Take One: Shabbat 13

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 13, revolves around a grizzly story of a pious man who studied Torah, served his rabbis, and still died suddenly at a very young age. His bereaved widow walks around from synagogue to synagogue demanding an explanation, until the prophet Elijah delivers a very thorny explanation that has to do with sexual conduct. Dr. Batsheva Marcus, a certified sex therapist, joins us to wrestle with this difficult story, and talk about how we approach the laws of nida, or ritual purity. How to read the Talmud’s plethora of strictures and warnings in the modern age? Listen and find out.

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