Take One: Berakhot 23 and 24

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Berakhot 23 and 24, bring up one of the most controversial prohibitions to emerge from Talmudic discussion: The idea of kol ba’isha erva, meaning that a woman’s singing voice is as sexually alluring as her nakedness. It’s why observant women aren’t permitted to sing in mixed company, and so naturally we asked one of our favorite singers, Chazan Basya Schechter, to join us and reflect on what this prohibition meant to her, growing up religious and eventually becoming both a cantor and the leader of one of the leading Jewish music groups working today, Pharaoh’s Daughter. What were the rabbis thinking when they took issue with women singing? Listen and find out.

Take One is Tablet Magazine’s daily Daf Yomi podcast.