My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss. I am, first and foremost, an Orthodox Jew. I am also a student of the Stoic masters: Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. This podcast is dedicated to exploring the relationship between Judaism and Stoicism - where they overlap, where they differ, and how they complement each other. I also use this podcast to think out loud about how to apply the principles of Judaism and Stoicism to my own life, with all its ups and downs.
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Length: 21 minutes 25 seconds Synopsis: There's nothing like a real-world example to showcase Stoic principles. This incident that happened to me a couple of weeks ago illustrates one of the core ideas in Epictetus's teachings: the use of "impressions." Not only that, but it also exemplifies one of the chief benefits of tefilah.
Sources: - Epictetus, Discourses 2:18-30 ----- The Torah content for the first month of the new school year has been sponsored by the Brevique BrewLid. The BrewLid integrates coffee directly into the lid, offering a cleaner, more convenient, and eco-friendly coffee experience. By eliminating the need for machine contact, it reduces contamination risk, minimizes steps, cuts down on waste, and keeps the aroma around longer while delivering every last drop of flavor. If you love coffee and want to get in on the ground floor of BrewLid, check out the Kickstarter! ----- 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.
Length: 14 minutes 6 seconds Synopsis: In an effort to jumpstart weekly TSJ episodes, I've decided to start from the beginning of Meditations Book 7 and work my way through. Chapter 1 is very reminiscent of Koheles ... or is it? You can be the judge of that.
Sources: - Aurelius, Meditations 7:1 - Koheles 1:9-11 ----- The Torah content for the first month of the new school year has been sponsored by the Brevique BrewLid. The BrewLid integrates coffee directly into the lid, offering a cleaner, more convenient, and eco-friendly coffee experience. By eliminating the need for machine contact, it reduces contamination risk, minimizes steps, cuts down on waste, and keeps the aroma around longer while delivering every last drop of flavor. If you love coffee and want to get in on the ground floor of BrewLid, check out the Kickstarter! ----- 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: YouTube Channel: Instagram: "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Mishlei Podcast": "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Old Blog: WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): Amazon Wishlist:
The Stoic Jew Shiur #01: Marcus's Morning Reminder (Meditations 2:1)
Length: 1 hour 37 minutes Synopsis: This evening (6/26/24) was our inaugural "Stoic Jew Shiur"! After a brief overview of who Marcus Aurelius was and what his Meditations are, we dove RIGHT into the text of Book 2 Chapter 1. We quickly discovered that this opening paragraph was rich in ideas and fruitful in providing insights into how we - or at least, how I - learn the writings of Stoics and non-Torah other philosophers and thinkers as Orthodox Jews. The shiur was scheduled for an hour, but after 90 minutes, we were still deep in our analysis. We decided to stop. Next time (בג"ה) we'll review what we learned, finish our analysis, and move on to the next chapter!
For a video recording of the shiur, in which I display the text and notes, check out the YouTube version. ----- מקורות: Aurelius - Meditations 2:1 (trans. Long, Farquharson, Waterfield) Richard Mitchell - On Knowing vs. Knowing About (excerpt from The Gift of Fire), https://rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/p/richard-mitchell-on-knowing-vs-knowing Tim Urban - Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/06/taming-mammoth-let-peoples-opinions-run-life.html ----- The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by Meir Areman, l'zeicher nishmas Zelda bas Ziesel, his grandmother, whose yahrzeit is on the 21st of Sivan. ----- 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: Patreon: YouTube Channel: Instagram: "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Mishlei Podcast": "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Old Blog: WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): Amazon Wishlist:
Stoic Thoughts on My Winter Break 2022 - Part 1 (Seneca – On Tranquility of Mind 17:5)
Synopsis: This is the first installment of a two-part reflection on my upcoming Winter Break 2022. In today’s episode, Seneca and the Meiri join forces to give me permission – within the framework of my own psychological drives – to take this winter break, and actually use it to relax and recharge.
Sources: - Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind 17:5 (with commentary by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman) - Meiri, Beis ha’Bechirah Shabbos 118b ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored anonymously by someone whose identity even I don't know. Since I can't ask them for a dedicatory message, we'll just dedicate it to my January 10th birthday, and - God willing - to another year of learning, teaching, and life. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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.----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
Synopsis: What does it mean to "live an authentic life" or to "be an authentic person"? In this episode I argue that the answers given by Judaism and Stoicism are closely related, if not identical - in contrast to the popular conception. I then apply this idea to a rather amusing experience that happened to me a few months ago.
Sources: - Aurelius, Meditations 5:3 - Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Paquda, Chovos ha'Levavos (Duties of the Heart), translated by Daniel Haberman - Avos 4:1 ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored anonymously by someone whose identity even I don't know. Since I can't ask them for a dedicatory message, we'll just dedicate it to my January 10th birthday, and - God willing - to another year of learning, teaching, and life. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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 an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at ----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
The Waltz of Fate (Epictetus - Enchiridion 8; Aurelius - Meditations 5:20)
Synopsis: This episode begins with a review of what I think of as the three stages of Stoic development. I then share a new way of conceptualizing these stages as three ways we relate to fate (i.e. to those things we cannot control), which I apply to a situation of uncertainty I am currently facing in my life.
Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion 8 (with Keith Seddon’s commentary) - Aurelius, Meditations 5:20 - Nietzsche (citation needed) - Avos 2:4 - Talmud Bavli, Shabbos 88b ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored anonymously by someone whose identity even I don't know. Since I can't ask them for a dedicatory message, we'll just dedicate it to my January 10th birthday, and - God willing - to another year of learning, teaching, and life. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at ----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
38th Birthday Reflections: On Self-Harm and Self-Actualization (Aurelius - Meditations 2.6)
Synopsis: Today is my 38th birthday! In this episode I reflect on where I was last year at this time, what happened in between, and where I hope I’m going.
Sources: - Aurelius, Meditations 2:6 - Ralbag, Vayikra 23 - Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored anonymously by someone whose identity even I don't know. Since I can't ask them for a dedicatory message, we'll just dedicate it to my January 10th birthday, and - God willing - to another year of learning, teaching, and life. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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.----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
Stoic Joy vs. Simchah shel Mitzvah (Seneca – Letter #59: On Pleasure and Joy)
Synopsis: I recently attended the wedding of a dear friend. It would be accurate to say that the dancing at the wedding started out the same as at any Orthodox Jewish wedding and ended as a rave. In this episode I argue that this was a GOOD thing, and that it reflects a concept I suspect is unique to Judaism: simchah shel mitzvah. The episode concludes with a reflection on how the melody of the popular song “Hashem Melech” was taken from "C'est la vie," by Algerian raï singer Khaled, which is a song about the life of taivah (base pleasure).
Sources: - Seneca, Letter #59 - Talmud Bavli Shabbos 30b - Hashem Melech - Khaled, C’est La Vie ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Albert Hanan and Justin Coskey in honor of Aryel's and Batya's wedding. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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 an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at ----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
How Much of Our Suffering is Performative? (Seneca – Letter #63: On Grief for Lost Friends)
Synopsis: In today’s (short!) episode we compare Epictetus’s unrealistic and inhuman standards of grieving (or lack thereof) with the tempered and realistic alternative taught by Seneca, as codified by the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah. The explanation Seneca provides for why people grieve excessively raises an interesting question about the psychodynamic forces behind our own experiences of suffering and loss.
Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion 3 - Seneca, Letter #63 - Rambam: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchos Avel 13:11-12 ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss, in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz's birthday last week, and in gratitude for all the Mishlei he has taught his many generations of students. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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.----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
The Hidden Costs of Life (Epictetus - Enchiridion 12,25; Discourses 1)
Synopsis: I came across a quotation from Thoreau which resonated with me, thanks to my “Counting the Weeks of My Life” experiment. In this episode we expand upon Thoreau’s thoughts with excerpts from Epictetus, du Lair, and Pirkei Avos.
Sources: - Thoreau, Walden - Epictetus, Enchiridion 12:2; 25:4-5; Discourses 1:29:21 - Guillaume du Lair, The Moral Philosophy of the Stoics - Avos 2:1 ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss, in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz's birthday last week, and in gratitude for all the Mishlei he has taught his many generations of students. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. ---------- 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/Chase QuickPay 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.----------YouTube Channel: Blog: "The Mishlei Podcast": "The Stoic Jew" Podcast: "Rambam Bekius" Podcast: "Machshavah Lab" Podcast: "The Tefilah Podcast": Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: Amazon Wishlist:
If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at
. 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.
. 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.
. 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 an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at
. 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.
If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at
. 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.
. 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.
If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at
. 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.
If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at
. 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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