Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 11 minutes 33 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/21/25, titled: Mishpatim: Judaism's Stance on (Extrajudicial) Witch Hunts . The Torah prohibits witchcraft under the penalty of death, but if you think...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 27 minutes Synopsis: This evening (2/20/25), in lieu of our regularly scheduled Pirkei Avos Shiur for women, we took up the topic that I'm currently writing about for my Friday substack article. We began by asking all the questions we could on this three-word pasuk, and by the end of the shiur, we answered all but one....

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 13 minutes 53 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/14/25, titled: Yisro: Shadal’s Unfortunate Stance on Idolatry, Belief, and the Value of Knowledge . Perhaps this article will expose me as a fool, an ignora...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 30 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/9/25, titled: Beshalach: What Did the Splitting of the Sea Look Like? After seeing this magnificent photo, I was inspired to write a bonus article on Beshal...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 53 minutes Synopsis: Last night (2/6/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we did something a little unusual: analyzing TWO mishnayos with only ONE commentary. When I sat down to prepare for this shiur, I noticed the parallel wording in 4:11 and 5:17. When I read the Meiri, I saw that he gave a similar inte...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 5 pages Length of audio: 17 minutes 27 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/7/25, titled: Beshalach: Moshe’s Role in the Mahn Confusion and its Implications for Teachers . This article explores one of the most perplexing narratives...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 15 minutes 29 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/16/25, titled: Shemos: Two Views of Hishtadlus . Intended to write a short dvar Torah article about Yocheved as model of bitachon (trust in Hashem), but I e...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 7 minutes 38 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/9/25, titled: Vayechi: How Never to Be Angry at Anyone or Hate Anyone (Part 1: Questions) . Yes, this is the second week in a row that I've written a &q...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 19 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/3/25, titled: Vayigash: Who Sent Yosef to Egypt? (Part 1: The Questions) . Yosef answers this question three times, and we assume we know what he meant, but...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 35 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (1/2/25), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up an intriguing mishnah about the effects of mitzvos and aveiros. We ended up with two solid interpretations - one that emerged during the shiur, and another based on an article I wrote back in 2012 - as well as a fundamental d...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 9 minutes 12 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/1/25, titled: The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack Update: 66 Changes I'm Considering for January 2025 . After last year's cabin retreat, I made three wr...

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...