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© 2025 Machshavah Lab
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My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss. My goal as a Torah educator is not merely to teach my students my OWN hashkafah. Rather, my goal is to equip them with the foundations, the methodological training, and the tools which will enable them to arrive at their OWN understanding of Judaism and cultivate their OWN relationship with Hashem and His Torah. This podcast is devoted to the shiurim I give which are geared specifically towards that end. As such, the range of topics covered here will be diverse. There will be shiurim on Jewish philosophy, Chumash methodology, aggadic midrashim, maybe even some non-Jewish philosophy as well. Merriam-Webster defines "laboratory" as a place providing opportunity for experimentation, observation, or practice in a field of study. I call this podcast "Machshavah Lab" because this is where we will conduct Torah "experiments" by exploring questions, texts, and ideas in an effort to develop our machshavah in a "hands on," exploratory, firsthand manner.
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Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 9 minutes 18 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/1/25, titled: Yom ha’Kippurim 5786 / Acharei Mos: The Order of Vidui. Here’s a quick article I wrote this morning. The idea isn’t fully developed, but I hope it gives some food for thought on Yom ha'Kippurim. Gmar chasimah tovah! ----- The Torah Content...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 36 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/29/25, titled: Approaching the “Sweet Secret” of Ha’Melech ha’Mishpat. Does the grammatically anomalous "ha'Melech ha'Mishpat" contain a secret? Some Rishonim think so. Here's my best (incomplete) attempt to understand that secret. ----- The Torah Conten...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 26 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/26/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we concluded (I think?) the introductory portion of our Iyov shiurim by taking up the question of when and whether Iyov lived. We read through the ten plus opinions in the Gemara, raised questions on what Chazal were trying to do, and then tried to answer them with a speculative theory (since I haven't found any satisfact...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 12 minutes 25 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/25/25, titled: Vayeilech: When Hashem Hides His Face. Twice in this parashah Hashem says He will hide His face: once for sin, and again even after we admit we were wrong. Here are five solutions to this difficulty. ----- The Torah Content for the m...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 10 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/19/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab sreies for women, we began with a comprehensive review of what we covered in Part 1, adding and clarifying the points we previously discussed. It was so comprehensive, in fact, that it took up the majority of our shiur! We used the remaining time to wrap up the question of Sefer Iyov's authorship, paving the way for our next planned topic:...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 43 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/18/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up the first of two mishnayos in our perek about the relationship between Olam ha'Zeh and Olam ha'Ba. At first, we thought the mishnah was obvious. Then, after learning through four meforshim, we found ourselves with eight points that needed to be explained. Despite my coming to shiur with only a few answers, together...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 20 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/16/25, titled: Nitzavim: Was Moshe Rabbeinu Pro-Philosophy or Anti-Philosophy? This article's intended audience is those who feel strongly either way, those who think they know my answer, and those who deny the validity of the question. ----- The Torah C...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 33 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/12/25), in this year's first Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiur for women, we began our (hopefully) year-long series on Sefer Iyov! I began by recapping my prior experience with Iyov, but to my delight, this turned into a really great discussion about the various challenges of learning the sefer. We then attempted to list all the major questions that ought to asked about the sefer B...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 48 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/11/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned the next mishnah in our chapter. This one was more practical, more approachable, and less metaphysical than the last. After raising a ton of questions, we learned the explanations of three commentaries: Rambam, Meiri, and Sforno. I believe we did justice to each one and learned ideas that are relevant to our lives,...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 28 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/5/25, titled: Ki Teitzei: Ibn Kaspi's Radical Rationale for Sending Away the Mother Bird. He'd sum up the rationale by saying: "You're nothing but a lowlife ass, a cabbage, and a dumb rock who'd cannibalize his own father. Become a vegetarian!" ----- The...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 48 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/4/25), in our first Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women of the 2025-2026 season, we took up a mishnah that happens to be on the same topic as Sefer Iyov, which will be a major focus of mine this year! In fact, this mishnah seems to undermine Iyov in its entirety! Thankfully, Sforno came to the rescue with a lengthy but rich commentary that answered every single question we rai...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of FREE article: 2 pages (PAID version is 3 pages) Length of FREE audio: 7 minutes 44 seconds (PAID version is 11 minutes 37 seconds) Synopsis: This is the audio version of the FREE version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/20/25, titled: Re’eh: The Torah Temimah’s Counterintuitive Take on the Mitzvah to Live in Israel (and Rav Chaim Brisker’s Zionism). Yes, there is a third answ...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 7 minutes 4 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/14/25, titled: Eikev: Slowing the Conquest ... For Animals? The Torah gives a bizarre reason for the slow conquest of Canaan. Two contrary explanations given by Rishonim shed light on how Hashem operates. ----- This week’s Torah Content has been sponsored...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 5 minutes 57 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/8/25, titled: Vaeschanan: The Loneliness of the Jew. Moshe Rabbeinu warns us not to add to or subtract from the Torah, but his reasoning is rather strange. Here’s an explanation I heard from my rebbi. ----- This week’s Torah Content has been sponsored by...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of audio: 1 hour 6 minutes Synopsis: This is the recording of the Tishah b'Av shiur I gave at the Island Synagogue on 8/3/25. Two things to note: (1) Unlike most other Tishah b'Av shiurim I've given, I don't think there are any chidushim (novel insights). Instead, I decided to focus on the basics. (2) Towards the beginning of the shiur, we read dthrough the kinnah in Hebrew and English. Unfortunately, the person readi...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 5 pages Length of audio: 18 minutes 3 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/25, titled: Tishah b’Av 5785: Metaphysical Trauma and the Aftermath of October 7th. I’ve revised and combined my four most important pieces on Tishah b’Av into a single article, with a new fifth section reflecting on October 7th. ----- Since this week’...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2.5 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 44 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/24/25, titled: Masei: Leviim as Countercultural Role Models Against Cancel Culture. What can the Levite Cities of Refuge teach us about cancel culture in "progressive" America today? A lot more than you might think! ----- With gratitude to Hashem, I’...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 6 minutes 29 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/18/25, titled: Pinchas: Inheritance as a Non-Intuitive Mishpat. What’s the purpose of inheritance laws? Most don't even ask. They assume the answer is obvious. But the Sefer ha’Chinuch offers a non-intuitive explanation. ----- This week's Torah content i...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 9 minutes 5 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/11/25, titled: Balak: How Bad Omens Can Harm You (Even According to the Rambam). Many people believe that bad omens are harbingers of real harm. Rambam is not one of them. But even he might hold by the exception noted by R' Yehuda ha'Nasi. ----- This week...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3.5 pages Length of audio: 11 minutes 37 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/9/25, titled: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Integrity of the Masoretic Text (Q&A Response) Part 1. Here's Part 1 of my response to a high school student's question about whether the Dead Sea Scrolls call into question the reliability of the M...
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Mendelssohn has nothing to do with Reform. The association is pure defamatory fantasy.