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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.
578 Episodes
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Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 11 minutes Synopsis: This morning (12/5/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we began by reviewing the facts from last time. From there we took up a Vayishlach/Iyov side-quest, examining the midrash that Iyov’s wife was Dinah, a midrash for which I have found zero explanations. After that, we continued reading the sefer through the end of Iyov’s “post-breakdown monologue” in Chapter 3, and we conc...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 14 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/4/25 titled: Vayishlach: Does Rashi Slander Dinah and Leah? Abravanel takes Rashi to task for blaming Dinah’s rape on Leah’s conduct. While I ordinarily side with the peshat, I’d like to show that I can learn Rashi too. ----- This week’s Torah content i...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 57 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/1/25 titled: Did Rambam Actually Praise Ibn Ezra and Trash the French Jews (for Eating Salsa)? You may have heard that the Rambam endorsed Ibn Ezra’s commentaries. Maybe you even heard he made disparaging remarks about the French. Well, I have some new...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 4 minutes Synopsis: This morning (11/21/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we had a shorter shiur in the usual. We spent the first portion clarifying some points from Part 3 - specifically, whether Ralbag would be considered a kofer (heretic) according to the Rambam. We then read through the remainder of the narrative about Iyov's suffering, using Malbim's commentary as our guide. Next time (בג"...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 16 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/21/25 titled: Toldos: How Different Were Yaakov and Eisav? I was tempted to title this "When Teaching Rashi to Children Promotes Kefirah (Heresy)" but I decided that was too bold and relegated it to the subheading. Many thanks to Rabbi Pesach Sommer for...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 27 minutes Synopsis: This morning (11/14/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we continued learning through the prologue of Iyov (1:1 - 3:1). We began with a question of Iyov Methodology: Which commentaries would I recommend? This led to another important tangent (the second in three sessions!) about the ikkarim (fundamentals of Judaism). I'm particularly interested in what people think about what...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 29 minutes Synopsis: This evening (11/13/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued with the clause we worked on last time. We spent the first part of shiur reviewing everything we covered last time, answering the questions we left off with and sharpening some of the insights we had. Then we moved on to the Meiri, who gave us several different interpretations of the first two clauses of the mis...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 9 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/13/25 titled: Chayei Sarah: Sarah’s Years — A Peshat-Style Alternative to Rashi’s Midrashic Reading. Rashi’s drash on Sarah’s 127 years is well known and conveys profound ideas, but I prefer a different style of drash, one that speaks in my language: pes...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 4 minutes Synopsis: This morning (11/7/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we reviewed the first five pesukim and answered our questions based largely on the Malbim's commentary, setting the stage for the drama that unfolds in the remainder of Chapters 1-2. ----- מקורות: איוב א:א-יב מלבי"ם - איוה א:א-ה --- This week's Torah content is sponsored by Joey and Estee Lichter in commemoration of the ya...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 15 minutes 19 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/7/25 titled: Vayeira: Maybe Lote Wasn’t the Bad Guy Rashi Makes Him Out to Be.In Rashi’s “world of midrash,” Lote’s the bad guy—but in the “world of peshat,” Radak paints a different picture. Which view is more compelling and relevant? ----- The Torah ...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 29 minutes Synopsis: This evening (11/6/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we went back and learned the beginning of the mishnah we started last week. We spent most of the time mining the depths of Rashi on the first clause-and-half. We then moved on to Rambam and Rabbeinu Yonah, attempting to compare and contrast them to discern how much they overlapped ... but then I got tired because of the clock...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 17 minutes Synopsis: This morning (10/31/25), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab series for women, we began our unit on what I call the Prologue to Sefer Iyov (1:1 - 3:1). The initial plan was to have a brief introduction, then read and translate the entire Prologue, then analyze 1:1-5. Instead, our intro led to a rant (on my part) about the Rambam's 13 ikkarim, as misunderstood by anti-Maimonideans and hyper-Maimonid...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 45 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/31/25 titled: Lech Lecha: Shadal on Jewish vs. Egyptian Circumcision. Contrary to what some might assume, circumcision did not originate with Jews. It was practiced in Egypt thousands of years earlier. What do we make of this? Shadal offers a profound a...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 2 hours Synopsis: This evening (10/30/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up the famous precept of being dan l'chaf zechus. We ended up raising twenty questions total and answering most (if not all) of them through our in-depth analysis of Rambam and Rashi. If you're interested in a deep-dive into this topic which addresses the topic theoretically and practically, then this shiur will give you plent...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 15 minutes 24 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/24/25 titled: Noach: Did All Humanity Really Speak One Language? Though Malbim, R. Mecklenburg, and Rav Hirsch shared a common milieu and similar educational aims, each approached this question in a distinct way. ----- The Torah content for the re...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 40 minutes Synopsis: This morning (10/23/25), in lieu of our usual morning Mishlei, we had a Q&A session! We discussed the following three questions: (1) According to the Rambam, if Olam ha'Ba is non-physical, and if our desires only relate to physical enjoyments, how can we desire Olam ha'Ba? (2) What do we mean in the short vidui when we say ti'ta'nu, which some translate as "You have let us go astray"? (3) Should every ...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 5 pages Length of audio: 14 minutes 57 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/10/25 titled Sukkos 5778: I Hate Sukkah (In a Good Way). Here's a newly edited version of my first (and favorite) article on Sukkos, originally published on 10/4/17. It captures a huge part of how I relate to mitzvos. ----- The Torah content for t...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 1 page Length of audio: 3 minutes 46 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/6/25 titled: Sukkos 5786: Musings on the “Branding” of Chag ha’Sukkos. Two years ago, a student of mine asked a question about Sukkos using one quirky word that set off a cascade of thinking. I hope it does the same for you! ----- The Torah content...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 11 minutes 24 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/5/25 titled: Haazinu: What If You Find Torah Empty? Chazal would respond, “The fault is yours—you didn’t toil in Torah.” But what about those who have toiled and still find Torah empty? Here are my thoughts. ----- The Torah content for the remainder of...
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...
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Mendelssohn has nothing to do with Reform. The association is pure defamatory fantasy.