Machshavah Lab Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!
Length: 1 hour 55 minutes
Synopsis: This morning's YBT Sunday shiur (5/12/24) pertains to a critical intersection between hashkafah and pedagogy. As a high school teacher in 2024, I get a LOT of questions about the mitzvos, prohibitions, and institutions in Torah which seem outdated or which students find objectionable because they run contrary to modern Western values. Over time, I've developed an eight-pronged framework (or "suite of tools") for responding to such questions. In this shiur, I share these eight principles and lead a discussion about how they can be applied to address these important and difficult questions.

Note: This is a slightly updated version of a shiur I gave at Lomdeha in March 2021.
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מקורות:
דברים ד:ה-ו
רמב"ם - הקדמה לפרק חלק
ספר החינוך - מצוה תנד
ירושלמי פאה א:א
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:לא,לד
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-time_nuclear_waste_warning_messages
רמב"ם - ספר המצוות, מצות עשה קעב
רלב"ג – דברים פרקים יח-יט, התועלת הששי
רמב"ם – משנה תורה, ספר שופטים, הלכות ממרים א:א; ב:ד
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:לב,מט
דברים לב:מז
תלמוד ירושלמי פאה א:א
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 The Torah content from now through Lag ba'Omer has been generously sponsored by Malky M. June is less than a month away which means that I'll soon be transitioning into "summer writing mode," with more substack articles and fewer recorded shiurim. The bulk of these articles will remain free. However, if you would like to support my Torah AND access to additional spicy written content, consider becoming a paid subscriber by going to rabbischneeweiss.substack.com.
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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. 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.
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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:

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!
Length of the article: 2 pages
Length of the audio: 10 minutes 27 seconds
Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/10/24 (originally written on 3/18/14), entitled: Acharei Mos / Kedoshim: How Ancient Israelites Viewed Incest (and Why It Matters). This article began with the two questions in the title and evolved into a theory about the Torah's campaign against arayos in general which became a shiur available below for paid subscribers only.
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I'd like to thank Aaron K. for sponsoring this week's Torah content. June is less than a month away which means that I'll soon be transitioning into "summer writing mode," with more substack articles and fewer recorded shiurim. The bulk of these articles will remain free. However, if you would like to support my Torah AND access to additional spicy written content, consider becoming a paid subscriber by going to rabbischneeweiss.substack.com.
-----
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.
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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_

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (5/9/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began learning the next mishnah which focuses on chilul ha'shem ba'seiser (the private desecration of Hashem's name) and its consequences. On the surface, this sounds paradoxical: How can a person desecrate Hashem's name if there is no one to witness them? After reviewing the halachos of chilul ha'shem, we delve into the nuanced approach developed by the Rambam and the Meiri. No spoilers here, but let's just say that we partake of the defect in this mishnah more than we'd like to believe.
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מקורות:
אבות ד:ד
תוספות יום טוב
רמב"ם - ספר המצוות: לא תעשה ס"ג
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ה:י-יא
Rav Hirsch, Horeb #614
רמב"ם - אבות ד:ד
מאירי - אבות ג:טו, ד:ד
מאירי - קידושין דף לא עמוד א
מאירי - קידושין דף מ עמוד א
רש"י
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I'd like to thank Aaron K. for sponsoring this week's Torah content. June is less than a month away which means that I'll soon be transitioning into "summer writing mode," with more substack articles and fewer recorded shiurim. The bulk of these articles will remain free. However, if you would like to support my Torah AND access to additional spicy written content, consider becoming a paid subscriber by going to rabbischneeweiss.substack.com.
-----
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_

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

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.
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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. 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_

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.
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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_