevance in light of our time’s astonishing income inequality. Is meritocracy the backbone of American greatness and ingenuity, or a vicious cycle that makes everyone, even the winners, miserable? Listen and find out.

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 70 – The Merits of Meritocracy

Today’s Talmud page, Bava Metzia 69, tells a tale of reconciliation. We investigate a Samaritan business deal mediated by a rabbi. Will our foes forever be against us? Listen and find out. Listen and find out.

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 69 – Trust the Long View

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 67 and 68, report that one of the Talmud's greatest rabbis refused to identify as a Torah scholar. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain this strange and inspiring case, and what it has to teach us today. Are we being humble enough? Listen and find out.

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 67 and 68 – It's an Honor

Today’s Talmud pages, Bava Metzia 65 and 66, raise the question of just how much enticement we truly need before doing something we understand is risky. Shavit Romero, a non-Jewish son of Colombian migrants to Israel who joined the IDF, is converting to Judaism, and was badly injured in Gaza, joins us to speak of his journey. What drew him to the army and the perils of war? Listen and find out.

Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. 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.

Bava Metzia 36 - Ever Upward

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