Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 59 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/13/24, titled: Vayishlach: Bnei Yaakov at Beis-El and Bnei Yisrael at Sinai (Part 1: Questions) . This week's article contains questions: "traditi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 36 minutes Synopsis: This evening (12/12/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned another mishnah about how to achieve the proper learning-work balance. This mishnah was strange in that each clause seemed to be an idea that wasn't a chidush because it's already been covered elsewhere in Pi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 12 minutes 36 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/6/24, titled: Vayeitzei: Yaakov's (Scandalous?) Kiss (?) . How, exactly, did Yaakov kiss Rachel? This article explores the full spectrum of interpreta...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 31 minutes Synopsis: Last night (12/5/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned a mishnah about the relationship between wealth, poverty, and living a life of Torah. Even though we only fully learned one commentary (Rabbeinu Yonah), the ideas we discussed here are relevant to most of us, and have maj...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 1 page Length of audio: 4 minutes 58 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/22/24, titled: Bereishis: (How) Did Hashem Speak to Kayin?  In lieu of an article on Chayei Sarah, I've decided to publish an article on Bereishis which...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 21 minutes Synopsis: Last night (11/14/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned the next mishnah. Like the previous one, this mishnah is a warning to judges not to judge alone, no matter what their level of expertise, and what not to do once they're on a court with peers who aren't experts...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 1 page Length of audio: 4 minutes 19 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/15/24, titled: Vayeira: Vox Intellectus Vox Dei (The Voice of the Intellect is the Voice of God) . Avimelech clearly sinned against Avraham and Sarah, but in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 50 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/8/24, titled: Lech Lecha: Avraham Avinu – a Vial of Perfume in a Cemetery . This week's article is part Mishlei, part midrash, and part insight into t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 21 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (11/7/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued learning Chapter 4. On its surface, this mishnah is directed at judges, but the advice it gives is counterintuitive. Despite the seemingly narrow audience, we were able to derive practical insights for us normal folk, as w...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 37 minutes Synopsis: This morning's YBT Sunday shiur (11/3/24) was a bit different than usual, focusing more on reading and discussing sources than in-depth analysis. This was intentional, since this shiur was intended to be a setup for the REAL shiur. My original goal was to present Sforno’s view that the nachash in Ga...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 18 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 11/1/24, titled: Noach: Why Was Noach's Family Saved? I've always assumed they were saved because of Noach's righteousness, or for the sake of r...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 21 minutes Synopsis: This morning (10/11/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women (rescheduled to Friday morning, Erev Yom ha'Kippurim), we took up the final clause of the first mishnah in chapter 2 because it mentions the concept that all our deeds our written in a book. I chose this because I hoped it wo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 16 minutes Synopsis: This Erev Rosh ha'Shanah morning (10/2/24), I gave an incomplete shiur on the phrase "ha'Melech ha'Mishpat" with which we conclude the 11th berachah of the Amidah during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah. Last year I wrote 3/4ths of an article on this topic - everything but the main idea,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 7 minutes 22 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/27/24, titled: Nitzavim/Vayeilech: Teshuvah as a Ledge . We're about to enter the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah (Ten days of Repentance) once again, and I find m...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 31 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (9/26/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up the next mishnah in the fourth chapter, where we left off in June. This one certainly struck us as odd, speaking of Torah almost like a voodoo doll. We raised a ton of questions and successfully learned two approaches from t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 19 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/19/24), in lieu of our regularly scheduled Pirkei Avos Shiur for women, we took up a question on the parashah that I'm trying to write about for this week's article. This is a good example of how, if you keep asking questions even when you think you've reached the end of th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 39 minutes Synopsis: 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 to share some ideas. If you're looking for an eye-opening perspective on tefilah filled wit...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 12 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/6/24, titled: Shofetim: Three Philosophies of Bal Tashchis (Wasteful Destruction) . Some mitzvos have well-hidden reasons. Others suffer the opposite fate: e...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 6 minutes 14 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally wrote on 8/14/15, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/30/24, titled: Re'eh: MEAT IS MURDER!!! P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) equates slaughter...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 44 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/23/24 titled: Eikev: When to Disregard Tznius (Modesty) and Act Like an Animal . Yes, this is an article about a case in which Chazal permit us to totally disregard th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 11 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I originally wrote on 8/4/14, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/14/24 entitled: Vaeschanan: Ayn Rand, Art, and Avodah Zarah . Like her or hate her, Ayn Rand's definition of art...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 16 minutes Synopsis: 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 related to tefilah, which has been the focus of my learning all summer. But even a surface-level examina...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 4 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/12/24 entitled: Tishah b’Av 5784: Does Hashem Still Listen to Our Prayers? One would assume the answer is "yes," but a midrash about the destruction of Mikdas...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 12 minutes 35 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/9/24 entitled: Haftaras Devarim: Will Hashem Hate Our Tishah b’Av? Some years I write a Tishah b'Av article and feel like I'm not adding anything - just sho...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 5 pages Length of the audio: 17 minutes 25 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/24 entitled: Four Insights from a Jewish Renewal Rabbi . I can't say I've ever written an article prompted by someone from a non-Orthodox Jewish m...