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

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 7-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/7/26 titled: Behar: The Torah’s Double Standard for Slave Labor. In this article (first published in 2024), we examine three approaches to understanding why the Torah forbids us to work a Jewish slave with oppressive labor but permits it for a non-Jewish slave.

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This week’s content is sponsored by Benjy Weiss, currently a student at Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah. The vast majority of my talmidim over the past six years learned at Migdal, and the rabbeim there clearly do an excellent job fostering their development. Migdal promotes the same approach to Torah study that my own rabbeim have bequeathed to me: asking questions and pursuing answers that make sense. If you’ve gained from my shiurim these past six years, you’ve also benefited from Migdal, consider making a contribution: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/benjy-weiss

The Torah content for the month of Iyyar is sponsored by Naomi Schwartz Rothschild in memory of her mother, Breindel Bracha bas Mordechai z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 8th of Iyyar. She learned and lived Torah, and was a tremendous baalas chesed.

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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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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

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

Length: 53 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (5/1/26), in our shorter-than-usual Friday morning Sefer Iyov series for women, we began with an efficient review of the Rambam's theory of ra which we covered last time in 3:10. We then read and discussed the short 3:11 about the cause of interpersonal ra. Finally, we learned through the first part of 3:12, where the Rambam diagnoses the philosophical disease that makes people think there is more ra in the world than tov. Next time (בג"ה) we'll learn through the second half of this chapter in which the Rambam classifies the three types of ra and their prevalence.
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:י-יב
R. Nachum Rabinovitch, "Grant Our Portion in Your Torah" (pp.12-13 in Pathways to Their Hearts)
בראשית פרק א
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The Torah content for the month of Iyyar is sponsored by Naomi Schwartz Rothschild in memory of her mother, Breindel Bracha bas Mordechai z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 8th of Iyyar. She learned and lived Torah, and was a tremendous baalas chesed.

-----

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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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_=wl_sharel

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

Length: 1 hour 43 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (4/30/25), in our Thursday night women’s shiur, we learned through the entire chapter in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim in which the Rambam discusses the purpose of the universe. Technically speaking, this is part of our Friday morning Sefer Iyov Machshavah Lab series for women, but in order to make up for lost time, I decided to take it up in our Thursday night shiur. Thankfully, it's also a standalone topic. I'm happy with our analysis, and hope you find the Rambam's argument as enlightening as I did!

Here's the link to My Rejected Kiruv Article on the Purpose of Life, which I mentioned at the end
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:יג
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The Torah content for the month of Iyyar is sponsored by Naomi Schwartz Rothschild in memory of her mother, Breindel Bracha bas Mordechai z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 8th of Iyyar. She learned and lived Torah, and was a tremendous baalas chesed.

-----

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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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_=wl_sharel

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

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (4/24/26), in our Friday morning Sefer Iyov series for women, we began with a review of 3:8 and the satan, then quickly learned through 3:9 while avoiding epistemological potholes, and finally began 3:10, one of the most important chapters in the series. Here the Rambam formally presents his theory of ra, defining what it is, what it's not, and where it stands in relation to God. We read and discussed this chapter at a quicker pace than usual because I wanted to make sure we finished it all in one session. I have a feeling we'll go deeper and gain a clearer understanding of the nuances when we review next time (בג"ה).
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:ט-י
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ד:ז
בראשית א:יב,כא,כה
Leon Kass, "The Hungry Soul" (pp.35-36)
Moshe Halbertal, "Maimonides: Life and Thought" (pp.329-330)
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The Torah content for the month of Iyyar is sponsored by Naomi Schwartz Rothschild in memory of her mother, Breindel Bracha bas Mordechai z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 8th of Iyyar. She learned and lived Torah, and was a tremendous baalas chesed.

-----

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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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_=wl_sharel

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

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (4/17/26), in our Friday morning Sefer Iyov series for women, we finally began the "Moreh ha'Nevuchim" portion of our Iyov journey. After a very brief review of matter and form, we read, analyzed, and discussed the Moreh 3:8 about the relationship between matter and ra. We concluded by decoding the basic elements of the satan allegory (which, ironically, was interrupted a few minutes before shiur ended by the satan himself). Next week, I hope to cover 3:9 and the all-important 3:10!
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ב:ג
יונה ד:א-ב;ו
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:ח
בבא בתרא דף טז עמוד א
איוב א:ו-יב
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The Torah content for the month of Nisan has been sponsored by Rivkie and Dovi Siderson. In the merit of our learning, may Hashem help us use this time to cleanse ourselves of spiritual "chametz," bringing refuah, shalom, and the final geulah to all of Klal Yisrael!

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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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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_=wl_sharel

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

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 3-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 4/16/26 title: Shemini / Tazria / Metzora: What a REAL Rationalist Would Say About Tumah. These three parshiyos all deal with tumah (impurity), which many regard as a mysterious force. Self-described rationalists will likely reject such a notion. But what if THEY are the irrational ones?

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This week's Torah content is sponsored by Seth Speiser, in honor of the yahrzeit of his father, Rabbi George Speiser (Rav Yosef ben Dovid). Rabbi Speiser was a kind and gentle soul as well as an intellectual and a scholar. He received smicha from Rav Hutner at Chaim Berlin. His love for teaching and making puns was only outweighed by his love of family.

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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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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

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

Length: 28 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (4/16/26), in lieu of our usual morning Mishlei, we had a short Q&A session! We discussed three questions: (1) To what degree can we "diagnose" whether something in our life was hashgachah pratis? (2) What does the Rambam mean by all the aggadic statements he brings down in Hilchos Deios Perek 7 about lashon ha'ra? (3) What are my views on how/whether we do/should implement the halacha about dividing one's learning time into thirds: a third in Torah she'bi'Chsav, a third in Torah she'baal Peh, and a third in Talmud? (I'll point out that these three questions fell neatly into these three categories.)
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מקורות:
רד"ק - תהלים קמה:יז
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות דעות פרק ז
Benjamin Brown - "From Principles to Rules and from Musar to Halakhah: The Hafetz Hayim's Rulings on Libel and Gossip"
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה א:יא

Evidently, in 2023, I spent around a week updating my understanding of all these sources. Here's the Torah content from that week:
Overview of the Halachos of Rechilus and Lashon ha'Ra (4/21/23)
4/24/23: Refining Our Definitions of Rechilus and Lashon ha'Ra (Hilchos Deios 7:1-3)
4/25/23: Lashon ha'Ra = Avodah Zarah, Gilui Arayos, Shfichus Damim (Hilchos Deios 7:3)
4/26/23: Lashon ha'Ra as Homicide-Suicide (Hilchos Deios 7:3)
4/27/23: Four Examples of Avak Lashon ha'Ra Hilchos (Hilchos Deios 7:4)
4/28/23: Kedoshim: Defining Rechilus
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The Torah content for the month of Nisan has been sponsored by Rivkie and Dovi Siderson. In the merit of our learning, may Hashem help us use this time to cleanse ourselves of spiritual "chametz," bringing refuah, shalom, and the final geulah to all of Klal Yisrael!

-----

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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambe

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

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes
Synopsis: This Friday morning (3/20/26), in our Friday morning Sefer Iyov series for women, we were GOING to begin the section of the Rambam's Moreh ha'Nevuchim that will be our focus for the next couple of months, beginning with 3:8 on the nature of matter. However, five minutes before shiur, I spontaneously decided to read some Rambams in the Mishneh Torah that I hadn't prepared, but thought would be a good way to review and clarify what we covered in Part 1. The good news is that I was right. The even better news is that this led to a level-up (at least on my part) in how to think about the soul according to the Rambam. I can't say we got everything clear, but we definitely gained in clarity! We ended up spending the rest of the shiur on this topic. The Moreh will have to wait until next time!
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ב:ג; ד:ז-ט
יד פשוטה שם
רמב"ם - מילות ההגיון: השער התשיעי
אבן עזרא פירוש ב' - תהלים ח:ג
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This week's Torah content is sponsored by Seth Speiser, in honor of the yahrzeit of his father, Rabbi George Speiser (Rav Yosef ben Dovid). Rabbi Speiser was a kind and gentle soul as well as an Intellectual and a scholar. He received smicha from Rav Hutner at Chaim Berlin. His love for teaching and making puns was only outweighed by his love of family.

-----

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/
YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-Schneeweiss
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
"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_=wl_sharel