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
484 episodes since 2020
Shofetim: Three Philosophies of Bal Tashchis (Wasteful Destruction)
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/...
September 06, 2024
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Season 18
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Episode 2
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9:20
Avos 2:13 - Shema, Tefilah, and Bad Self-Image
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 t...
September 06, 2024
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Season 18
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Episode 1
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1:48:07
Re'eh: MEAT IS MURDER!!!
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 ra...
August 30, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 14
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7:22
Eikev: When to Disregard Tznius (Modesty) and Act Like an Animal
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...
August 22, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 13
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9:52
Vaeschanan: Ayn Rand, Art, and Avodah Zarah
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 ra...
August 16, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 12
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11:19
Kinnah #20: Incline Your Ear and Hear (Tishah b'Av 5784)
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 rela...
August 13, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 11
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1:17:41
Tishah b’Av 5784: Does Hashem Still Listen to Our Prayers?
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 entitle...
August 12, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 10
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9:12
Haftaras Devarim: Will Hashem Hate Our Tishah b’Av?
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 entitl...
August 09, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 9
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13:43
Four Insights from a Jewish Renewal Rabbi
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 8/1/2...
August 02, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 8
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18:32
Pinchas: The Korban Tamid as ... God's Food?
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 7/26/2...
July 26, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 7
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9:30
Vaeira: Do You Believe in Magic?
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
July 19, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 6
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7:39
Balak: Blaming Sins on “Sin City”
Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 8 minutes 45 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/19/2...
July 19, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 5
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9:52
Chukas: How the Deaths of Tzadikim Atone
Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 8 minutes 3 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/12/24...
July 12, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 4
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9:11
Korach: The Sexual Allegations Against Moshe Rabbeinu
Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 8 minutes 1 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/5/24 ...
July 05, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 3
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9:09
Shelach: Shadal’s Radical Take on the Forty Years in the Wilderness
Length of the article: 4 pagesLength of the audio: 15 minutes 31 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/28/...
June 28, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 2
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16:39
Shelach: Challah as a Consequence of the Cheit ha'Meraglim
Length of the article: 1 pageLength of the audio: 4 minutesSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I originally published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/24/22...
June 27, 2024
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Season 17
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Episode 1
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5:08
Q&A #40: Working Hours, Freud-Ego, Waving Leviim, Blind Obedience, Self-Help, Teaching, Archaeology
Length: 52 minutesSynopsis: This morning (6/21/24) we had a surprise Q&A as our last shiur in yeshiva of the 2023-2024 year! We took up seven questions: (1) How do we reconcile/account for the differences in the average working hours to...
June 21, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 23
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52:42
Behaalosecha: Moshe’s Short[ened] Tefilah
Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 7 minutes 41 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/21/2...
June 21, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 22
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8:49
Behaalosecha: Insights from the Shortest Tefilah Ever
Length: 1 hour 17 minutesSynopsis: This evening (6/19/24), in our last Wednesday night Tehilim/Tefilah shiur of the year, we took up a tefilah-related topic in the parashah: Moshe's short tefilah for Miriam. We raised a bunch of questions, ...
June 19, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 21
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1:18:15
Emulating Darwin: A Jewish Approach to Seeking God
Length of the article: 4 pagesLength of the audio: 15 minutes 3 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/18/2...
June 18, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 20
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16:11
Naso: Shivim Panim la'Torah in Context
Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 5 minutes 8 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally wrote on 6/20/13 which I edited and published on
June 14, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 19
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6:16
Shavuos is NOT About the Giving of the Torah
Length of the article: 7 pagesLength of the audio: 21 minutes 19 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 7-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/11/...
June 11, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 18
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22:27
Ralbag's Sixteen Toalos (Lessons) from Megilas Rus (The Book of Ruth)
Length: 1 hour 23 minutesSynopsis: This morning (6/7/24), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiurim for women, we decided to do a sequel to our Megilas Esther shiurim from earlier this year. As is his style, the Ralbag concludes sections...
June 07, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 27
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1:27:31
She'eilas Shalom ba'Shem Greeting in the Name of God (Part 2)
Length: 1 hourSynopsis: This morning (6/7/24) we continued our analysis of the sugya we started on Wednesday night. After reviewing the facts and questions, we set out to define - or at least, attempt to define - the two main disagreements:...
June 07, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 26
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1:00:38
Avos 4:5 - Sforno and Rashbatz on the Permissibility of Taking Money for Torah (Part 3)
Length: 1 hour 39 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (6/6/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued our analysis of the mishnah about deriving worldly benefit from words of Torah. After a VERY brief review of the Rambam, to...
June 06, 2024
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Season 16
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Episode 25
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1:40:31