Machshavah Lab

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

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote entitled, When Hashem Prefers Telling Lies Over Doing Miracles, which is a write-up of a basic idea about hashgachah pratis that appears in dozens of places in the Rishonim which I happened to stumble upon in my recent learning of Sefer Shmuel. (And yes - this, too, ends in an educational rant.)
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Naomi Mann in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l, whose shloshim is this week.
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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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

This is a recording of the shloshim memorial event for Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l which took place over Zoom on June 21, 2022 (22 Sivan 5782). 

For a link to the book written by Rabbi Moskowitz and Doug Taylor, "Getting it Straight: Practical Ideas for a Life of Clarity," click this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ulYh70S2_gEvq6reP6iUxeLH2L7x8Mri/view?usp=sharing

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

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote entitled, On Reading the Rambam's Mishneh Torah Like a Love Letter, which is part PSA and part rant regarding the widespread practice to favor the standard printed editions of the Mishneh Torah over the critical editions.
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Naomi Mann in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l, whose shloshim is this week.
----------
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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
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 1-page article I wrote entitled, An Example of My Idiosyncratic Brand of Spirituality, in which I recount a spiritual experience I had this past Shabbos and describe my personal form of spirituality (without defining it or explaining it).
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Naomi Mann in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l, whose shloshim is this week.
----------
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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

This morning (6/10/22), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we took up one of my "pet sugya" questions which rolls around once a year: Why does the Torah "waste" so much space writing about the twelve identical offerings brought by the princes of the twelve tribes? I would have loved to find twelve answers to this question, but this year, I was only able to find a total of nine.
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מקורות:
במדבר ז:א-ב,י-כג
אברבנאל – במדבר פרק ז
Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary (2004), pp. 716-717
בכור שור – במדבר ז:יא
רמב"ן – במדבר ז:יא
רש"י – בראשית לה:כב
רש"י – שמות ו:כו
רמב"ם – משנה תורה: ספר עבודה, הלכות מעילה ח:ח
רמב"ם – משנה תורה: ספר קרבנות, הלכות תמורה ד:יג
ספורנו – במדבר ז:ב,יג-יז
מדרש רבה בראשית ס:ח
הואיל משה – במדבר ז:יג
רלב"ג – שמות מ:לד-לח (סוף פרשת פקודי)
מדרש רבה במדבר ז:יג
ויקרא – י:א-ג (פרשת שמיני)
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Ann, in loving memory of Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l.
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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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

This morning (6/3/22), in lieu of our usual Friday Q&A (which is not recorded), I decided to share some Torah from my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l, who passed away on Sunday morning. I played an 8-minute recording of an idea Rabbi Moskowitz gave over on two stories from the Gemara in which a bas kol is ignored. We discussed this idea and its implications during and after the recording. Although there's a lot more to discuss here, it's clear that this was a fruitful and thought-provoking idea - as is true of many of Rabbi Moskowitz's teachings.
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מקורות:
בבא מציעא דף נט עמוד ב
חגיגה דף טו עמוד א
דברים ל:יב; לב:מז
ירושלמי פאה א:א
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה פרק ח
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This week's Torah content is dedicated to the loving memory of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l. May his soul be bound up in the bond of 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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

I'm sharing this recording on all five of my podcasts, regardless of their subject matter, because Rabbi  Moskowitz is responsible for all the Torah I learn and teach.

This is the audio of the eulogy I gave for my beloved rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l on Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5782 (May 30th, 2022). For the video, click here.

I plan on typing up the transcript of the abridged version of the eulogy (which is the one I gave), as well as the full version of the eulogy (which I haven't yet completed). I'll post links here once they're complete.

Here's the link to the full levaya, which includes the other six incredible and moving eulogies that were given.
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מקורות:
ב' מלכים פרק ב
אברבנאל שם
רלב"ג שם
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ה:א
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This week's Torah content is dedicated to the loving memory of my rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l. May his soul be bound up in the bond of 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 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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

This morning (5/27/22), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we examined the very strange dialogue between Naomi, Orpah, and Rus. The major question we had was: What was Naomi trying to accomplish here? Thanks to the Ralbag's commentary, backed by the Rambam's presentation of the halachos, we were able to make sense of Naomi's words and actions AND we gained insight into (ahem) Judaism's nuanced attitude towards converts. We even addressed the prevalent misconception that a prospective convert is supposed to be turned away three times before being accepted for conversion.
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מקורות:
רות א:א-יח
רלב"ג - ביאור הפרשה א:י,יד,יח
רלב"ג - תועלת א-ב
רמב"ם – משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי ביאה יג:יד-יח; יד:א-ו
רות רבה - א:טז
שלחן ערוך יורה דעה רסח:ב
ערוך השולחן יורה דעה רסח:ו
סנהדרין דף צט עמוד ב
רש"י שם
מהרש"א - חידושי אגדה שם
ספר הרוקח הלכות שבת סימן קי
אלשיך - רות א:טז
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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.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 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.com. 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.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

This is the same shiur I uploaded to my Tefilah podcast, but since more people subscribe to Machshavah Lab, I wanted to upload it here as well.

About an hour before I was scheduled to give shiur tonight (5/26/22), I received the terrible news that my rebbi - Rabbi Moskowitz (Meir ben Esther Malka) - will no longer be able to continue dialysis. Because I couldn't manage to take my mind off of the imminent implications of this, I decided to do what Rabbi Moskowitz would do in such a situation: give shiur. I chose this topic for its immediate practical relevance. Please pardon any errors or deficiencies in the shiur, whether due to my hasty preparation (I threw this together around 30 minutes before shiur started) or due to my emotional state (which is evident in the first few minutes of shiur). Perhaps some people might deem it inappropriate for me to give a shiur on this topic at this time. I don't care. I am a tefilah teacher, and if there's any right time to give a shiur on this topic, that time is now.
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות תפלה וברכת כהנים א:א-ד; ו:ג-ד
ברכות פרק ט משנה ג
אברבנאל - במדבר טו:לא
אבות פרק ה משנה כא
ברכוף דף ס עמוד א
בכור שור שם
Ari Bleicher, "Tefillat Shav: The Limits of Prayer as a Means to Understanding its Transformative Nature" https://hakirah.org/Vol%2012%20Bleicher.pdf
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות ברכות י:כו
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות אבל יד:א,ו
ספר החינוך מצוה תקיב
"How to Say Tehilim for the Sick Without Violating Halacha" https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2017/08/parashas-shoftim-how-to-say-tehilim-for.html
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Alex K. "in honor of Rabbi Schneeweiss's shiurim." Thank YOU, Alex, for listening to and supporting my shiurim!
----------
If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
----------
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

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

This evening (5/25/22), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we began concluded (for now) our learning of the Abravanel's hidden miniature treatise (in Parashas Shelach) on kareis, in which he surveys all the views of his predecessors and expresses his objections to them. In this final installment we learn through the Abravanel's own view, along with his proofs and refutations of the objections. We raised some of our own objections, based on one of the Drashos ha'Ran. Where does this leave us? That's up to you do figure out for yourself! As far as I'm concerned, this was certainly an interesting exploration!
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מקורות:
אברנבאל - במדבר טו:כז-לא
דרשון הר"ן - הדרש העשירי
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Alex K. "in honor of Rabbi Schneeweiss's shiurim." Thank YOU, Alex, for listening to and supporting my shiurim!
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Bekius Disclaimer:
Note that this is a bekius chavurah - as opposed to an iyun shiur. Each session consists of us reading through the Rambam's writings together without much preparation on my part, and without going into depth by consulting commentaries or primary sources. For all these reasons, there are bound to be inaccuracies, errors, and other types of shortcomings which would not be acceptable in a prepared shiur, but are quite typical of a bekius chavurah.
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If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I can be reached 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 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 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.com. 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.
-----
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Guide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.html
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel