Today’s Talmud pages, Makkot 12 and 13, take up the thorny question of why, precisely, courts do not absolve those who are truly repentant. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain why we may be forgiven for our sins in shul on Yom Kippur but not before an earthly judge. What was the most famous Talmudic discussion ever held in America, and how does it relate to the question at hand? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Makkot 10 and 11, kick things off with a strange, spooky story about two murderers that soon blossoms into a gorgeous morality tale. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the important insight the story delivers. What did the rabbis mean when they taught us that we must assist a person to walk down whichever path the person chooses? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 9, delivers a subtle rebuke about the dangers of succumbing to hate. Why should we sometimes be much more attentive to those we hate than to the ones we love? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 8, delivers a stark reminder to watch the way we behave in public. Why should we be meticulously mindful when it comes to the general wellbeing of others? And how do we keep the public domain from becoming a public nuisance? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Makkot 5, 6, and 7, contain a fierce debate of the death penalty. Should courts strive as much as they can to make sure we execute as few people as is possible, if not abolish capital punishment altogether? Or is the death penalty a necessary deterrent, without which we're sure to experience more chaos and crime? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Makkot 3 and 4, gives us a good lesson on how to deal with situations of great uncertainty. Should we just trust our gut and hope for the best? Should we analyze all available metrics instead? Or is there a third, wiser solution? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Makkot 2, kicks off a brand new tractate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us with a rollicking preview of what lies in store. Why are the conspiring witnesses punished with the same fate they schemed to afflict on another? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 113, brings us to the end of our magical tractate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to recap what we've learned, and share Judaism's unique and inspired view of the law. Why keep the commandments when we're already guaranteed a place in the World to Come? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud page, Sanhedrin 112, continues the discussion of an idolatrous city and whether or not it should be destroyed. Jordan Gorfinkel returns to help us parse what part, if any, do the residents of this evil town play in determining their fate. Why is Kevin Smith's Clerks a masterful Talmudic meditation? Listen and find out.

Today’s Talmud pages, Sanhedrin 110 and 111, kick off a discussion of an idolatrous city and whether or not it should be destroyed. Jordan Gorfinkel has thought about this question a lot, particularly as one of the leading creative forces behind Batman, whose native Gotham is an idolatrous city if there ever was one. Should Gotham be destroyed? Were there innocent people on the Death Star? And what can this Talmudic conversation teach us about, say, Gaza? Listen and find out.