The Stoic Jew

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode is an example of how a familiar idea can be imbued with a new level of insight if one finds a new way of engaging it. In this case, the old idea was the opening thesis of Koheles and the Rambam’s explanation of mezuzah, and the new way of engaging it was a writing exercise suggested by Natalie Goldberg. Related Ra...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we go over a practical habit cultivation (or habit removal) tip from Epictetus, which is expanded upon by James Clear in Atomic Habits . The mitzvah of Sefiras ha’Omer serves as the ideal scaffolding for this method, and there are enough days left in this year’s count to initiate a habit cultivation experiment...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode explores one of the fundamental differences between the Jewish and Stoic approach to ethics (based on my experience) and the approach to ethics via Moral Philosophy, as exemplified in the book I just read, How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question , by Michael Schur. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss C...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Happy Mother's Day! Today's episode is dedicated to my mom, and to her mom - my grandma, a.k.a. Popo - in gratitude for who they are, and how they have helped me to become who I am. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - Happy Being Happy - How to Convince Mom That You’re Invulnerable - Seneca’s Ruthless Consolation of Hi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I recently took a stroll down memory lane and reflected on my very first encounter with the teachings of Epictetus, which happened at a critical time in my development. In this episode I share the exact transcript of that encounter. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content: - How to Convince Mom That You’re Invulnerable (Seneca – Consol...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today marks the 300th day of my Gratitude Journal. In today's episode I reflect on one of the many benefits I've noticed from this daily practice, which I illustrate through a recent example of something that happened in my apartment. I conclude the episode by connecting this daily practice with Epictetus's Stoicis...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode I attempt to express my thoughts about the type of daagah (anxiety/stress/worry) that can be generated by the attempt to live by Stoic principles as if they were laws, and how the Torah is structured in a manner which aims to sidestep this problem.   Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook) Chapter 50 -...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I hadn’t planned on recording any episodes of TSJ during Pesach, but after visiting Bruce Lee’s grave on R' Soloveitchik’s yahrtzeit yesterday morning, I had to express my thoughts while they were still fresh in mind. And if the title of this episode isn’t the perfect embodiment of my own eclectic approach to learning, teach...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In this cutting-it-too-close-to-the-holiday Pesach episode I attempt to round up and articulate my thoughts on the difference between Judaism’s concept of freedom and that of Epictetus, in light of my recent reading of Viktor Frankel’s Man’s Search for Meaning . My primary goal in recording this podcast was to get out as many of...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Although I am loath to engage in celebrity gossip, I felt I HAD to make an episode about the incident that has dominated the U.S. news cycle these past couple of days: Will Smith publicly slapping Chris Rock in the face on stage at the 94th Academy Awards. I had to actively suppress my irrationally ambitious urge to produce a com...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode emerged from a confluence of sources: (1) a basic facet of Epictetus’s Stoicism, (2) an anecdote from the childhood of lion tracker Boyd Varty, and (3) a scene in a TV show I’ve been obsessed with for the past three weeks. All three of these sources are rooted in the Rambam’s theory of evil. Related Rabbi Schneewe...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This episode was inspired by a Rumi poem I've been thinking about lately. After reading and analyzing the poem, we compare and contrast it with two similar examples: a decision made by Claire Wineland, as a child, to decorate her hospital room, and a halachic institution which I won't spoil by naming it in the synopsis....

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In this episode I share some thoughts I had about how the ideas of Purim embody some fundamental differences between Judaism and Stoicism with regards to factors outside of our control. These thoughts were prompted by the writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (a.k.a. the Rav). I’m sure my ideas can be developed, but I figured...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode we unpack a popular saying - "tafasta merubeh lo tafasta" - as explained by Epictetus and Mark Nepo, and as exemplified by the wisdom of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. Sources: - Epictetus, Discourses 3:9:22 - Wikipedia, Tafasta merube lo tafasta - Mark Nepo,  The Book of Awakening , March 7th - Tal...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today's episode we explore an advanced method of premeditatio malorum (the premeditation of evils). After reviewing the basic technique - as formulated by Seneca, Shlomo ha'Melech, and Chazal - we read and reflect on a more extreme method, as articulated by serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. This practice is not fo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This morning I misread a quotation from Seneca. Thankfully, both the actual quotation AND the misreading led to insight - thanks to Sigmund Freud, Dick Schwartz, and Rashi's citation of Chazal on Koheles. Sources: - Seneca, Letter #13 - Rashi on Koheles 4:13 ---------- The Torah content from now through Shushan Purim has bee...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This past Monday (2/28/22) I declared my intent to make an episode each day in an effort to break my "podcaster's block." Not only did I succeed in that, but I also rediscovered an important truth along the way, and was reminded of a fundamental difference between Judaism and Stoicism. Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Con...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In this episode we take a look at a sharper formulation of a familiar and fundamental concept in Stoic decision-making, Mishleic thinking, and gaming strategy.  Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content:  - Keanu Reeves, Free Will, and Results-Oriented Thinking Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook) 1 - Koheles 11:1-6 - Julia G...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Lately the numbers of attendees in my shiurim have been fluctuating, and that fluctuation has given rise to … feelings. In this episode I put those feelings into perspective by reflecting on why I teach, drawing upon one of my favorite Seneca quotations, a halacha in the Rambam, and a mishnah in Pirkei Avos. Sources: - Seneca, Le...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In this episode I share two “experiments” I conducted this February which were aimed at creating more time in my busy schedule. This may be viewed as a sequel to the episode I made last year with a similar name, which I recap at the beginning of this one.  Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content:  - My February 2021 Experiments in the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In an effort to break my “podcaster’s block,” I’m going to attempt to make five episodes this week, and I’m going to do my best to make them closer to 10 minutes than to 20. We’ll begin by returning to where we left off in Meditations , with a meditation on death which pairs nicely with a Rambam in the Moreh ha’Nevuchim.  Sources...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This episode is another attempt on my part to articulate a problem I have with Epictetus’s presentation of Stoicism. I’d like to believe that it’s less a critique of the content of his teachings and more a critique of Epictetus’s presentation – or, to be more accurate, the presentation of his student, Arrian – but I still believe...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I had planned on updating you about my Gratitude Journal when I reached 200 days, but since that fell out during my winter break, I decided to update you at 225 days instead. In Part 1 of today's episode I speculate about why gratitude is a more central theme in Judaism than in Stoicism. In Part 2 I reflect on the three posi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I recorded this episode in conjunction with a review I wrote (and shared on Facebook and in my WhatsApp Book Review group) of Philip Lister’s A Short Good Life: Her Father Tells Liza’s Story of Facing Death . I initially intended to share ONLY new thoughts in this episode, but I ended up recapping much of what I wrote in the revi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: We're putting our "Seneca on Hashgachah" plans on hold for now in order to address a time-sensitive topic: my insomnia. This was a hastily planned episode that I decided to make this morning, after two consecutive nights of my chronic insomnia. In this episode I articulate what I hope will be a strategy for combatt...