Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! 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...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! 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. ----- This week’s Torah content is sponsored by Chaim and Rifka Peck, the awesome parents of two of my NEJA s...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! 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 th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! 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 trans...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4.5 pages Length of audio: 14 minutes 23 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/6/25, titled: Naso: Twelve Identical Offerings . Why does the Torah repeat the twelve identical offerings in Parashas Naso? This article explores a pesh...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (6/5/25) we had what will likely be our last Q&A of the 2024-2025 season! We discussed the following five questions: (1) Have my views on Mishleic fatalism changed? (If you're not familiar, don't worry - we review it.) (2) What insight can I offer on the types of high-stakes life deci...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 15 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/30/25, titled: Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars . Hashem reiterates His promise to multiply Avraham’s offspring using three metaphors. What does each mean? Ho...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 9 minutes Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/23/25, titled: Bechukosai: Does Hashem Ever Truly Loathe Israel? Our gut reaction to this question is, "No!" but the verses in the blessings and the curses in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 45 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (5/22/25), in our final Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women of the 2024-2025 season, we took up a mishnah that is relevant to us all, and is particularly appropriate as we approach Zman Matan Toraseinu. If you're someone who plans to relocate or who needs to relocate or whose relation...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 1.5 pages Length of audio: 5 minutes 55 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1.5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/15/25, titled: Lag ba’Omer PSA: The Falsehood of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s Yahrzeit . Mark Twain said, “Be careful about reading health books. You may di...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 41 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/2/25, titled: Kedoshim: “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself” – Not the Greatest Principle in Torah . R’ Akiva calls “Ve’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha” a great Torah pri...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 13 minutes Synopsis: This past Thursday night (5/8/25), in lieu of our usual Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up a topic in Parashas Kedoshim - arguably the most important mitzvah mentioned therein. Many people are familiar with R' Akiva's famous statement, "This is a great principle in the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 30 minutes Synopsis: Last night (5/1/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we resumed our learning of Chapter 4, after nearly a month's hiatus. (Yes, I skipped 4:12, in case you were wondering.) This mishnah is quite short, and . We spent the bulk of the time comparing Rabbeinu Yonah's more intuit...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 39 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/25/25, titled: Tazria/Metzora: How Niddah Protected Women . What if the laws of niddah weren’t designed to oppress, but to protect? This article examines a l...

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 4/25/25, titled: Mortimer J. Adler's Mussar for Religious Educators . This excerpt from a lecture by Mortimer Adler to Catholic educators speaks just as p...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (4/24/25) we had Q&A! We discussed the following six questions: (1) If perfection of middos is a prerequisite to perfection of the intellect, how do we explain individuals like Achitophel and Doeg ha'Edomi, who were great chachamim who did evil things? (2) Anti-Israel activists have engage...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 page Length of audio: 8 minutes 40 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I co-wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/11/25, titled: Egypt Reflections as a Jew (by My Brother) . My globetrotting brother’s reflections on his trip to Egypt—poignant words that move me to tear...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 page Length of audio: 10 minutes 5 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/10/25, titled: Why WE Eat Matzah vs. Why THEY Ate Matzah . Every year we read Rabban Gamliel's explanation for why we eat matzah on Pesach, but why did t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 1 page Length of audio: 4 minutes 31 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/4/25, titled: Mit’chilah: Defining Avodah Zarah and Avodas Hashem . How would you define avodah zarah and avo das Hashem —and how would you do it in a 500-wor...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 43 minutes Synopsis: Last night (4/4/25), in our Thursday night women's shiur, we explored a question posed to me by two of my students (shout out to Moshe and Shmarya) about a song found at the end of most Haggadot: “Is there an inherent problem with saying Adir Hu?” The concern is that, on the surface, Adir Hu seems t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 38 minutes Synopsis: This morning (3/20/25) we had a rare (this year) Q&A! We discussed the following questions: (1) How should a person use their outside-of-yeshiva "downtime" with their rabbeim: to talk about Torah or about other things? (2) What do we make of the tension between acknowledging God as the cause of ev...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 11 minutes 6 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/17/25, titled: Ki Tisa: Shadal’s Anti-Rationalist Rational Explanation of Ayin ha’Ra  (the Evil Eye) . What if I told you there’s an explanation of ayin ha’r...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 53 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/7/25, titled: Tetzaveh: Philosophical Pants . The most underappreciated item of the bigdei kehunah (priestly vestments) is the undergarments. In this articl...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 23 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (3/6/25), in lieu of our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued learning the Ralbag's toalos ("beneficial lessons") on Megilas Esther, picking up were we left off last year, at the beginning of Chapter 6. Unlike last year, in which we JUST read the Ralbag, we deci...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 52 minutes Synopsis: Thoughts of vengeance have been on the minds of Jews worldwide since October 7th. In less than two weeks, we’ll celebrate Purim — a holiday in which vengeance is a dominant theme. We are commanded to emulate Hashem’s ways, and He is explicitly described as "vengeful" throughout Tanach. Are we m...