Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 8 minutes Synopsis: This evening (2/15/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took up the next mishnah in our perek. This one was also authored by Ben Azzai, but unlike the last one, this did NOT seem like it belonged in Avos. It felt much more like a pasuk from Mishlei, in content and in style. But we were still able to get some nice Avos(ish) ideas from it! ----- מקורות: אבות ד:ג רמב"ם רבינו יונה רשב"...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 15Ep. 22
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 37 minutes Synopsis: This morning (2/15/24), in our Q&A, we took up three questions, in what turned out to be the most important Q&A of the 2023-2024 year thus far: (1a) What role should guilt play in our lives and (1b) how should we deal with it? (2) What strategies can we use to strengthen our attachment to and observance of halacha? and (3) How do you know whether a change in your behavior is a result of the temporary ...
Feb 15, 2024•38 min•Season 15Ep. 21
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 50 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/15/24, entitled: Terumah: Badei ha’Aron (The Staves of the Ark) . In this article we examine three reasons why the staves of the Ark may not be removed. Each reason has implications for the way we relate to the Torah today. ----- The Torah content for this we...
Feb 15, 2024•9 min•Season 15Ep. 20
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 2 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/9/24, entitled: Mishpatim: Which Gerim Shouldn’t We Oppress? We're familiar with the Torah's repeated warnings about how we treat a ger. We assume that "ger" is one who converted to Judaism. But is this necessarily true? R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam begs to differ...
Feb 09, 2024•9 min•Season 15Ep. 19
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 26 minutes Synopsis: This evening (2/8/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we spent a second night analyzing Ben Azzai's teaching about mitzvos and aveiros. After reviewing our questions and the basic ideas we came up with last time, we learned the Rambam's approach, followed by the Sforno's. Both were difficult, but I'm happy with what we came up with. What I love most is how this mitzvah has actually ...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 15Ep. 18
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 36 minutes Synopsis: This morning (2/2/24), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we continued our analysis of the wacky midrash we started last week. I was nervous because I had only had a few steps to bring to the table prior to starting shiur, but thanks to the combined powers of the minds of those who attended, we managed to take MANY more steps and emerge with a unified understanding of this midrash! We also touched...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Season 15Ep. 17
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 33 minutes Synopsis: This evening (2/1/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began a new mishnah about how we should relate to mitzvos and aveiros. We spent the first half of shiur raising questions and taking some steps on our own, and we spent the second half of shiur learning the approaches of Rabbeinu Yonah and Meiri, which answered all of our questions. I'd like to spend at least one more week on ...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Season 15Ep. 16
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 25 minutes Synopsis: I got so much feedback on my first experimental episode of ChatGPTorah Talk that I decided to do another spontaneous one. In this talk, I discuss two topics with ChatGPT4: (1) I raise some questions that we tackled in my tefilah shiur last night and we engage in a little chavrusa learning, (2) I raise a question posed to me by one of my listeners about the limitations of ChatGPT and, specfically, whether it'l...
Feb 01, 2024•26 min•Season 15Ep. 15
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 16 minutes 52 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/1/24, entitled: Yisro: Rambam – On Miracles as a Foundation of Belief . I was asked by several people to clarify the Rambam's view on the different roles played by the pre-Sinai miracles and the Revelation at Sinai. This article reflects my current understan...
Feb 01, 2024•18 min•Season 15Ep. 14
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/31/24), in our unplanned Q&A, we took up four questions: (1) How do we reconcile a yearning for God to avenge the deaths of Jews with the fact that revenge is prohibited? (2a) What should a person do if they're encountering struggles in their relationship with God? (2b) In attempting to answer that question, I ended up reading almost the entirety of Footnote 4 from Halakhic Man, (3) Judais...
Jan 31, 2024•46 min•Season 15Ep. 13
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 26 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/26/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we took up a wild midrash involving Onkelos raising Titus, Bilaam, and Jesus from the grave to ask him whether he should convert to Judaism. We read through the midrash, raised a bunch of questions, then took a first step in our analysis by familiarizing ourselves with R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam's six categories of aggadic drashos and five c...
Jan 26, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 15Ep. 12
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 1 minute Synopsis: This evening (1/25/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we learned the fourth and final clause of Ben Zoma's statement. But we didn't do JUST that. We learned the Sforno's commentary on the entire mishnah, which ties all four clauses together from the final one. We didn't end up revisiting Rashi from the last shiur, but I'm satisfied by all the ideas we came up with. Time to move on to...
Jan 26, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 15Ep. 11
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 6 minutes 30 seconds Synopsis: Rabbi Daniel Rosenthal passed away on Tu bi’Shvat 5784. You may not know who he was, but all the Torah I teach is thanks to him. If you've learned from me, I implore you to read or listen to this. ----- This eulogy is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Daniel Rosenthal, zt"l, whose Torah changed worlds. ----- If you've gained from what you've learned here, please co...
Jan 26, 2024•7 min•Season 15Ep. 10
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 9 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/19/24, entitled: Bo: Eizov – The Humble Herb that Ended Egypt . Have you ever wondered why Hashem us to use eizov (hyssop) to smear the blood of the Korban Pesach on the doorposts? Here's my favorite answer, from Ralbag, with a speculative addendum of my own. ...
Jan 19, 2024•8 min•Season 15Ep. 9
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 30 minutes Synopsis: This evening (1/18/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we tackled the third clause of Ben Zoma's teaching. We began with the straightforward explanation of the Meiri, then moved on to Rashi and Rabbeinu Yonah. We spent the remaining time analyzing Rabbeinu Yonah and succeeded in gleaning some major insights from his approach. Next time (bli neder) we'll come back to Rashi and perhap...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 15Ep. 8
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 10 minutes 20 seconds Synopsis: Which classical Biblical commentator do YOU identify with? With whom do you connect on a personal or existential level, and why? In this experimental piece I explain why, for me, the answer is: Radak. ----- The Torah content for the remainder of January has been sponsored by someone who would like to remain anonymous, in honor of Hashem and all His kindness! ----...
Jan 17, 2024•11 min•Season 15Ep. 7
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 12 minutes 58 seconds Synopsis: What might the Rambam say about professional gamers? What might he say about recreational gamers? I don't know for sure, but this is what I think, guided by the wisdom of my rebbi. ----- The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by Avital as a way of saying "thank you for your teaching advice and philosophy." Thank YOU, Avital, for continuing to learn To...
Jan 12, 2024•14 min•Season 15Ep. 7
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 26 minutes Synopsis: This evening (1/11/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we tackled the second clause of Ben Zoma's teaching, and we went about it in a different way than we usually do. Instead of learning multiple meforshim, we pretty much stuck to the Abravanel. We were rewarded with a new and nuanced take on what it means to be a gibor! ----- מקורות: אבות ה:כא אברבנאל רשב"ץ ----- The Torah content...
Jan 12, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 15Ep. 6
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! I've been obsessed with ChatGPT 4 and the voice interface option on the ChatGPT phone app. I decided on a whim to do a little demonstration this morning of how sophisticated ChatGPT has become. Listen to the following discussion in which I discuss Mishlei (Proverbs) 16:32 with ChatGPT and you'll see that this technology has moved far past the cutesy uses we played with a little over a year ago. You'll also be astonished by how realistic ...
Jan 09, 2024•22 min•Season 15Ep. 5
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 35 minutes Synopsis: The YBT Sunday Shiur I gave this morning (1/7/24) is an updated version of a shiur I gave exactly two years ago (1/7/22). The focus of the shiur is the Sforno's answer to two basic questions: (1) Who carried out Makkas Bechoros (the Plague of the Firstborn)? (2) What is the purpose of the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice)? What makes Sforno's approach counterintuitive? Because he holds that the Korban...
Jan 07, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Season 15Ep. 4
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 1.5 pages Length of the audio: 3 minutes 17 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1.5-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/5/24, entitled: Rabbi Moskowitz on Shalom Bayis and Toilet Paper . A chance encounter with a unique toilet paper holder reminded me of an idea from Rabbi Moskowitz that I wanted to share with all of you. May you think of this every time you see a toilet p...
Jan 05, 2024•4 min•Season 15Ep. 3
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 27 minutes Synopsis: This evening (1/4/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we took a break from the mishnah we've been working on to do something timely. Next week is my 40th birthday, and whenever I reach a numerical milestone like that, I like to revisit the mishnah in Pirkei Avos about the different ages of our lives. Tonight we read through the entire mishnah but focused on the ages of 20, 30, 40, a...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 15Ep. 2
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 6.5 pages Length of the audio: 18 minutes 44 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 6.5-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 1/1/24, entitled: The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack Update: Three Changes for January 2024 . This is my announcement for a major change I intend to make in my substak writing, and a chronicle of the epiphany which led to that change. Feel free to skip to the ...
Jan 02, 2024•20 min•Season 15Ep. 1
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 15 minutes 39 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/29/23, entitled: Vayechi: Don’t Stop Working Or Else You’ll Die (Especially If You’re Not Jewish) . Did you know that, according to Rashi, a non-Jew is forbidden to take a day off of work? Torah Temimah's elucidation of a strange midrash on Yaakov Avinu's d...
Dec 29, 2023•17 min•Season 14Ep. 40
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 9 minutes 11 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/22/23, entitled: Vayigash: May [the Word of] God Be With You (Rough Draft) . I intended to write about a specific pasuk in this week's parashah, but ended up writing all the background info and concepts without getting to the main topic. Oh well. I hope you ...
Dec 22, 2023•10 min•Season 14Ep. 39
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 11 minutes Synopsis: This evening (12/20/23), in our Wednesday night Tefilah shiur, we decided to see if we could gain some insights into Asarah b'Teves, which is coming up this Friday. We began by going over some basic facts about the events we commemorate, as well as some NOT so basic facts, including the questions about the events of the 8th and 9th of Teves. We then read through the selichah and made our initial observ...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 14Ep. 38
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 53 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/15/23, entitled: Mikeitz: Self-Deprivation in Solidarity With Others Who Are Suffering . Chazal learn from Yosef that it is prohibited to have marital relations during a famine. What is the nature of this prohibition? How should this be applied during the cu...
Dec 15, 2023•9 min•Season 14Ep. 37
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 5 minutes Synopsis: This morning (12/15/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we read and discussed Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher's introduction to Parashas Mikeitz (which I had NOT prepared in advance) in which he expounds on Mishlei 3:5 by summarizing the eight levels of bitachon in the writings of Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Paquda. This was never intended to be a full shiur, but it adequately served as an introduction to th...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 36
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 26 minutes Synopsis: This evening (12/14/23), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began Chapter 4 with Ben Zoma's well-known teaching. Tonight we focused on his treatment of "chacham." We learned the views of five Rishonim. I'd like to stick with this same topic next week, not only because of its importance, but because there are some particular questions which came up that I'd like to investigate in more...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 14Ep. 35
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of FREE article: 1 page Length of FREE recording: 6 minutes 20 seconds Length of FULL article: 2 pages Length of FULL recording: 8 minutes 23 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the FREE version of the article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 12/14/23, entitled: Chanukah 5784: Maimonian Doughnuts and My Current Understanding of Minhag . I thought sufganiot were not a real minhag until a surprising source...
Dec 14, 2023•7 min•Season 14Ep. 34
