Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 57 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/31/24, entitled: Behar: The Torah’s Double Standard for Slave Labor (Part 4: Approach #3) . This third and final approach to answering our question about why the Torah permits avodas parech of an eved Canaani is the most radical of them all. ----- The Torah c...
May 31, 2024•10 min•Season 16Ep. 13
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 33 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (5/30/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued our analysis of the mishnah through the eyes of the Rambam. We began with a VERY in-depth review of everything we covered last time (if you want to skip the review, start around 30 minutes into the shiur). We then read and discussed several additional sources in other works of the Rambam where he discusses this, focusing...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Season 16Ep. 12
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 46 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/29/24, entitled: Behar: The Torah’s Double Standard for Slave Labor (Part 3: Approach #2) . In this third installment, we examine a second approach to our question about the Torah's double-standard of avodas parech for non-Jewish slaves - one which is the opp...
May 29, 2024•9 min•Season 16Ep. 11
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 9 minutes 26 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/27/24, entitled: Behar: The Torah’s Double Standard for Slave Labor (Part 2: Approach #1) . In Part 1 we raised the question of why the Torah only forbids us to work a Jewish slave with avodas parech but not a non-Jewish slave. Part 2 explores one of three ap...
May 27, 2024•10 min•Season 16Ep. 10
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 1 page Length of the audio: 5 minutes 16 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/24/24, entitled: Behar: The Torah’s Double Standard for Slave Labor (Part 1: Questions) . The Egyptians oppressed us with a harsh form of labor called "avodas parech." We are prohibited from oppressing Jewish debt-slaves with such labor, but NOT non-Jewish sla...
May 24, 2024•6 min•Season 16Ep. 9
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 33 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (5/23/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began learning the next mishnah, but our focus was on the Rambam's diatribe - and that really is the most accurate word - against those who take money for Torah. We set out clear objectives and non-objectives. Our main goal for this evening was to read and discuss the Rambam's commentary on this mishnah, trying to understand as mu...
May 24, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Season 16Ep. 8
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 14 minutes 40 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/23/24, entitled: Emor / Kedoshim: Should Kids Be Taken to Magic Shows? This article seeks to answer the question in the title, in light of the strongly worded views of Rambam and Sefer ha'Chinuch. I present my own views with support from R' Moshe Feinstein. ...
May 23, 2024•16 min•Season 16Ep. 7
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 15 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/17/24), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiur for women, we deviated from our planned topic to address a question that was raised in our community WhatsApp group: Is it bad (or even prohibited) to take a kid to see a magic show? In the first part of this shiur, we read the PSA that was posted in the chat and learn through all the sources referenced therein. In the second part, I ma...
May 17, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 16Ep. 6
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 24 minutes Synopsis: This evening (5/16/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began learning the next mishnah which focuses on two motives for learning Torah and their outcomes. We raised WAY more questions and learned WAY more meforshim than I expected! Although we didn't solve all the problems, we did end up discussing some fundamental insights about how we ought to relate to our learning and practic...
May 17, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 16Ep. 5
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 46 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/13/24) we had a surprise Q&A! We took up four questions: (1) When a person senses that their relationship with learning has changed, how should they go about evaluating whether that change is positive or negative? (2) How can we tell which of our values are from Torah, from society, or from a combination? (3) How do we classify various subjects within the Rambam's "shlish" program of Talmu...
May 13, 2024•47 min•Season 16Ep. 4
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 t...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 56 min•Season 16Ep. 3
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...
May 10, 2024•11 min•Season 16Ep. 2
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 ap...
May 10, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Season 16Ep. 1
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) Se...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 15Ep. 39
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 entir...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Season 15Ep. 38
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 ...
Apr 12, 2024•5 min•Season 15Ep. 37
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 25 minutes Synopsis: This evening (4/4/24), in lieu of our usual Thursday night women's Pirkei Avos shiur, we decided to prepare ourselves for the upcoming solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 by learning through enough key sources to develop an authentically "Jewish" framework for our eclipse experience. We began by examining the mitzvah to study the eclipse and examined the greatest model among the Rishonim of someone who devo...
Apr 05, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 15Ep. 36
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 1 page Length of the audio: 4 minutes Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/4/24 (originally written on 3/21/14), entitled: Shemini: DUI (Davening Under the Influence) . Nadav and Avihu's punishment seems harsh, especially if their sin was drinking a little wine. An analysis of the philosophy behind the prohibition of DUI reveals why their penal...
Apr 04, 2024•5 min•Season 15Ep. 35
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 3 pages Length of the audio: 11 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/29/24, entitled: Tzav: Heavenly Fire and Hidden Miracles . Purim may not always fall out during the week of Parashas Tzav, but there is a thematic connection between the theme of Purim and the reason for a perplexing mitzvah at the beginning of the parashah. ...
Mar 29, 2024•12 min•Season 15Ep. 34
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 16 minutes Synopsis: This evening (3/28/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began learning the next mishnah which is about humility - or, to be precise, "extreme lowliness of spirit." We started learning through the Rambam's lengthy commentary, which is essentially a treatise on humility, but because this required us to do an overview of the Rambam's entire approach to character traits in Hilchos Dei...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 15Ep. 33
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Note: You do NOT need to have listened to Parts 1 or 2 in order to follow Part 3. Length: 1 hour 5 minutes Synopsis: This morning (3/22/24), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we continued learning through the Ralbag's toalos, continuing at the beginning of Chapter 4 and concluding Chapter 5. Whereas many of the toalos we discussed last time seemed ancillary to the main ideas of the story, the toalos we read today showcase the right...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 15Ep. 32
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 3 pages Length of the audio: 11 minutes 13 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/21/24, entitled: The Ambiguous Vibe of Taanis Esther . How should we feel on Taanis Esther? I attempted to use this article to figure out the answer for myself, but ended up more confused than I was when I started. I present to you: my confusion. ----- The T...
Mar 21, 2024•12 min•Season 15Ep. 31
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 1 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/16/22 and 3/17/22, entitled: A Theory Connecting Purim to Yom ha’Kipurim Which is NOT Based on Specious Linguistics , which I edited and republished today, on 3/18/24. Have you heard someone connect Purim to Yom ha'Kippurim? I used to dismiss such i...
Mar 18, 2024•8 min•Season 15Ep. 30
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 5 minutes Synopsis: This morning (3/15/24), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we continued learning through the Ralbag's toalos. After an introduction, in which we spoke about the difference between Chazal's "villainize the wicked" approach and the Ralbag's toeles method, we pressed on in the toalos making through chapter 3, which covers 26 out of the total 51. Lots of nice ideas, just like last time! We'll see if we...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 15Ep. 29
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 1 pages Length of the audio: 4 minutes 14 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/15/24, entitled: Vayakhel/Pikudei: Tedious by Design . In this newsletter dvar Torah from 2012, we examine four answers offered by Ralbag to the most pressing question on both Vayakhel and Pekudei: Why all the needless repetition? ----- This week's Torah cont...
Mar 15, 2024•5 min•Season 15Ep. 28
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 18 minutes Synopsis: This evening(3/14/24), during our regularly schedule Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we instead embarked on an exciting Purim-related journey. As is his style, the Ralbag concludes sections of his Biblical commentaries with "toalos" (a.k.a. lessons) in halacha, middos, and philosophical ideas which he gleans from the text. He concludes Megilas Esther with 51 such lessons. Tonight, we began learning throug...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 15Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 8 pages Length of the audio: 22 minutes 59 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/8/24, entitled: Four Pillars of Classroom Management (2012 Edition) . This is the email I send to new teachers who are struggling with classroom management. Although I wrote this in 2012, I still stand by these principles. I hope this helps new teachers find...
Mar 08, 2024•24 min•Season 15Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 15 minutes 48 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 3/1/24, entitled: Ki Tisa: “Please Erase Me From Your Book.” What was Moshe thinking when he asked Hashem to erase him from His book? I began writing an article, based on Sforno, which turned into 90% of a written shiur. I hope you still find it insightful! --...
Mar 01, 2024•17 min•Season 15Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 15 minutes 34 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 2/23/24, entitled: Tetzaveh: Urim v’Tumim – the Emergency (Outdated?) Divine Telegraph System . 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. ----- ...
Feb 23, 2024•16 min•Season 15Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 1 minute Synopsis: This morning (2/16/24), in a women's Q&A, we took up four questions - or at least, a cluster of related questions, followed by three isolated questions: (1) LOTS of questions about moshiach! (2) What short-form shiurim/Torah would I recommend? (3) What steps can we take to make sure that we don't become too dependent on AI? (4) When should and shouldn't a person listen to podcasts? ----- מקורות: מגיל...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 15Ep. 23
