Q&A #45 - Desiring Olam ha'Ba, Blaming Sins on Hashem, and Should We Strive for the Crown of Torah Artwork

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.

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Machshavah Lab

Q&A #45 - Desiring Olam ha'Ba, Blaming Sins on Hashem, and Should We Strive for the Crown of Torah

October 23, 2025 • Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss • Season 23 • Episode 15

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Length: 40 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (10/23/25), in lieu of our usual morning Mishlei, we had a Q&A session! We discussed the following three questions: (1) According to the Rambam, if Olam ha'Ba is non-physical, and if our desires only relate to physical enjoyments, how can we desire Olam ha'Ba? (2) What do we mean in the short vidui when we say ti'ta'nu, which some translate as "You have let us go astray"? (3) Should every person strive to attain the "Crown of Torah"? In going over these answers, I also shared my answer to the question of why the Written Torah doesn't mention Olam ha'Ba, as well as an insight I had into Kayin's sin.
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תשובה ח:א,ו-ז; י:א-ב
רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות: הקדמה לפרק חלק
קהלת ג:יט-כא
עץ יוסף - וידוי
תנחומא - נח יט
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ג:א,ו
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The Torah content for the remainder of October is sponsored by Yael Weiss in honor of her parents, and in celebration of her father’s birthday (September 25 / 17 Tishrei).

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