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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.
Episodes
550 episodes
Ki Teitzei: Ibn Kaspi's Radical Rationale for Sending Away the Mother Bird
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 28 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/5/...
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Season 23
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Episode 2
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9:22
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Sforno on the Prosperity of the Wicked and Suffering of the Righteous (Avos 4:15)
Length: 1 hour 48 minutesSynopsis: 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 ...
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Season 23
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Episode 1
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1:49:01
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Re’eh: The Torah Temimah’s Counterintuitive Take on the Mitzvah to Live in Israel (and Rav Chaim Brisker’s Zionism)
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 publish...
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Season 22
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Episode 13
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8:39
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Eikev: Slowing the Conquest ... For Animals?
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 7 minutes 4 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/14/...
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Season 22
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Episode 12
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7:59
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Vaeschanan: The Loneliness of the Jew
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 5 minutes 57 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/8/...
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Season 22
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Episode 11
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6:51
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Tishah b'Av 5785: Kinnah #7 - How Can Hashem Not Remember?
Length of audio: 1 hour 6 minutesSynopsis: 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 <...
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Season 22
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Episode 10
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1:06:24
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Tishah b’Av 5785: Metaphysical Trauma and the Aftermath of October 7th
Length of article: 5 pagesLength of audio: 18 minutes 3 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/...
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Season 22
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Episode 9
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18:58
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Masei: Leviim as Countercultural Role Models Against Cancel Culture
Length of article: 2.5 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 44 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on ...
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Season 22
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Episode 8
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9:39
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Pinchas: Inheritance as a Non-Intuitive Mishpat
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 6 minutes 29 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/18...
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Season 21
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Episode 7
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7:24
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Balak: How Bad Omens Can Harm You (Even According to the Rambam)
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 9 minutes 5 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/11/...
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Season 21
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Episode 6
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9:59
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The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Integrity of the Masoretic Text (Q&A Response) Part 1
Length of article: 3.5 pagesLength of audio: 11 minutes 37 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7...
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Season 21
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Episode 5
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12:31
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Chukas: A Maimonidean Explanation for Parah Adumah (from a Different Moshe)
Length of article: 4 pagesLength of audio: 14 minutes 36 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/4...
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Season 21
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Episode 4
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15:30
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Korach: Three Types of Machlokess (or “How Korach Wasn’t as Bad as You Think”)
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 7 minutes 54 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/26...
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Season 21
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Episode 3
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8:49
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Shelach: Rabbeinu Bachya on the Meraglim, Mishlei, and the Current War With Iran
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 7 minutes 15 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/20...
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Season 21
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Episode 2
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8:10
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The Potentially Problematic Line in Sheva Berachos (and What to Do About It)
Length of article: 5 pagesLength of audio: 17 minutesSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/19/25, title...
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Season 21
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Episode 1
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17:54
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My Graduation Charge to the NEJA Class of 2025 (spoken from the heart, with speech tics)
Length of transcript: 3 pagesLength of video/audio: 9 minutes 4 secondsSynopsis: Here's the audio of the graduation charge I delivered to the NEJA Gr...
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Season 20
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Episode 45
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9:58
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Behaalosecha: The Non-Symbolic Trumpets
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 6 minutes 53 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/13...
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Season 20
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Episode 44
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7:48
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Translating the Word Ashrei
Length: 1 hour 1 minutesSynopsis: This Wednesday evening (6/11/25), in our last Tehilim shiur of the 2024-2025 season, we ended up doing a chaotically orderly experimental Chumash exploration instead of Tehilim. If you've ever looked at Eng...
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Season 20
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Episode 43
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1:01:53
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Naso: Twelve Identical Offerings
Length of article: 4.5 pagesLength of audio: 14 minutes 23 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 4.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on...
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Season 20
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Episode 42
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15:18
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Q&A #44: Mishleic Fatalism, Life Decisions, Halakhic Man, Pirkei Avos, What Yeshiva Bochrim Miss
Length: 47 minutesSynopsis: This morning (6/5/25) we had what will likely be our last Q&A of the 2024-2025 season! We discussed the following five questions: (1) Have my views on Mishleic fatalism changed? (If you're not familiar, don't...
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Season 20
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Episode 41
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48:10
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Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 8 minutes 15 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/30...
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Season 20
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Episode 40
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9:09
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Bechukosai: Does Hashem Ever Truly Loathe Israel?
Length of article: 2 pagesLength of audio: 9 minutesSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/23/25, titled...
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Season 20
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Episode 39
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9:55
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Avos 4:14 - Exile Yourself to a Place of Torah
Length: 1 hour 45 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (5/22/25), in our final Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women of the 2024-2025 season, we took up a mishnah that is relevant to us all, and is particularly appropriate as we approach Zman Mata...
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Season 20
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Episode 38
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1:45:13
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