The Oral Talmud
The Oral Talmud
Podcast Description
An introduction to the Talmud through the “traditionally radical” lens pioneered by Benay Lappe. She, along with co-host Dan Libenson, will explore key stories and other material from the Talmud that was left there by the early Rabbis as a how-to manual for re-imagining Judaism after the previous version “crashes.” In alternating weeks, we will interview leading scholars of and thinkers on Talmud to understand the Talmud more deeply from the perspective of contemporary academic study and creative re-interpretation.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into themes of Jewish re-imagination, exploring foundational stories from the Talmud such as the covenant at Mount Sinai and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's reformative actions post-destruction of the Temple. It tackles topics like the power dynamics involved in covenant acceptance and the implications of these narratives for modern Jewish practice and faith.
An exploration of the Talmud through the “traditionally radical” lens pioneered by Benay Lappe. Whether you are a beginner to Talmud study or a long-time learner, by listening in on Benay Lappe’s study partnership with Dan Libenson as they explore foundational stories and material from the Talmud, you will discover the how-to manual that the ancient Rabbis left behind for future generations to help us re-imagine a new version of Judaism after the previous version “crashes.”
“That’s what Rabbi Yitzchak is saying, once the temple is destroyed, we are all in a state of unhealthy living, and our desires can only be satisfied in forbidden ways.” – 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 rabbis began with a thought experiment about a lovesick man, which we discussed last week, and they end their analysis with something far stranger: the suggestion that the entire world has been broken ever since the Temple fell. Maybe that man wasn’t sick with love at all. Maybe he’s simply human. His desires are disordered, his longings are misplaced, and his inability to find satisfaction becomes a mirror for everyone else. What starts as a legal argument about one troubled man gradually turns into a meditation on what it means to live after a catastrophe.
Along the way, we stumble into questions far beyond sex. What if the rabbis understood themselves to be living after the end of the world? What if our deepest desires are shaped by loss? And what if the work of tradition is not inventing new values, but discovering the old values that were hidden there all along? The conversation moves from forbidden desire to human dignity, from constitutional law to climate change, and from a broken Temple to our own broken age.
This week’s text: Sanhedrin 75a
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.
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