Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 16 minutes Synopsis: This morning (8/13/24), I gave my annual kinnos shiur at Shevet Achim (a.k.a. The Island Synagogue), and for the first time ever, I recorded it! I chose this kinnah because it presents itself as being related to tefilah, which has been the focus of my learning all summer. But even a surface-level examination of the text indicates that something strange is going on here. And, as you'll hear, this kinnah...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 17Ep. 11
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 4 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/12/24 entitled: Tishah b’Av 5784: Does Hashem Still Listen to Our Prayers? One would assume the answer is "yes," but a midrash about the destruction of Mikdash indicates otherwise. What does this midrash teach us about the loss of Mikdash and our tefilah nowadays? ---...
Aug 13, 2024•9 min•Season 17Ep. 10
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 12 minutes 35 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/9/24 entitled: Haftaras Devarim: Will Hashem Hate Our Tishah b’Av? Some years I write a Tishah b'Av article and feel like I'm not adding anything - just showcasing the words of the prophets. Maybe that's a good thing. This is one of those articles. ----- The Torah C...
Aug 09, 2024•13 min•Season 17Ep. 9
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 5 pages Length of the audio: 17 minutes 25 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 5-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 8/1/24 entitled: Four Insights from a Jewish Renewal Rabbi . I can't say I've ever written an article prompted by someone from a non-Orthodox Jewish movement, but once I heard this podcast, I had to share my thoughts. ----- The Torah Content for the remainder ...
Aug 02, 2024•18 min•Season 17Ep. 8
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 22 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/26/24 entitled: Pinchas: The Korban Tamid as ... God's Food? How would you respond to the claim that korbanos are "God's food"? How would you account for the similarities between our korban tamid and idolatrous parallels? We look to the tamid for answers. ---...
Jul 26, 2024•9 min•Season 17Ep. 7
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 6 minutes 31 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally published on my old blog on 12/27/13, which I edited and republished on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/19/24 entitled: Vaeira: Do You Believe in Magic? Is magic real? There are three views among the Rishonim. This used to be an open question. But if these Rishonim were alive today, they'd al...
Jul 19, 2024•7 min•Season 17Ep. 6
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 45 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/19/24 entitled: Balak: Blaming Sins on “Sin City.” When it comes to nature vs. nurture, we think of "nurture" in reference to people and one's surroundings. But what role is played by a person's name or place? Can a bad name cause a person to sin? ----- The T...
Jul 19, 2024•10 min•Season 17Ep. 5
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 3 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/12/24 entitled: Chukas: How the Deaths of Tzadikim Atone . I was going to call this article, "How Miriam and Aharon Died for Our Sins," but I opted for the more generic NON-Jesusy title. ----- The Torah content for the first half of July has been sponsored by ...
Jul 12, 2024•9 min•Season 17Ep. 4
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 8 minutes 1 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 7/5/24 entitled: Korach: The Sexual Allegations Against Moshe Rabbeinu . Did you know that Korach led a nationwide smear campaign against Moshe by accusing him of sexual impropriety? I wasn't until this year. This article is an analysis of that midrash. ----- Th...
Jul 05, 2024•9 min•Season 17Ep. 3
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 15 minutes 31 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/28/24 entitled: Shelach: Shadal’s Radical Take on the Forty Years in the Wilderness . What if I told you that Israel were not condemned to wander in the Wilderness for 40 years as a punishment for the Sin of the Spies? That's what Shadal holds! Here's my att...
Jun 28, 2024•16 min•Season 17Ep. 2
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 originally published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/24/22, which I've edited and republished on 6/27/24, entitled: Shelach: Challah as a Consequence of the Cheit ha'Meraglim . Why does the Torah introduce the mitzvah of separating challah after the account of the Sin of the Spies? What does one have to do with ...
Jun 27, 2024•5 min•Season 17Ep. 1
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 52 minutes Synopsis: This morning (6/21/24) we had a surprise Q&A as our last shiur in yeshiva of the 2023-2024 year! We took up seven questions: (1) How do we reconcile/account for the differences in the average working hours today vs. in the time of Chazal and the Rishonim, insofar as our learning is concerned? (2) What is meant by the term "ego"? (3) What's up with the waving of the Leviim in Behaalosecha? (4) What benefit...
Jun 21, 2024•52 min•Season 16Ep. 23
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 7 minutes 41 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/21/24, entitled: Behaalosecha: Moshe’s Short[ened] Tefilah . Why was Moshe's tefilah for Miriam so short? Was this his intent or was he forced to shorten it? Either way, what implications does this have for our tefilah? ----- The Torah content for this week h...
Jun 21, 2024•9 min•Season 16Ep. 22
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 17 minutes Synopsis: This evening (6/19/24), in our last Wednesday night Tehilim/Tefilah shiur of the year, we took up a tefilah-related topic in the parashah: Moshe's short tefilah for Miriam. We raised a bunch of questions, and then set out to gain as many insights as we could. There was so much to cover that we went over time and didn't even finish! ---------- מקורות: במדבר יב:יג תרגום אונקלוס פרשגן רבינו בחיי הרכסים לב...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 16Ep. 21
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 4 pages Length of the audio: 15 minutes 3 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 4-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/18/24, entitled: Emulating Darwin: A Jewish Approach to Seeking God . I recently read some Darwin for the first time and was so impressed by the character reflected in his writing that I was moved to write this article. ----- The Torah content for this week h...
Jun 18, 2024•16 min•Season 16Ep. 20
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 2 pages Length of the audio: 5 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I originally wrote on 6/20/13 which I edited and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/14/24, entitled: Naso: Shivim Panim la'Torah in Context . The idiom "Shivim Panim la'Torah" is well-known but its origin is not. An analysis of its source in context sheds light on its usage by the Rishonim. -----...
Jun 14, 2024•6 min•Season 16Ep. 19
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length of the article: 7 pages Length of the audio: 21 minutes 19 seconds Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 7-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 6/11/24, entitled: Shavuos is NOT About the Giving of the Torah . This article, originally published on 5/30/17, is one of the few I've written about Shavuos. It deals with a basic question: What is the theme of the holiday? ----- The Torah content for this we...
Jun 11, 2024•22 min•Season 16Ep. 18
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 23 minutes Synopsis: This morning (6/7/24), in our Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiurim for women, we decided to do a sequel to our Megilas Esther shiurim from earlier this year. 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 16 such lessons. Since this num...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 16Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour Synopsis: This morning (6/7/24) we continued our analysis of the sugya we started on Wednesday night. After reviewing the facts and questions, we set out to define - or at least, attempt to define - the two main disagreements: (1) What was the structure of the takanah? (2) Which name of Hashem was this in reference to? I shared the various approaches that my chavrusa and I developed, and although we didn't manage to define...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr•Season 16Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 39 minutes Synopsis: Tonight (6/6/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued our analysis of the mishnah about deriving worldly benefit from words of Torah. After a VERY brief review of the Rambam, to which Parts 1 and 2 were devoted, we examined the opposition as formulated by two Rishonim. Sforno provided a clean, straightforward argument which demonstrated a completely different framework from ...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Season 16Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #7: Immortality in This World Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 4 minutes 40 seconds Synopsis: This is the last of the Facebook posts I wrote during the period immediately following the death of my rebbi zt"l. Like the ot...
Jun 06, 2024•6 min•Season 16Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #6: His True Memorial Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 8 minutes 22 seconds...
Jun 06, 2024•9 min•Season 16Ep. 23
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 6 minutes Synopsis: This evening (6/5/24), in lieu of our Wednesday night Tehilim/Tefilah shiur, we took up a halachic topic: the takanah (Rabbinic enactment) to greet one's fellow with the name of Hashem. This topic is so dense, intricate, and intertwined that we spent the entire time going through the facts and raising questions. We're going to TRY to do Part 2 on Friday morning (because if we don't, there's a VERY good ...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 16Ep. 22
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #05b: Addendum - Fat Guys in the Woods Length of article: 2 pages Length of audio: 3 m...
Jun 05, 2024•4 min•Season 16Ep. 21
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #05: Tishah b’Av - The Most Enjoyable Day of the Summer Length of article: 3 pages Len...
Jun 05, 2024•9 min•Season 16Ep. 20
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #04: The Hike Length of article: 4 pages Length of audio: 6 minutes 50 seconds Synopsi...
Jun 04, 2024•8 min•Season 16Ep. 19
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #03: A Rebbi of Students He Never Met Length of article: 3 pages Length of audio: 7 mi...
Jun 04, 2024•8 min•Season 16Ep. 18
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #02: Burying My Rebbi Admit Tears and Suppressed Laughter Length of article: 4 pages L...
Jun 03, 2024•10 min•Season 16Ep. 17
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In honor of the second yahrzeit of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, I will be reposting all the "Rabbi Moskowitz Memory” Facebook posts that I wrote during the week of his passing. I’m not going to edit any of them unless I find a typo. I want to preserve the spontaneous writing I did during that intense period of grieving. Rabbi Moskowitz Memory #01: Random Learning Session with Ben and Me and 2011 Length of article: 2 pages Lengt...
Jun 03, 2024•5 min•Season 16Ep. 16
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 55 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/31/24), in the SECOND of our Friday morning Machshavah Lab shiurim for women, we learned Rav Hirsch's elucidation of Chazal's outline of the eight regressive stages of abandoning Torah. I initially planned to give a third shiur this morning on a strange midrash on the phrase "I shall cast your corpses onto the corpses of your idols" (Vayikra 26:30), but we discovered that the midrash was conne...
May 31, 2024•56 min•Season 16Ep. 15
