Take One Daf Yomi

On today’s pages, Menachot 40 and 41, we explore the delicate laws surrounding burial garments and the symbolism of the tallit. While the Talmud wrestles with whether burying someone in tzitzit constitutes "mocking the dead"—reminding them of commandments they can no longer keep—Rabbi David Bashevkin argues that this sensitivity actually reveals the true purpose of the mitzvot. Unlike negative prohibitions that merely maintain a status quo, positive commandments are the tools we use to build a relationship with God. This daf challenges us to stop viewing ritual as a burden and start seeing it as a way to insert eternity into every passing moment. How can we make our daily actions matter as much as our final ones? Listen and find out.

On today’s page, Menachot 39, we learn that the way we tie ourselves to our commandments reflects the way we tie ourselves to each other. Barbara Edelson Peterson, author of Kvell: A Word You Should Know, bridges the gap between clinical psychology and Jewish tradition to show how celebrating others—even a grumpy teenager—activates the reward circuits in our brains. What does it take to move from an obsession with victimhood to a practice of authentic, spontaneous joy? Listen and find out.

On today’s page, Menachot 38, the Gemara dives into the essential independence of the colors of the tzitzit, asking if the absence of the blue thread prevents us from fulfilling the mitzvah of the white. This episode reveals how the "sky-blue" of our past was intentionally woven into the flag of our future, creating a symbolic bridge between ancient law and modern statehood. By choosing the colors of the tallit for the national banner, the founders of Zionism ensured that every time we look at the flag, we see the ancient yearning of our tradition. What happens when the ritual objects we wear become the symbols we march under? Listen and find out.

On today’s page, Menachot 37, we encounter a question that seems more like a riddle than a ritual: If a man has two heads, where does he place his tefillin? While Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi initially dismisses the query as absurd, the reality of a two-headed child soon forces a reconsideration of what is truly "impossible". This page serves as a humbling reminder that even the greatest minds have limits, and that God’s creation often exceeds our standard logic. How do we respond when the world presents us with something that defies our categories? Listen and find out.

On today’s pages, Menachot 35 and 36, we encounter a startling image: God showing Moses the knot of the tefillin. Rabbi David Bashevkin joins us to explore this anthropomorphic mystery, explaining that while we can never see God’s face—the future unfolding—we can always see God’s back by looking retrospectively at our lives and history. The knot at the back of the head symbolizes how we remain tethered to the Divine even when the path ahead is unclear. What does it mean to be wrapped in a divine embrace through history? Listen and find out.