David Kestenbaum

Today's daf is sponsored by Tova and David Kestenbaum in loving memory of Tova's father, Rabbi Dr. Israel Rivkin z”l, on the occasion of his first yahrzeit. "My father was a pillar of strength and love for our family, a passionate learner of Torah, and a man whose chessed for his community and Klal Yisrael knew no bounds. He was deeply grateful to be living in Israel, together with my mother, surrounded by generations of descendants — a dream he cherished and fulfilled with joy and pride. יהי זכרו ברוך " Today's daf is sponsored by Judy Shapiro in memory of her mother Deera Tychman, Tzvia Bracha bat Mordechai v'Chaya Tova, on her 12th yahrzeit. "My mother was a lover of Israel and the Hebrew language. May her memory be a blessing." Today’s daf is dedicated to my brother Jonathan Cohen on his 50 th birthday! He has been learning daf yomi with me since Masechet Nidda of the last cycle. The bull offering of the kohen gadol precedes the bull offering of the community. This is derived both from a verse in the Torah and a logical argument. The bull offering of the community (sin offering) precedes the bull offering of the community in a case of idol worship (burnt offering), as a sin offering precedes a burnt offering, as is derived from a verse regarding the sliding scale offering when two birds are offered - one as a sin offering and one as burnt offering. The Gemara brings several other rulings regarding which sacrifice precedes another and the source for it in the Torah. Only in one case is there a tannaitic debate. If there are two lives to save or two people to feed or two people taken hostage, on what basis do we decide who to save, feed, or redeem first? The Mishnayot list who comes first, and a braita explands on this list. Lineage plays a key role in determining precedence, but a Torah scholar overrides this and comes before even a mamzer , as is derived from a verse in Mishlei 3:15. What things cause one to forget one’s Torah, and what can one do to restore forgotten Torah? What are ten things that are detrimental to Torah study? A braita delineates the rules for showing respect for the Nasi, Av Beit Din and Chacham – each in a different manner. This differentiation was instituted by Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel (the nasi ) on a day that Rabbi Natan, the Av Beit Din , and Rabbi Meir, the Chacham were not in the Beit Midrash.

When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira goes out with a letter carrier, ‘Grace,’ as she delivers mail on her route. He learns about the people who bring us our mail and also how people treat their mail. (11 minutes) Act One: Writing a letter decades after an event that shaped her life was the only way that Nicole Piasecki could make some sense of it. (18 minutes) Act Two: Yorkshire, 1866. A farmer overcomes his timidity and writes a very important letter to a local beauty. (3 minutes) Act Three: When senior editor David Kestenbaum was still a rookie reporter, he wrote an email to a legend. Then he waited...and waited...for a reply. (6 minutes) Act Four: A woman writes an unusual letter on behalf of her husband. (1 minute) Act Five: Producer Zoe Chace compares the letters a person gets and the letters they wish they got. (12 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Econ Battle Zone is back! On today's episode Mary Childs and Kenny Malone enter Econ Battle Stadium to throw down against reigning champion Erika Beras. Can Mary explain what effect extending the 2017 tax cuts will have on economic growth AND make her entire segment rhyme? Will Erika be able to overcome her fear of singing and craft a country song about the history of Medicaid? Can Kenny put together a piece about what warning signs economists look for to know whether the national debt has grown too large... but as a romantic comedy? Guest judges Betsey Stevenson and David Kestenbaum face a difficult choice... but only one contestant can claim the coveted Econ Battle Zone Belt. Artists featured in this episode: Rexx Life Raj (IG: @rexxliferaj ); Merle Hazard ; Alison Brown ; Tristan Scroggins ; Matt Coles; and Garry West . Special thanks to Liz Garton Scanlon, Robin Rudowitz and Sarah Rosenbaum. Find more Planet Money : Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter . Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money + in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

On his first day in office, President Trump decided to freeze all U.S. foreign aid. Soon after, his administration effectively dissolved USAID—the federal agency that delivers billions in food, medicine, and other aid worldwide. Many of its programs have been canceled. Now, as USAID officially winds down, we try to assess its impact. What was good? What was not so good? We meet people around the world wrestling with these questions and trying to navigate this chaotic moment. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Just one box of a specially enriched peanut butter paste can save the life of a severely malnourished child. So why have 500,000 of those boxes been stuck in warehouses in Rhode Island? (13 minutes) Act One: USAID was founded in 1961. Since then, it has spent hundreds of billions of dollars all over the world. What did that get us? Producer David Kestenbaum talked with Joshua Craze and John Norris about that. (12 minutes) Act Two: Two Americans moved to Eswatini when that country was the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic. With support from USAID, they built a clinic and started serving HIV+ patients. Now that US support for their clinic has ended, they are wondering if what they did was entirely a good thing. (27 minutes) Act Three: When USAID suddenly stopped all foreign assistance without warning or a transition plan, it sent people all over the world scrambling. Especially those relying on daily medicine provided by USAID. Producer Ike Sriskandarajah spoke to two families in Kenya who were trying to figure it out. (8 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

A show about people who are suddenly confronted with who they are. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Guest host Aviva DeKornfeld tells Ira Glass about breaking into a community pool as a kid, and the split-second decision that has haunted her ever since. (4 minutes) Act One: Some people are great in a crisis. Others, not so much. Does that mean anything about who we really are? Tobin Low investigates. (10 minutes) Act Two: Aviva DeKornfeld has the story of Leisha Hailey, who was certain she had the next million-dollar idea. (11 minutes) Act Three: Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks about the questions his daughter asks him and how trying to answer them showed him surprising reflections of himself. (15 minutes) Act Four: David Kestenbaum tells the story of the suspicious disappearance of multiple shoes and a woman determined to explain it. (8 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

For thousands of years, getting light was a huge hassle. You had to make candles from scratch. This is not as romantic as it sounds. You had to get a cow, raise the cow, feed the cow, kill the cow, get the fat out of the cow, cook the fat, dip wicks into the fat. All that--for not very much light. Now, if we want to light a whole room, we just flip a switch. The history of light explains why the world today is the way it is. It explains why we aren't all subsistence farmers, and why we can afford to have artists and massage therapists and plumbers. (And, yes, people who make podcasts about the history of light.) The history of light is the history of economic growth--of things getting faster, cheaper, and more efficient. On today's show: How we got from dim little candles made out of cow fat, to as much light as we want at the flick of a switch. Today's show was hosted by Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum. It was originally produced by Caitlin Kenney and Damiano Marchetti. Today's rerun was produced by James Sneed, and edited by Jenny Lawton. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Engineering by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

In the past few months, the price of gold has gone way up – even hitting a new high last month at just over $2,400 per troy ounce. Gold has long had a shiny quality to it, literally and in the marketplace. And we wondered, why is that? Today on the show, we revisit a Planet Money classic episode: Why Gold? Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum will peruse the periodic table of the elements with one goal in mind: to learn which element would really make the best money. This classic Planet Money episode was part of the Planet Money Buys Gold series, and was hosted by Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum. This rerun was hosted by Sally Helm, produced by Willa Rubin, edited by Keith Romer, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Podcasts , the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

This episode originally ran in 2015. About one hundred years ago, a scientist and statistician named Francis Galston came upon an opportunity to test how well regular people were at answering a question. He was at a fair where lots of people were guessing the weight of an ox, so he decided to take the average of all their guesses and compare it to the correct answer. What he found shocked him. The average of their guesses was almost exactly accurate. The crowd was off by just one pound. This eerie phenomenon—this idea that the crowd is right—drives everything from the stock market to the price of orange juice. So, we decided to test it for ourselves. We asked Planet Money listeners to guess the weight of a cow. Spoiler: You can see the results here . This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein. It was produced by Nadia Wilson and edited by Bryant Urstadt. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Study Guide Bava Kamma 31 This week's learning is sponsored by Tova and David Kestenbaum in honor of the recent birth of their grandsons, Tsuri Amiad, born to their children Mira and Etan Kestenbaum, and Yehudah Shalom, born to their children Daniella and Amit Nistenpover. "May their parents merit raising them in the ways of Torah, Mitzvot and good deeds. And may this simcha be a blessing for Am Yisrael." Today's daf is sponsored by the Hadran Women of Long Island in honor of Dora Chana Haar and Evie. "As we share in our Daf sister Dora Chana Haar and family’s joy and gratitude as Evie (Chava Naami bat Daba Chana) completes her chemotherapy. May Evie, all cholei Yisrael and our brothers and sisters in captivity speedily experience רפואות וישועות!"

Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel. On today's show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to get a couple of lawyers out of his office. This episode originally ran in 2012 . This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Study Guide Kiddushin 53 This week's daf is sponsored by Sarah Zahavi for the refuah shleima of Tinok ben Talia Nechama. Today's daf is sponsored by Tova and David Kestenbaum in honor of the birth of their grandson Naveh Eitan, son of their children Avital and Dvir Gamliel. "May he grow in Torah, mitzvot and good deeds." A braita states that the issue of whether a man can betroth a woman with his portion of the sacrificial items is a subject of debate between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yosi - each derives his opinion from the same verse. Rabbi Yochanan held that RAbbi Yehuda eventually conceded to Rabbi Yosi and Rav held that he did not. Two braitot are brought - one to support Rabbi Yochanan and one to support Rav. However, the one brought to support Rav's position is rejected. Rabbi Meir holds that a man cannot betroth a woman with maaser sheni produce as it is considered property of God. This is derived from a verse understood to be referring to maaser sheni - how? In the case of a man who unwittingly betrothed a woman with maaser sheni , Rabbi Meir holds that the betrothal is not effective, and in the case of a man who unwittingly betrothed a woman with hekdesh , Rabbi Yehuda holds that the betrothal is not effective. Regarding both these cases, Rabbi Yaakov said that he learned from Rabbi Yochanan that one is because the woman doesn't want this and the other is because both the man and the woman don't want it, but he was unsure which was which. Rabbi Yirmia and Rabbi Yaakov himself each offer opposite suggestions as to which one matches which opinion. Rava explains that according to Rabbi Meir, if the man betrothed with hekdesh and the betrothal is ineffective, it is a sign that the money does not become unsanctified by his action. Rav Chisda rules that this would be the same regarding a sale using money of hekdesh unwittingly - since neither side would want the sale to go through once they realize the money was hekdesh , the sale is invalid, the money is returned and the sanctity remains in the money as the item was in the end not use for a non-sacred purpose. Accordingly, there would be no obligation to bring a sacrifice for meila , misuse of consecrated property. A braita is brought to raise a difficulty with this understanding of Rabbi Meir, but it is resolved.

Prague, come for the theater, stay for the podcasting. Morgan Childs, co-host and producer of the Foreign Insiders podcast, tells us about getting her start reporting stories on food and “weird” Eastern Europe. She has now found a new professional life as an audio journalist, launching her podcast series on migration in the Czech Republic. Countries featured: USA, Poland, Ukraine, Liberland, Czech Republic Publications featured: Saveur, BBC, GQ, Lucky Peach, Vice Morgan discusses how her theater studies took her to the Czech Republic for the first time (7:17), getting started as a freelancer by telling "weird Czech stories" (13:10), burning out on freelance writing and turning to podcasting (25:10), a story that got away about a made up pan-Slavic language (30:20), her GQ story about a made up country and its unsavory founders (33:29), her podcast Foreign Insiders (44:48) and the lightning round (53:05). Here are links to some of the things we talked about: Foreign Insiders podcast - https://foreigninsiders.com Morgan’s story about snail farming - https://bit.ly/3viXqci Her Saveur story on Polish milk bars - https://bit.ly/30IkJOw Her story about a Ukranian violinist - http://bbc.in/3bHcitk Her Vice story about a town made of marzipan - http://bit.ly/3qQKSFO Her Vice story on stinky cheese - http://bit.ly/3lpOeyt Her GQ story about a made up country - http://bit.ly/3qL3wyP Radio Prague - http://bit.ly/2Ng6QnP Monocle 24 podcast - http://bit.ly/3lleWbh Washington Post podcast Canary - http://wapo.st/3qJZGFW On Being with Krista Tippett podcast - http://bit.ly/2OTEHmJ David Kestenbaum on This American Life - http://bit.ly/3rNw1gp Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats From: freemusicarchive.org CC BY NC