Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 10 minutes 43 seconds Synopsis: This is the eulogy I delivered at the funeral of my Popo (grandmother), Helen Chang (10/5/1924 - 2/2/2023) on 3/13/23 in Honolulu, HI. Click here for the video of my eulogy, and click here for the transcript. Be sure to check out the beautiful eulogy given by my brother, Jonny, by clicking here .

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 4 minutes 47 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote on 3/10/23, entitled: Ki Tisa: Is Shabbos a Day of Simchah? If so, why isn't it presented this way in the Torah and in halacha? And if not, then why are there so many references to Shabbos joy in the songs we sing on Shabbos?   If you enjoy...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (3/10/23), in lieu of our Friday Q&A, we continued working on the Gemara we started on Wednesday. We reviewed what we covered last time, read and elucidated a summary of an idea from the Nefesh ha'Chayim, and then attempted to figure out the machlokess of the pesukim (if there IS a machlokess). While we didn't ar...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (3/8/23), in lieu of a morning Mishlei shiur, we set out to answer a question posed by one of my talmidim to our Rosh ha'Yeshiva at the Purim seudah last night: How does one become a chacham? We identified three sources which talk about Step #1, and we decided to work on the most problematic one: "Ha'Kadosh Baru...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 8 minutes 5 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote on Megilas Esther, entitled: Megilas Esther: How Esther Stayed Religious . This article, which I cranked out over Taanis Esther and Purim day, offers insight into Esther's character via a set of bizarre midrashim about her observance of hilch...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 30 minutes Synopsis: This morning (3/3/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, I presented an idea I happened upon in Purim 5780 (March 2020) but didn't finish developing. R' Yosef ibn Kaspi asks: How can the Torah wage a war of vengeance against Amalek when revenge is a reprehensible trait and is prohibited b...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 56 minutes Synopsis: Last night I gave a special Purim shiur to my women's group on my current (radical?) understanding of the mitzvah to get drunk on Purim. That shiur ended up being 1 hour and 46 minutes long. Because I know that time is valuable, I wanted to do my best to produce a shorter version, and that's what this...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In lieu of tonight's (3/2/23) regularly scheduled Pirkei Avos shiur for women, I gave a special Purim shiur on a well-trodden topic. Each year I attempt to review ALL the halachic positions on Purim drunkenness, but only in the past couple of years have I formed my own view. In one sense, this is a synthesis of different ideas I'...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Have you ever checked your phone while learning in a shiur, chavrusa, or even by yourself? This might seem innocuous, but Chazal teach us in Pirkei Avos that if you interrupt your learning to remark on the beauty of a tree or a field, then the Torah considers it as though you are "liable for your soul." This morning (2/26/23), I...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 5 minutes 34 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page (half-)article I wrote, entitled, Mishpatim: The Sanctuary-Altar Sanctuary (or Mizbeach as Refuge for Killers) . No, this isn't Parashas Mishpatim, and no, this is NOT a complete dvar Torah. I've been working on this question for two weeks, and I decid...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 13 minutes Synopsis: This morning (2/24/23), in our second Friday Q&A (this one for women), we took up five questions: (1) If the texts of Torah she'baal Peh "evolved" to suit the needs of the times, why can't this happen with the text of tefilah as well? (2) What advice do I have for how to insert pe...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (2/24/23), in our first Friday Q&A, we took up five questions: (1) Is there a halachic way to thank God for it being a nice day? (2a) Is God bound by human logic? (2b) How do we navigate discussions about God with people who hold false ideas about Him? (3) What do you do if you're confront...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (2/23/23), in lieu of our regularly scheduled Thursday Night Pirkei Avos shiur, I gave a Chumash Exploration shiur on a topic I've been vexed by for the past two weeks: the obscure halacha stated in Parashas Mishpatim that the Mizbeach provides sanctuary for killers under specific conditions. I gave this shiur because I n...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Friday morning "Machshavah Lab" shiur for women (2/17/23), I was asked to give a shiur on techiyas ha'meisim. Since I really don't know much about the topic and don't think I have much to offer by way of chidushim (new insights), I figured I'd just present everything I know - so I did! We raise...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 49 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/6/22), in our Friday Q&A, we took up five questions: (1) What do we hold about the authorship of the "wisdom literature" in Tanach? (2) How do you know if you're using your time wisely? (3) Are food forests feasible? (4) What's the deal with matrilineal descent? (5) Why d...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 4 minutes 22 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote, entitled, Mishpatim: Does Hashem Reward Good Dogs?   Rambam maintains that the notion of Divine reward and punishment for animals is a non-Jewish concept. What are we to do when we encounter statements of Chazal which talk about God rewarding an...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (2/16/23), in our Thursday Night Pirkei Avos shiur, we took up the next mishnah in Chapter 3. This week's mishnah was short but sweet. We learned three different approaches, each with practical applications for those on a very high level and for the rest of us. ----- מקורות: אבות א:יג רבינו יונה רשב"ץ רמב"ם - מש...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 6-page article I wrote, entitled, Spectral Clergy, Living Torah, and My Izzet Grieving Process . Instead of writing a 1-page article on the parashah, I decided to write a lengthier reflection on my grieving process over the course of these past seven days. You can decide if it c...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (2/9/23), in our Thursday Night Pirkei Avos shiur, we took up the next two mishnayos (depending on how you count) in Chapter 3, since they seem to be inherently related. On account of roller-coaster of a week I had with all the deaths, I didn't feel as prepared for this shiur as I usually do, and while we may not have arr...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote, entitled, Beshalach: Was Miriam a Prophetess? If you think you know the answer to this question, I recommend asking yourself: "How do I know?" or "Why is this even a question?" before reading (or listening to) this article. If you enjoy these 1-page arti...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote, entitled, Bo: The Jewish Lunar Calendar as Anti-Egyptian Polemic .   Rambam (Moreh 3:29) maintained that knowledge of the beliefs and practices of the ancient idolatrous nations is vital for understanding the reasons for the Torah's commandments. Here is an example. If...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote, entitled, Shemos: Dasan and Aviram - to Blame or Not to Blame? The Torah itself only ascribes one wrongdoing to Dasan and Aviram. It is the Sages who place them at the scene of other crimes. What are we to make of this? Let us turn to Rashi and Ralbag for insight. ----- The...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 14 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/12/22) we set out to do a Q&A, but the first question turned into a 30-minute tefilah shiur, which let only 14 minutes for other questions. We still managed to get in a few interesting questions. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ד:יג-יד רמב"ם - משנה תו...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (1/11/23), in our Wednesday night Tefilah shiur, we continued and completed (for now!) our analysis of the midrash about Hashem davening to himself. The good news is that I believe we got the main idea of the midrash. The "bad" news is that we raised a powerful question on the Sefer ha'Chinuch and Rashba, which...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 21 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/6/22), in our SECOND Friday Q&A (this one for women only), we took up a bunch of topics which included many subtopics: (1a) What can we infer about the relative importance of bein adam l'makom vs. bein adam l'chaveiro mitzvos from the reasons given for the destruction of bot...