Machshavah Lab

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.

Podcasting since 2020 • 654 episodes

Machshavah Lab

Latest Episodes

What the First Creation Account is Doing ... I Think (Part 1: The Question and Seven Approaches)

Length: 1 hour 27 minutesSynopsis: This morning (11/13/26), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiur for women (the first of the season!), we embarked on a quest to answer one question: What are WE supposed to get out of the first creatio...

November 13, 2026 • Season 26 • Episode 11 • 1:27:49

Toldos: How Tefilah Works

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/12/26 titled:

November 12, 2026 • Season 26 • Episode 10 • 20:26

Chayei Sarah: Rivkah’s Birth, Sarah’s Death, and the Tzadikim in Every Generation

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/6/26 titled:

November 06, 2026 • Season 26 • Episode 9 • 16:29

Rambam on Gehinnom (or Did Rambam Hold by Gehinnom as a Post-Mortem Spiritual Punishment?)

Length: 2 hours 17 minutesSynopsis: This morning (11/1/26), I gave a YBT Sunday Shiur on the weighty and controversial topic of what the Rambam holds about Gehinnom. Specifically, does the Rambam agree with the traditional concept of Gehinn...

November 01, 2026 • Season 26 • Episode 8 • 2:17:44

Vayeira: Radak on the Akeidah (Part 1: Questions)

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 10/29/26 titled:

October 29, 2026 • Season 26 • Episode 7 • 11:59

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Machshavah Lab

Machshavah Lab

Latest Episodes

What the First Creation Account is Doing ... I Think (Part 1: The Question and Seven Approaches)

Toldos: How Tefilah Works

Chayei Sarah: Rivkah’s Birth, Sarah’s Death, and the Tzadikim in Every Generation

Rambam on Gehinnom (or Did Rambam Hold by Gehinnom as a Post-Mortem Spiritual Punishment?)

Vayeira: Radak on the Akeidah (Part 1: Questions)

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