Take One Daf Yomi

On today’s pages, Bekhorot 21 and 22, the rabbis discuss how to determine whether an animal has previously given birth, eventually concluding that the answer requires a knowledgeable shepherd. Liel wonders what happened to that kind of practical wisdom in a world where we increasingly rely on technology we know how to use but don't really understand. Are we still masters of the tools around us, or have we become helpless consumers? Listen and find out.
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On today’s page, Bekhorot 20, Rabbi Yehoshua wastes no time correcting Rabbi Yishmael when his former student gets a point of halacha wrong. But years before that rebuke, Rabbi Yehoshua had encountered the young prodigy imprisoned in Rome, recognized his extraordinary potential, and paid a fortune to free him. What does it mean to care enough about a student to both invest everything in him and tell him when he’s wrong? Listen and find out.
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On today’s page, Bekhorot 19, the rabbis discuss the rite of the Egla Arufa, or the decapitated calf, sacrificed whenever a stranger was murdered by an unknown assailant as a way to shock us all into understanding that we are responsible for each other. Still, why such a brutal ritual? And why a calf? Listen and find out.
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On today’s page, Bekhorot 18, a ewe gives birth to two males whose heads appear at precisely the same moment, leaving the rabbis with a problem: Which one is actually the firstborn? What follows is a wonderfully intricate argument about stronger lambs, weaker lambs, competing claims, and the burden of proof. What can two newborn lambs teach us about the extraordinary precision of Talmudic reasoning? Listen and find out.
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On today’s pages, Bekhorot 16 and 17, the rabbis ask what happens when an animal no longer looks the way its species is supposed to look. Centuries of breeding and natural change make that ancient question surprisingly modern, with implications for everything from wool to matzah. What does Jewish law consider meaningful change, and what can safely be chalked up to nature taking its course? Listen and find out.
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