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 • 628 episodes

Machshavah Lab

Latest Episodes

Behaalosecha: Don’t Cry Over Lost Fish / Forbidden Relations (Part 1: The Question)

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/5/26 titled:

June 05, 2026 • Season 24 • Episode 42 • 5:51

Four Entered the Pardes: An Exploration With An Agenda

Length: 1 hour 35 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (6/4/26), in our Thursday night Machshavah Lab series for women, was not a shiur but an exploration with an agenda (which I explain toward the beginning and won't divulge here). We read the famous ...

June 04, 2026 • Season 24 • Episode 41 • 1:36:03

Naso: Three Explanations of the Chatas ha’Nazir (Nazrite’s Sin-Offering)

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/29/26 titled:

May 29, 2026 • Season 24 • Episode 40 • 20:00

Can God Do the Impossible? Teaching High Schoolers the "Limits" of Divine Omnipotence in Iyov

Length: 2 hours 19 minutesSynopsis: This morning (5/17/26), in my last YBT Sunday Shiur of the season, I gave an updated version of my Judaism Demystified episode titled "Can God Do Anything/Everything? Can God Do the Impossible?" The shiur...

May 17, 2026 • Season 24 • Episode 39 • 2:19:51

Rambam on Divine Knowledge and Hashgachah (Part 1: False Views) Moreh 3:16-17a

Length: 1 hour 28 minutesSynopsis: This morning (5/15/26), in our Friday morning Sefer Iyov series for women, we moved on to the next - and last! - subseries within our overarching series on Iyov. Over the course of the next eight chapters,...

May 15, 2026 • Season 24 • Episode 38 • 1:28:12

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