Episode Details

“The Talmud has one message, one and only one message, and it gives it in 14,000 different cases, and that one message is, reader, you are tasked with making the tradition as good as you possibly can, and you are not bound to the Torah in doing that.” - Benay Lappe

Welcome to The Oral Talmud, our weekly deep dive chevruta study partnership, discovering how voices of the Talmud from 1500 years ago can help us rethink Judaism today. 

The Talmud wants you to think you’ve figured it out. Then it pulls the rug out from under you. A proof that seemed so convincing suddenly falls apart. An argument you accepted without question turns out to have a hole you should have noticed. And Benay and Dan suspect the frustration is intentional.

Because maybe the Talmud isn’t just teaching you how to interpret Torah. It’s training you to hold your truths lightly. In this episode, Dan and Benay continue to explore a text designed to destabilize certainty and form people capable of noticing when the tradition they inherited is no longer working. The goal isn’t endless doubt. It’s something harder: becoming confident enough to act, but flexible enough to realize when you’re wrong, and courageous enough to change.

This week’s text: Bava Kamma 83b

Find an edited transcript and full show notes (references and further reading) on The Oral Talmud webpage for this episode! Access the Sefaria Source Sheet to explore key Talmud texts and find the original video of our discussion. The Oral Talmud is a co-production of Judaism Unbound and SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. If you’re enjoying this podcast, please help us keep both fabulous Jewish organizations going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation at oraltalmud.com. You can find a donate button on the top right corner of the website.