The Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss

The Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss

For MONTHS I've been meaning to compile a list of links and descriptions of all the Torah content that I've been producing this year, but I didn't get around to it until now. This list is current as of April 2021, and I'll do my best to update it whenever there are significant changes. 

My Blog: Kol ha'Seridim

Link: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/

Description: I considered myself to be a Torah writer before I became a Torah teacher. In 2007, at the dawn of the Jewish Blogosphere, I started a blog called Kankan Chadash. When I started teaching in 2009 I started using a pseudonym and changed the name of the blog to Kankan Ne'lam. In 2014 I relaunched my blog in its current incarnation as Kol ha'Seridim. I spent most of the summer almost every summer posting an article every weekday, half of which were new and half of which were revised articles from the old blogs. These articles covered a wide range of topics - mostly Torah, but also philosophy, education, and personal musings. It looks like I won't be writing as much this summer as I have in the past, but there are over 300 articles on the blog waiting to be read!

How to Use: My advice is to skim the titles in the blog archive and read whatever looks interesting based on the title. Yes, you can also skim the labels, but I must confess that my labeling policies were inconsistent throughout the years, and there were many articles that were not labeled correctly. Also note that the search feature somehow doesn't work very well, despite the fact that Blogger is owned by Google. Most of the posts from 2017 and on are available for download as PDFs, which makes them ideal for Shabbos.

My YouTube Channel

Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbischneeweiss

Description: This year I began teaching at Yeshiva Bnei Torah (YBT) and Lomdeha: the Torah Learning Institute for Women. The majority of the shiurim/classes I give at both institutions are recorded and uploaded to my YouTube channel, usually within a matter of hours after I give them. The advantage of watching them on YouTube (as opposed to the podcasts) is that I usually display the texts and/or translations on the screen, which makes the shiur easier to follow. 
How to Use: I recommend that you sign into YouTube with your gmail account and subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking "subscribe." That way, all of my new videos will appear whenever you visit YouTube, and YouTube will hold your place in the video when you stop watching it so that you can come back and pick up where you left off. Another pro-tip is to go to my playlists, where you'll find all of my shiurim organized by topic (and color-coded), which makes them easier to browse or to find specific shiurim. You can choose whether to order them in chronological or reverse chronological order. 

My Podcasts

Description: I currently have five podcasts where I upload almost all of my shiurim/classes, usually within a matter of hours after I give them. (I say "almost" because some I record but don't upload, and others I don't even record.) The advantage of listening on a podcast is that the audio quality is superior to that of YouTube, and it will generally be easier to find what you're looking for. Also, they're podcasts! You can listen to them when you're out and about.
How to Use: The best way to listen to these podcasts is to download a podcast app (see "platforms" below for a list), search for my podcasts by title, and subscribe. All of the new episodes will show up automatically and will be easy to access. Alternatively, if you prefer to listen to it on your computer, you can just click directly on the link. 
Platforms/Apps: My podcasts should all be available on the following platforms/apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Pandora, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Listen Notes, Player FM, Podcast Index, Overcast, Castro, Castbox, Podfriend. If you find out that a particular podcast isn't available on the platform you use, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Here are my podcasts:

1. The Stoic Jew Podcast: https://thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
• Frequency: five new episodes each week
• Average Episode Length: 10-15 minutes
• Description: This podcast is devoted to the exploration of the relationship between Judaism and Stoicism where they overlap, where they differ, and how they complement each other. Each day I read a selection from one of the Stoic philosophers - Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Seneca - and reflect on the practical insights we can learn from them. I almost always incorporate Torah sources or ideas, and real-world examples.
• Note: This is the only podcast I make unique content for. In other words, you will not find this content available on my YouTube channel or my blog. 
  
  
2. The Mishlei Podcast: https://mishlei.buzzsprout.com
• Frequency: five new episodes of each week
• Average Episode Length: 35-45 minutes for most episodes, and 75-90 minutes for some
• Description: I give two Mishlei shiurim: a 35-45 minute morning shiur for the yeshiva guys in YBT Monday through Thursday, in which we usually average one pasuk every day or two, and a 75-90 minute weekly shiur for the community at large on Monday nights, in which we learn one pasuk. The morning shiur is more advanced in the sense that I don't translate as much, so if you're looking for something more accessible, I recommend the longer episodes. 
• Note: This podcast and the other three are not recorded AS PODCASTS. They're recorded as shiurim and then uploaded as podcasts. For this reason, there tends to be lots of discussion back and forth, which some might enjoy but others might find annoying, distracting, or hard to hear.
  
  
3. Rambam Bekius: https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
• Frequency: four new episodes each week
• Average Episode Length: 60 minutes
• Description: I give a Rambam Bekius shiur (or, more accurately, a chavurah) at YBT Monday through Thursday. Our learning is anchored in the Mishneh Torah, which we started from the very beginning, but we tend to go wherever our learning takes us. Some might describe our learning as more "bekiyun" than "bekius" since we delve in-depth into whatever happens to interest us, but we try to keep the pace up. In addition to going straight through the Mishneh Torah, we'll also take detours to learn subjects related to the upcoming moadim and occasionally we'll do a side-topic or a shiur from The Kuntress. 
  
  
4. Tefilah [and Tehilim]: https://tefilah.buzzsprout.com
• Frequency: two new episodes each week
• Average Episode Length: 45-55 minutes
• Description: This began as a tefilah podcast where I uploaded my shiurim at YBT on tefilah, but then I stopped giving a regular tefilah shiur and switched to Tehilim, which is a related topic. Regardless, anything that can be remotely connected with tefilah, Tehilim, "how to cultivate a relationship with Hashem" is uploaded here.
• Note: If you're looking for a "spoonfeedy" shiur, in which the ideas are neatly packaged and ready for consumption, then these shiurim might not be for you. We work through everything from scratch, which means a fair share of dead ends, misfires, and approaches which don't yield fruit. The upside is that this will provide good training in the methodology of learning Tehilim and tefilah.
  
  
5. Machshavah Lab: https://machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
• Frequency: one, two, three, or sometimes four new episodes each week
• Average Episode Length: 45-75 minutes
• Description: This is my "miscellaneous" podcast. It includes shiurim I give at YBT and Lomdeha on Jewish philosophy, Chumash methodology, midrashim, Pirkei Avos, and more. I call it "Machshavah Lab" because this is where we will conduct Torah "experiments" by exploring questions, texts, and ideas in an effort to develop our machshavah in a "hands on," exploratory, firsthand manner.

My WhatsApp Group

Link: if you want to join, email me; let me know who you are and what led you to my content, and ask me to send you the link to join
Description: If you want to stay up to date on ALL of my Torah content, then this is the best way. I upload everything here: YouTube videos, podcast episodes, articles, AND announcements/Zoom info for my shiurim which are open to the public. 
Note: Because I produce a ton of content, I tend to post to this group a lot ... like, 4-6 times each day. But don't worry: it's set on "admins only" so there won't be any discussion taking place here.

Zoom Shiurim Open to the Public

Right now the only regularly scheduled shiur I give over Zoom which is open to everybody is my Monday Night Mishlei shiur, which runs from 8:00pm to 9:15pm EST every Monday night. This shiur will continue until the end of June, then break for most of July, and resume in August. 

I also give shiurim on a wide variety of topics as part of our Lomdeha Friday Seminar, which is open to all women. Each Friday's shiurim begin at 9:00am EST every Friday, and my slot is from 11:30am to 12:15pm. If you're interested, email info at lomdeha.org.

I also occasionally give our YBT Sunday Shiur, also on a variety of topics.

Some of my other shiurim are quasi-open, so if you're interested in joining any one of them, contact me and I'll let you know whether it's an option. 

As I said above, if you want to stay up-to-date with my shiur announcements, join my WhatsApp group.

One-On-One Torah Teaching/Learning

At the outset of the year I intended to do a lot of one-on-one Torah teaching/learning - not so much as a "tutor" to help students succeed in school, but as a sort of "personal chef" of Torah, ready to serve up whatever the customer is interested in. I ended up becoming so busy with my shiurim and classes at YBT and Lomdeha that I've barely had time for offering one-on-one sessions. I have one weekly session of this nature and another monthly session. If you're interested in something like this, feel free to contact me and I'll let you know whether I'm available. When I've done this in the past, it's usually been at the behest of parents who feel that their child is not receiving the Torah education that he or she needs - usually because they have questions that aren't being answered, or curiosities that aren't being nurtured. I'm also open to giving one-off or series of shiurim to small or large groups.

My Email

If you want to join my WhatsApp group, or if you have questions, comments, or any other type of feedback about any of my content, feel free to email me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. 

Who Knows What the Future Holds?

I believe that covers everything for now! I'm sure these will change next year, but only Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu can tell you that!