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
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Length: 1 hour 33 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (9/12/25), in this year's first Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiur for women, we began our (hopefully) year-long series on Sefer Iyov! I began by recapping my prior experience with Iyov, but to my delight, this turned into a really great discussion about the various challenges of learning the sefer. We then attempted...
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Length: 1 hour 48 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (9/11/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned the next mishnah in our chapter. This one was more practical, more approachable, and less metaphysical than the last. After raising a ton of questions, we learned the explanations of three commentaries: Rambam, Meiri, and Sforno. I believe we did just...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 8 minutes 28 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/5/25, titled: Ki Teitzei: Ibn Kaspi's Radical Rationale for Sending Away the Mother Bird. He'd sum up the rationale by saying: "You're nothing but a lowlife ass, a c...
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Length: 1 hour 48 minutes
Synopsis: 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 of mine this year! In fact, this mishnah seems to undermine Iyov in its entirety! Thankfully, Sforno came to the rescue with a lengt...
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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 published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/20/25, titled: Re’eh: The Torah Temimah’s Counterintuitive Take on the Mitzvah to Live in...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 7 minutes 4 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/14/25, titled: Eikev: Slowing the Conquest ... For Animals? The Torah gives a bizarre reason for the slow conquest of Canaan. Two contrary explanations given by Rishonim shed light on ho...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 5 minutes 57 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/8/25, titled: Vaeschanan: The Loneliness of the Jew. Moshe Rabbeinu warns us not to add to or subtract from the Torah, but his reasoning is rather strange. Here’s an explanation I heard...
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Length of audio: 1 hour 6 minutes
Synopsis: 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 chidushim (novel insights). Instead, I decided to focus on the basics. (2) Towards the beginning of the shiur, we read...
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Length of article: 5 pages
Length of audio: 18 minutes 3 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/25, titled: Tishah b’Av 5785: Metaphysical Trauma and the Aftermath of October 7th. I’ve revised and combined my four most important pieces on Tishah b’Av into a single article, with ...
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Length of article: 2.5 pages
Length of audio: 8 minutes 44 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/24/25, titled: Masei: Leviim as Countercultural Role Models Against Cancel Culture. What can the Levite Cities of Refuge teach us about cancel culture in "progressive" Ame...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 6 minutes 29 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/18/25, titled: Pinchas: Inheritance as a Non-Intuitive Mishpat. What’s the purpose of inheritance laws? Most don't even ask. They assume the answer is obvious. But the Sefer ha’Chi...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 9 minutes 5 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/11/25, titled: Balak: How Bad Omens Can Harm You (Even According to the Rambam). Many people believe that bad omens are harbingers of real harm. Rambam is not one of them. But even he mi...
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Length of article: 3.5 pages
Length of audio: 11 minutes 37 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/9/25, titled: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Integrity of the Masoretic Text (Q&A Response) Part 1.
Here's Part 1 of my response to a high school student's question ...
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Length of article: 4 pages
Length of audio: 14 minutes 36 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/4/25, titled: Chukas: A Maimonidean Explanation for Parah Adumah (from a Different Moshe). Yes, even the red heifer has a reason. Rambam paves the way but stops short of delivering. An...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 7 minutes 54 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/26/25, titled: Korach: Three Types of Machlokess (or “How Korach Wasn’t as Bad as You Think”) We’re quick to condemn Korach. But what if his motives weren’t entirely evil? And what if t...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 7 minutes 15 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/20/25, titled: Shelach: Rabbeinu Bachya on the Meraglim, Mishlei, and the Current War With Iran. I don't know who needs a Bitachon 101 (Trust in God) refresher course for this war ...
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Length of article: 5 pages
Length of audio: 17 minutes
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/19/25, titled: The Potentially Problematic Line in Sheva Berachos (and What to Do About It). The fourth of the Sheva Berachos is prone to misunderstanding. Abudarham warns it could lead to "...
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Length of transcript: 3 pages
Length of video/audio: 9 minutes 4 seconds
Synopsis: Here's the audio of the graduation charge I delivered to the NEJA Graduating Class of 2025 on June 8th, 2025, complete with all my speech tics.
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This week’s Torah content is sponsored by Chaim and Rifka Peck, the awesome parents of two of my NEJA students, in honor of the ...
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Length of article: 2 pages
Length of audio: 6 minutes 53 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/13/25, titled: Behaalosecha: The Non-Symbolic Trumpets. What’s the reason for the mitzvah of the chatzotzeros (trumpets)? The Sefer ha’Chinuch reminds us that sometimes, the simplest an...
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Length: 1 hour 1 minutes
Synopsis: 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 English translations of the siddur, you may have noticed that the word "Ashrei" is translated differently by different p...
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