Machshavah Lab  By  cover art

Machshavah Lab

By: Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss
  • Summary

  • My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss. My goal as a Torah educator is not merely to teach my students my OWN hashkafah. Rather, my goal is to equip them with the foundations, the methodological training, and the tools which will enable them to arrive at their OWN understanding of Judaism and cultivate their OWN relationship with Hashem and His Torah. This podcast is devoted to the shiurim I give which are geared specifically towards that end. As such, the range of topics covered here will be diverse. There will be shiurim on Jewish philosophy, Chumash methodology, aggadic midrashim, maybe even some non-Jewish philosophy as well. Merriam-Webster defines "laboratory" as a place providing opportunity for experimentation, observation, or practice in a field of study. I call this podcast "Machshavah Lab" because this is where we will conduct Torah "experiments" by exploring questions, texts, and ideas in an effort to develop our machshavah in a "hands on," exploratory, firsthand manner.
    © 2024 Machshavah Lab
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Episodes
  • Q&A #38: Shefoch, Split-Hallel, Babies, Begin w/Degradation, Baruch ha'Makom, Haggadah Methodology
    Apr 19 2024

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

    Q&A #38: Shefoch, Split-Hallel, Babies, Begin w/Degradation, Baruch ha'Makom, Haggadah Methodology

    Length: 1 hour 3 minutes
    Synopsis: This morning (4/18/24), in our pre-Pesach women's Q&A, we took up six questions: (1) What's the deal with the "shefoch chamasecha" intro to Hallel? (2) Why do we interrupt Hallel at the seder with the meal? (3) The focus of the seder should be young children, but what can be done for babies? (4) Series of questions on the halacha that our telling of the story of the Exodus should "begin with degradation and end with praise." (5) What is the idea that "Baruch ha'Makom" is a quasi-birkas ha'Torah? (6) What is the methodology for learning the Haggadah? Since this was a Q&A, the answers I gave were partial and not based on comprehensive research. Still, we managed to take a few nice steps for each of these questions, and now we have plenty to think about!

    Please feel free to leave your questions, insights, and feedback in the comments!
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    מקורות:
    אברבנאל - הגדת זבח פסח, הללויה, שפוך
    ירושלמי פסחים י:א:ז
    רלב"ג - סוף פרשת בשלח
    רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קרבנות, הלכות קרבן פסח ח:טו
    רד"ק - תהלים קיז
    Rabbi Yosef B. Soloveitchik, "The Seder Night: An Exalted Evening," p,7
    רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות חמץ ומצה ז:ד
    ריטב"א - פירוש ההגדה: ארבעה בנים, שפוך
    אבודרהם - פירוש ההגדה: ארבעה בנים, שפוך
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    The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by Isaac, out of Hakaras HaTov to Hashem for giving him a new job that will enable him to continue to learn and to grow.
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    If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.

    If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
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    Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
    Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
    YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
    Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
    "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
    "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
    "The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
    "The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
    "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
    Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
    WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
    Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • The Whore in the Haggadah
    Apr 19 2024

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

    Length: 1 hour 35 minutes
    Synopsis: This evening (4/18/24), in lieu of our usual Thursday night women's Pirkei Avos shiur, we decided to do a deep dive into one of the most cryptic derashos in the Haggadah: the drashah on the phrase "and numerous," which quotes a pair of perplexing pesukim from Sefer Yechezkel. We raise a few questions, familiarize ourselves with Chazal's interpretation, raise a few more questions, read through the entire perek, and attempt to formulate an answer. Did we succeed in answering all of our questions? No. But I'm pretty sure we arrived at SOME insight, and steps we took will give you plenty to think about. At the very least, I can guarantee you that you'll never look at this part of the Haggadah in the same way again!
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    מקורות:
    הגדה של פסח: ארמי אובד אבי
    יחזקאל פרק טז
    רש"י - יחזקאל טז:א
    בראשית מז:כז
    שמות א:ט,יב
    דברים י:כב
    תהלים קה:כג-כד
    רש"י - שמות יב:ו
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    The Torah content from now through Pesach has been sponsored by the Koffsky family, in loving memory of Adira (a"h), who loved big ideas and asking big questions.
    -----
    If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.
    If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
    -----
    Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
    Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
    YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
    Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
    "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
    "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
    "The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
    "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
    "The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
    Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
    WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
    Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_

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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Haftaras Tazria: Charging Money for Miracles
    Apr 12 2024

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

    Length of the article: 1 page
    Length of the audio: 3 minutes 54 seconds
    Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/12/24 (originally written on 3/18/14), entitled: Haftaras Tazria: Charging Money for Miracles. How would you react if a Jewish holy man did a miracle for you? How might your opinion change if he charged you money? This week's haftarah shows Elisha's view. As a navi, he's certainly qualified.
    -----
    The Torah content from now through Pesach has been sponsored by the Koffsky family, in loving memory of Adira (a"h), who loved big ideas and asking big questions.
    -----
    If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.
    If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
    -----
    Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
    Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
    YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
    Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
    "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
    "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
    "The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
    "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
    "The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
    Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
    WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
    Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_

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    5 mins

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