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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.
493 Episodes
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Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 3 pagesLength of audio: 10 minutes 50 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/8/24, titled: Lech Lecha: Avraham Avinu – a Vial of Perfume in a Cemetery. This week's article is part Mishlei, part midrash, and part insight into the pshat of the parashah - all thanks to Rabbeinu Bachya's introductory drashah, which centers upon a stra...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 21 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (11/7/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued learning Chapter 4. On its surface, this mishnah is directed at judges, but the advice it gives is counterintuitive. Despite the seemingly narrow audience, we were able to derive practical insights for us normal folk, as well as perspectives on halachic jurisprudence. -----מקורות:אבות ד:זרש"ירמב"םרבינו יונהמאירירמב"ם - ...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 37 minutesSynopsis: This morning's YBT Sunday shiur (11/3/24) was a bit different than usual, focusing more on reading and discussing sources than in-depth analysis. This was intentional, since this shiur was intended to be a setup for the REAL shiur. My original goal was to present Sforno’s view that the nachash in Gan Eden represents the yetzer ha’ra. However, I realized two preliminary issues needed to be addressed: (...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 18 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/1/24, titled: Noach: Why Was Noach's Family Saved? I've always assumed they were saved because of Noach's righteousness, or for the sake of repopulating the world. According to Sforno, neither is true.-----This week's Torah content is sponsored by Ayala, w...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 21 minutesSynopsis: This morning (10/11/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women (rescheduled to Friday morning, Erev Yom ha'Kippurim), we took up the final clause of the first mishnah in chapter 2 because it mentions the concept that all our deeds our written in a book. I chose this because I hoped it would shed light on all the book-talk at around this time of year, and if not, then at least it'll be inst...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 16 minutesSynopsis: This Erev Rosh ha'Shanah morning (10/2/24), I gave an incomplete shiur on the phrase "ha'Melech ha'Mishpat" with which we conclude the 11th berachah of the Amidah during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah. Last year I wrote 3/4ths of an article on this topic - everything but the main idea, which didn't come together in time. This year, I had planned on finishing the article in time to post on Erev RH, but that ...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 7 minutes 22 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/27/24, titled: Nitzavim/Vayeilech: Teshuvah as a Ledge. We're about to enter the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah (Ten days of Repentance) once again, and I find myself asking the same question I ask every year: Is teshuvah really as easy as Moshe Rabbeinu claims?-----...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 31 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (9/26/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up the next mishnah in the fourth chapter, where we left off in June. This one certainly struck us as odd, speaking of Torah almost like a voodoo doll. We raised a ton of questions and successfully learned two approaches from three meforshim (Rashi, Rambam, and Meiri), which answered all our questions. We also attempted to l...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 19 minutesSynopsis: This evening (9/19/24), in lieu of our regularly scheduled Pirkei Avos Shiur for women, we took up a question on the parashah that I'm trying to write about for this week's article. This is a good example of how, if you keep asking questions even when you think you've reached the end of the line, you'll sometimes break through to a new vista with new discoveries waiting to be made. I set out to give a...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 12 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/6/24, titled: Shofetim: Three Philosophies of Bal Tashchis (Wasteful Destruction). Some mitzvos have well-hidden reasons. Others suffer the opposite fate: everyone assumes they understand their reasons without bothering to learn what the Torah says. Bal tas...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 39 minutesSynopsis: Last night (9/5/24), in our first Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women of the 2024-2025, we took up a tefilah-related Mishnah from chapter 2, since I've been in tefilah mode all summer and I wanted to share some ideas. If you're looking for an eye-opening perspective on tefilah filled with potential, be sure to listen all the way to the end of the shiur, when we learn the Meiri's interpretation....
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 6 minutes 14 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally wrote on 8/14/15, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/30/24, titled: Re'eh: MEAT IS MURDER!!! P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) equates slaughtering animals for food with murder. Does Judaism agree? The answer may surprise you! -----The Torah conten...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 44 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/23/24 titled: Eikev: When to Disregard Tznius (Modesty) and Act Like an Animal. Yes, this is an article about a case in which Chazal permit us to totally disregard the laws of tznius and explicitly encourage us to behave like animals ... but probably not in the way y...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 3 pagesLength of audio: 10 minutes 11 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I originally wrote on 8/4/14, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/14/24 entitled: Vaeschanan: Ayn Rand, Art, and Avodah Zarah. Like her or hate her, Ayn Rand's definition of art sheds light on why the Torah prohibits the making of representative statues even for aesthetic purposes.-...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 16 minutesSynopsis: This morning (8/13/24), I gave my annual kinnos shiur at Shevet Achim (a.k.a. The Island Synagogue), and for the first time ever, I recorded it! I chose this kinnah because it presents itself as being related to tefilah, which has been the focus of my learning all summer. But even a surface-level examination of the text indicates that something strange is going on here. And, as you'll hear, this kinna...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 4 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/12/24 entitled: Tishah b’Av 5784: Does Hashem Still Listen to Our Prayers? One would assume the answer is "yes," but a midrash about the destruction of Mikdash indicates otherwise. What does this midrash teach us about the loss of Mikdash and our tefilah nowadays?----...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of article: 3 pagesLength of audio: 12 minutes 35 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/9/24 entitled: Haftaras Devarim: Will Hashem Hate Our Tishah b’Av? Some years I write a Tishah b'Av article and feel like I'm not adding anything - just showcasing the words of the prophets. Maybe that's a good thing. This is one of those articles.-----The Torah Con...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of the article: 5 pagesLength of the audio: 17 minutes 25 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/24 entitled: Four Insights from a Jewish Renewal Rabbi. I can't say I've ever written an article prompted by someone from a non-Orthodox Jewish movement, but once I heard this podcast, I had to share my thoughts. -----The Torah Content for the remainder of...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 8 minutes 22 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/26/24 entitled: Pinchas: The Korban Tamid as ... God's Food? How would you respond to the claim that korbanos are "God's food"? How would you account for the similarities between our korban tamid and idolatrous parallels? We look to the tamid for answers.----...
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 6 minutes 31 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally published on my old blog on 12/27/13, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/19/24 entitled: Vaeira: Do You Believe in Magic? Is magic real? There are three views among the Rishonim. This used to be an open question. But if these Rishonim were alive today, they'd al...
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