The Stoic Jew

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: The Gemara tells us that four of our greatest Sages “entered Pardes (the Orchard)” – that is, they embarked on the study of the deepest areas of metaphysics. One of those sages was Ben Azzai, who “glanced [at the Orchard] and died.” In this episode we unpack what that means, as explained by the Rashbatz, and we examine the practi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Since I’m recording this during the week of Parashas Vayeira, which contains what the Rambam chose as the “crowning pasuk” for every book he ever wrote, I thought it would be appropriate to share my musings on that pasuk as it relates to Stoicism, especially since this happens to be a major theme in the book I’m currently reading...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was brought to you by an amusingly profound epiphany I had, prompted by an interrupted sleep I had, a mistake in app-usage I made, and a book I happened to be reading. If you’re looking to make time for learning in your busy schedule, then perhaps this insight will come from just the right weird angle to make a di...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode is my first attempt to answer a question asked by one of my students: “Can you give me practical advice on how to not care about being liked by everyone?” In the first half of the episode I share a few different approaches, but then we switch gears and discuss a different way to approach the problem altogether. Re...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode has been brought to you by my insomnia. That’s right: ANOTHER episode of TSJ about my struggles with insomnia. I believe you’ll find that this one is far happier and more optimistic than the other three (which are linked in the show notes) – in part because it involves cake and an idea about kaparah (atonement). ...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode I answer the following question, submitted by a listener: "I get very stressed out when I am late for something, and I would like to stop getting so stressed or get better at calming down. This feels like a stoicism type of thing. Do you have any podcast episodes that talk about this?" If you, to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's (unplanned, disorganized, and rushed) episode, we compare and contrast the short prayer formulated by Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations with the short prayer uttered by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) in the Temple Service of Yom Kippur. We conclude by examining both prayers in light of an excerpt from Emerson&apos...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode we examine Marcus Aurelius's analysis of the lesser and greater motives for doing acts of  tzedakah (righteousness), and compare his view with Judaism's, as taught by Shlomo ha'Melech (King Solomon) in Sefer Mishlei (the Book of Proverbs). Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - The Mishleic Sp...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode we read how Marcus Aurelius grappled with (what he deemed to be) his own intellectual inferiority. After getting the  pshat of his meditation, I then turn the lens onto myself and recount how I grappled with my own intellectual inferiority in my yeshiva days, and how many of these feelings surged up yester...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s inaugural episode of TSJ Season 10 (Fall 2022-2023) I make a case for why we should all aspire to pain and suffering during “teshuvah season” (i.e. Elul and the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah). Not ALL kinds of pain, but a specific kind of suffering which necessarily accompanies true growth and development. Related Rabbi Schneew...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: We’ve spoken about the concept of Stoic invulnerability in past episodes (some of which are linked below). This morning I stumbled upon a rather nice explanation from Marcus Aurelius about how it works – an explanation which lines up perfectly with some halachos from the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah.  Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Con...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I can imagine someone saying something like this: “Look, I get that YOU find value in the ideas of the Stoics, and feel the need to teach those ideas, but why can’t you do so EXCLUSIVELY through Torah sources? Why do you have to actually present the ideas from the Stoic texts themselves?” This episode is my answer to that questio...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was prompted by a minor kitchen mishap and my childish reaction to it. I didn’t set out to record an episode about runny noses, uncurable diseases, and the limits of prayer, but that’s what I ended up recording. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - How to Daven for a Sick Person Who is Beyond Recovery Sources: - E...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode is an amalgamation of insights spurred by my (non-halachic) 48-hour fast on the 11th of Av, following our observance of Tishah b’Av on the 10th of Av. Special thanks to Marta bas Baisos and R’ Tzadok. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - My Experience Fasting for 48 Hours on the 9th and 10th of Av ( article versio...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: My initial answer to this question prompted by a letter from Seneca was, “No!” but then I realized that the question is more nuanced than I thought. The answer and its implications are not as simple as they seem. In this episode I offer some thoughts, examples, and questions on this topic in light of a pasuk in Mishlei cited by t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today's more-scattered-than-usual episode was brought to you by my insomnia. I got zero sleep last night, and rather than keep my Stoic Jew self-talk to myself, I figured I'd think it out loud - for my own sake and for the sake of others.  Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - A Stoic Cure for Insomnia ... I Hope - Apply...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today's episode was brought to you by the Internal Revenue Service, which might or might not have taken $800 from me. You can be the judge of that in light of the ideas in this episode. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - The Saga of the Resurrected Shirt Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook) Chapter 11 - R'...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode I discuss what I believe will be my next level-up in Premeditatio Malorum. It's a technique called EFT (Episodic Future Thinking), and I learned about it from a book I'm reading by Jane McGonigal. After recapping my overview (which I wrote about in a blog post, linked below) we examine some of th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode is a bit experimental. A friend of mine asked me: “Do you have a post or a quick answer as to what makes you value stoicism and/or how it augments or interacts with Judaism?” and this is my attempt at a concise answer.   Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - literally all the other episodes of TSJ  Sources: - Mishl...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Have you ever seen the audition tape for Henry Thomas, the kid who played Elliot in Stephen Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ? Well, if you haven’t, drop everything you’re doing and watch it now, because it’s one of the best performances of a child actor I’ve seen – and it was all improvised! Not only that, but it led to an...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I am pleased (and grateful) to say that my Gratitude Journal practice has reached its one-year milestone! In today’s episode I reflect on how these last 365 days of gratitude journaling have changed me, and how this whole process has exemplified the habit cultivation principles stated by Aurelius, Epictetus, and the Rambam. Relat...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: We’re back! Since the last episode I posted was my eulogy of Rabbi Moskowitz, and since today (the day of the recording) is Rabbi Moskowitz’s shloshim , I decided to devote this episode to one of Rabbi Moskowitz’s many virtues – one which is discussed by Marcus Aurelius, and is shared by Judaism and Stoicism. Sources: - Aurelius,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! I'm sharing this recording on all five of my podcasts, regardless of their subject matter, because Rabbi  Moskowitz is responsible for all the Torah I learn and teach. This is the audio of the eulogy I gave for my beloved rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l on Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5782 (May 30th, 2022). For the video, click her...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: My insomnia has been particularly bad lately ... OR HAS IT? This episode begins with a recap of Epictetus's approach to "impressions," the Jewish counterpart of which is what Shlomo ha'Melech refers to as ormah ("cunning"). I then walk you through an application of this perspective to my own problem...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was inspired by a conversation I overheard between my neighbor (who is an exterminator) and an overconfident customer. This conversation led to yet another insight into how moral philosophy should and shouldn’t be approached, according to both Judaism and Stoicism.  Sources: - Seneca, Letter #71: On the Supreme Go...