The Stoic Jew

By: Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss
  • Summary

  • 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.

    © 2025 The Stoic Jew
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Episodes
  • 1350 Days of Gratitude, Rabbi Sacks on Pesach Storytelling, and Meditation as Foundation (Seneca - Letter #13)
    Apr 1 2025

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

    Length: 29 minutes 25 seconds
    Synopsis: AND WE'RE BACK! This episode is brought to you by the letter "I"—for insomnia. In a spontaneous decision to return to my old practice, I turned a sleepless night into a new installment of TSJ. If you're looking to up your gratitude game, this one's for you. We start with a recap of my gratitude journal practice, explore an idea in Modim and the Jewish approach to gratitude, then dive into an excerpt from a Seneca letter, using it as a springboard to discuss Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's understanding of Pesach storytelling—and how all of this ties into one of the key benefits of meditation. As always, if you have feedback, I'd love to hear it!

    Sources
    - Abudarham - Commentary on Modim
    - Rambam: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Ahavah: Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 7:14; Hilchos Berachos 1:1-4
    - Seneca: Letter #13
    - Pesachim 10:4
    - Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: The Jonathan Sacks Haggada - Collected Essays on Pesach, Begin with Shame, End with Praise

    Other Resources Mentioned
    - Rabbi Dr. Elie Feder, "Gematria Refigured: A New Look At How The Torah Conveys Ideas Through Numbers"
    - Sam Harris: the "Waking Up" app
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    The Torah content from now until Erev Pesach has been sponsored by Yehudis Korn l'zecher nishmas Moshe ben Yeshayahu Yehuda.
    -----
    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.
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    Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
    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

    Support the show

    Show more Show less
    30 mins
  • My Oura Ring Was Stolen! ... But Only In My Mind (Epictetus - Discourses 2.18-30)
    Sep 15 2024

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

    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
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    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: 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

    Support the show

    Show more Show less
    22 mins
  • Don't Be Shocked By Evil (Aurelius - Meditations 7:1)
    Sep 3 2024

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

    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: 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

    Support the show

    Show more Show less
    14 mins
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