Sitemap - 2021 - The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack

Stoic Joy vs. Simchah shel Mitzvah (Seneca – Letter #59: On Pleasure and Joy)

How Much of Our Suffering is Performative? (Seneca – Letter #63: On Grief for Lost Friends)

The Hidden Costs of Life (Epictetus - Enchiridion 12,25; Discourses 1)

Yet Another Inhuman Facet of Epictetus's Stoicism (Epictetus - Enchiridion 3)

TSJ Interlude: Asarah b'Teves and the Tragedy of The Stoic Jew Podcast

Three Stoic Divrei Torah on Parashas Vayigash (Epictetus – Enchiridion 7 & 1; Seneca – On the Shortness of Life)

Remember that You're ALREADY Dead (Aurelius - Meditations 7:56)

How to Shower Like You're Dying (Aurelius - Meditations 2:11)

Counting the Weeks of My Life (Seneca: On the Shortness of Life)

TSJ Interlude: Post-Thanksgiving Musings

TSJ Interlude - A Stoic Pep Talk on My Mild Anxiety About Meeting Up With My Dad's Family for Thanksgiving

The Crown of Torah and the Crown of Stoicism (Seneca - Letter #53)

C'mon, Marcus, Is Inner Peace REALLY That Easy (Aurelius - Meditations 5:2)

Honoring Bad Parents and Relating to Hashem (Epictetus - Enchiridion 30)

Rav Hirsch’s Stoic Take on Bli Neder (Seneca – Letter #13)

The Habit of Hating Handshakes (Epictetus – Discourses 3:12)

Self-Hate in Stoicism and Mishlei (Aurelius – Meditations 5:1)

How to Get Out of Bed on a Cold Morning (Aurelius - Meditations 5:1)

Are Humans Naturally Inclined Towards Virtue? (Rufus - Lectures 2:7:1-2)

Take the Short Road (Aurelius – Meditations 4:51)

Scattered Thoughts on Prolonging Life (Aurelius - Meditations 4:50)

Parashas Vayeira: Avraham and Islam

Immunity to Misfortune (Aurelius - Meditations 4:49)

Aurelius vs. Akavya ben Mahallalel on Memento Mori (Aurelius - Meditations 4:48)

100 Days of Gratitude (Seneca - Letter #81: On Benefits)

TSJ Interlude: Struggles with Perfectionism ... AGAIN (Aurelius - Meditations 10:16)

TSJ Milestone: 200 Episodes and the Value of Talking About Virtue (Aurelius – Meditations 10:16)

Parashas Noach: Migdal Bavel and the Hindu Account of the Mabul

Seneca on the Mabul and the Destiny of Mankind (Seneca – Natural Questions 3:28-30)

You Will Die Today ... OR Tomorrow (Aurelius - 4:47)

Parashas Bereishis: (How) Did Hashem Speak to Kayin

Heraclitus, Koheles, and Mufasa (Aurelius - Meditations 4:46)

Does Hashem Actually Care What We Call Shemini Atzeres?

Seneca and Sukkos (Seneca - Letter #18: On Festivals and Fasting)

The Joyful Progression from Yom ha’Kippurim through Sukkos

TSJ Interlude: Vidui Yom ha’Kippurim and Memento Mori

TSJ Interlude: Removing the Evil of the Decree

2020-2021 Torah Content Retrospective (and Personal Favorites Award Show)

Rosh ha'Shanah 5782: Yom ha'Din in Light of Stoicism (Aurelius - Meditations 4:45)

Does Stoicism Promote Catastrophizing? (Seneca – Letter #91: On the Lesson to be Drawn From the Burning of Lyons)

Life as Reruns of a Scary Movie (Aurelius - Meditations 4:44)

Life as a River (Aurelius - Meditations 4:43)

Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar and the 42-Letter Name of God

Ki Teitzei: On the Merit of Giving Bad Explanations of Mitzvos

Change: Neither Good Nor Bad (Aurelius - Meditations 4:42)

When to Dance Between Two Opinions

Halacha as a Playground of Mindfulness

You Are a Soul Carrying a Corpse (Aurelius – Meditations 4:41)

The Insidious Nature of Metaphysical and Epistemological Premises

Tallis as a Vehicle of Gratitude and a Reminder of Death

Universe as Organism vs. Universe as Melachah (Aurelius – Meditations 4:40)

Shoftim: The Parameters of Idolatrous Cultural Appropriation

A Review of Stoic Values (Aurelius - Meditations 4:39)

On Being Present in Tefilah

Even the Wise Can Be Petty (Aurelius - Meditations 4:38)

Rambam: On Awakening (The Question)

TSJ Follow-up: Applying "Tiny Habits" to My Podcaster's Block

Stoicism, Habit Cultivation, and Elul (Epictetus - Discourses 2:18)

How to Choose What to Learn Before You Die

King Kamehameha III and Moshiach

TSJ Interlude: Experiment Updates

Haftaras Re'eh: Torah as Water, Wine, and Milk

Be Fire, My Friend (Aurelius - Meditations 4:1)

Musings on Unrecorded Shiurim

Sitting Bull’s Ghost Dance and Moshiach

Animaniacs, Plucky Duck, and Premeditatio Malorum (Epictetus – Enchiridion 17,8)

The Madness of Lishmah

Their Cars Were Totaled and They Didn’t Even Know (Epictetus – Enchiridion 1)

On Seeing the Hearts of Human Beings

The Medallion Experiment

Simone Biles is My Hero

Help! I've Fallen Into Sufi Poetry and I Have No Idea What I'm Doing!

The Principle of Humanity vs. Emunas Chachamim

Shooting Yourself With the Second Arrow (Aurelius – Meditations 4:7-8)

Taking the Road Less Traveled in Learning

Holding a Dying Man in My Arms: a True Memento Mori (Aurelius – Meditations 2:11)

Vaeschanan: Declaring Hashem’s Oneness in Love

The Obstacle is the Way Back to New York (Aurelius – Meditations 5:20)

Musings on the Inadequacy of Internet Research

Bodily Posture as a Sensory Anchor for Kavanah in Tefilah

How I Accidentally Lived a Day to Its Fullest (Aurelius – Meditations 7:69; Seneca – Letter #101: On the Futility of Planning Ahead)

My Experience Fasting for 48 Hours on the 9th and 10th of Av

The Tenth of Av, Seven Haftaros of Consolation, and Life After the Pain

A Stoic Perspective on Tishah b’Av (Seneca – Letter #18: On Festivals and Fasting)

Happy Being Happy (Seneca: Consolation of Helvia 5)

Tishah b’Av 5781: An Approach to the Blasphemy in Eichah and Kinnos

Hunting for Treasure vs. Panning for Gold on the Beaches of Nome

The Necessity of Metaphysical Trauma for National Teshuvah

Turning a BAD 4-hour Sleep Into a GOOD 4-hour Sleep (Aurelius – Meditations 8:32)

The Sin of Refusing to Look at Oneself

Body of Clay and Soul of Gold (Seneca - Letter #66: On Various Aspects of Virtue)

The Induction of Metaphysical Trauma

Haftarah of Mattos / Masei: Divine Love as the Foundation of Rebuke

The Gratitude Accountability Experiment (Aurelius – Meditations 9:6)

Sameach b'Chelko as Unconditional Happiness

Feynman: On Definitional Neurosis

My Stoic Injury and TSJ Summer Update (Epictetus – Enchiridion 1:1)

Bruce Lee’s Oak and the Success of Evil

The One-Page Article: a Summer 2021 Experiment

Putting The Stoic Jew Podcast on Sacred Pause (Aurelius – Meditations 12:23; Epictetus – Enchiridion 17; Seneca – Letter #2)

Divine Compassion Toward a Foreign Fly (Aurelius – Meditations 9:8)

Stoic Strategies for Coping with the Kosher Ice Cream Truck (Aurelius – Meditations 2:1)

The Sacred Pause, Forgetting Hashem, and Mezuzah Experiment Update #3 (Aurelius – Meditations 4:3:1)

Cold Showers, Complaining, and How We Cause Our Own Suffering (Epictetus – Enchiridion 5,20; Aurelius – Meditations 4:7)

TSJ Interlude: Korach and My Sacred Pause Mezuzah Experiment

UNDISCLOSED TOPIC (Set Aside 15 Uninterrupted Minutes to Listen While Sitting Down)

A Response to the Charge of Stoic Heartlessness: Feeling vs. Emotion (Epictetus – Enchiridion 16)

Be Like a Smelly Goat (Aurelius – Meditations 11:15)

The Sacred Pause as Applied to Mezuzah (Aurelius – Meditations 5:23)

Phantom Stress, Being Present, and Embracing My Izzet Nature (Seneca – On the Shortness of Life 7:4)

Marcus Aurelius, Rabbi Sacks, and Mark Twain on Tragic Fiction (Aurelius – Meditations 11:6)

Rambam vs. Epictetus on Silence (Epictetus – Enchiridion 33)

No Shame in a Soldier Asking for Help (Aurelius – Meditations 7:7)

TSJ Interlude - Reflection on 455 Days Between Weddings

“The Sacred Pause” in Light of Stoicism and Judaism (Epictetus – Discourses 2:18)

The Obstacle is the Way to Knowledge of Hashem (Aurelius – Meditations 8:32-33)

TSJ Milestone: Reflections on the 150th Episode, and on Celebrating Such Milestones (Seneca: Letter #7 - On Crowds)

When Ticking Clocks Are Running Noses (Epictetus – Discourses 1:6)

On Those Who Look Down on “Pop” Stoicism and Mishlei (Epictetus – Enchiridion 49,46)

How to Enjoy the Present Day As If It’s Your Last (Aurelius – Meditations 7:69)

Another Stoic Perspective on Shavuos (Aurelius - Meditations 2:3)

TSJ Interlude: Personal Thoughts on the Situation in Israel

A Stoic Perspective on Shavuos, True Wealth, and Constant Partying (Seneca – Consolation of Helvia)

How to Convince Mom That You’re Invulnerable (Seneca – Consolation of Helvia)

Seneca’s Ruthless Consolation of His Mother (Seneca – Consolation of Helvia)

On Friendship and the Sharing of Knowledge, Part 2 (Seneca – Letter #6)

On Friendship and the Sharing of Knowledge, Part 1 (Seneca – Letter #6)

The Saga of the Resurrected Shirt (Epictetus – Enchiridion 4,11)

Three Questions for Assessing Our Complicity in Our Own Suffering (Epictetus – Enchiridion 5)

Review of Stoic Compassion in Light of IFS (Aurelius – Meditations 6:27; 7:22,26)

TSJ Interlude - Remembering Shabbos, Remembering Death, and Appreciating Life

Thank Iron Archer (and IFS) for Today’s Non-Episode Episode

On Being Dragged Down by Harmful Relationships (Epictetus – Discourses 4:2)

The “Fellow Trainee” Method of Not Taking Things Personally (Aurelius – Meditations 6:20)

The Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss

Making Use of Contemptuous Expressions (Aurelius – Meditations 6:13)

TSJ Q&A: “Are You Able to Slow Down a Little? I Can’t Keep Up!” (Seneca Letter #40: On the Proper Style for a Philosopher’s Discourse)

Thinking Aloud About My Fundamental Disagreement with Epictetus (Epictetus – Enchiridion 8, Discourses 3:8)

Burnt Coffee, Running Noses, and False Stoic Dichotomies (Epictetus: Enchiridion 8, Discourses 1:6)

On Sleep: Stoicism vs. Judaism (Aurelius – Meditations 8:12)

On Resisting the Gravitational Pull of Pleasures (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

Rationalizing Self-Destructive Behavior Through Counterfeit Values (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

How to Escape the Compulsion of Comparing Yourself to Others (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

The Compulsion to Compare Yourself to Others (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

Rosh Chodesh as a Tool for Measuring Stoic and Jewish Progress (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

How to Make Bad Food Taste Good (Seneca: Letter #123 - On the Conflict Between Pleasure and Virtue)

Reflection on a Year of COVID and the Sanctification of Time (Aurelius – Meditations 4:47)

Epictetus on How Adherence to Judaism Leads to True Freedom (Epictetus: Discourses 4:4)

On Deviating from Self-Imposed Routines (Epictetus: Enchiridion 50)

How the Jedi Order Gives Stoicism a Bad Name, Part 2: Obi-Wan (Seneca: Letter #71 - On the Supreme Good)

How the Jedi Order Gives Stoicism a Bad Name, Part 1: Yoda (Epictetus: Enchiridion 3,7)

Seneca's VERY Non-Jewish Reason for Studying Physics and Metaphysics (Seneca: Letter #65 - On the First Cause)

The Stoic Approach to Tefilah (Seneca Letter #67 - On Ill-Health and Endurance of Suffering)

TSJ Q&A: “Why Did the Stoics Get Their Metaphysics Wrong?” (Seneca: Letter #64 – On the Philosopher’s Task)

Coffee: One of Life’s Delights or Just Hot Bean Juice? (Aurelius – Meditations 6:13)

Triggered by Rationality (Seneca: Letter #66 – On Various Aspects of Virtue)

On Living Each Separate Day as a Separate Life (Seneca: Letter #101 – On the Futility of Planning Ahead)

On Stoic Compassion for Those Who Stumble (Aurelius – Meditations 6:27; 7:22,26)

TSJ Q&A: "Are You a Stoic?" (Epictetus - Enchiridion 51:3)

When Luxuries Masquerade as Necessities (Seneca: Letter #86 - On Scipio's Villa)

Thank You to My Students, Be They Many or Few (Seneca: Letter #7 - On Crowds, Conclusion)

How to Deal with Blushing, Stage Fright, and Other “Uncontrollable” Reactions (Seneca Letter #11 – On the Blush of Modesty)

Bruce Lee on Dynamic Combat and Why Pirkei Avos Isn’t For Everyone (Seneca: Letter #22 – On the Futility of Halfway Measures)

Seneca on Purim Drinking (Seneca: Letter #18 – On Festivals and Fasting)

Seneca on Kiruv and Kohanim (Seneca: Letter #5 – On the Philosopher’s Mean, Part 2)

Kidush ha’Shem and Kidush ha’Stoicism (Seneca: Letter #5 – On the Philosopher’s Mean, Part 1)

TSJ Milestone - Reflections on Our 100th Episode (!) and Epictetus on Becoming a Good Stoic Jew

A Personal Reflection on Friendships During the Pandemic (Seneca: Letter #3 - On True and False Friendship, Part 4)

Divine Omniscience and the Tendency to Hide from Oneself (Seneca Letter #3: On True and False Friendship, Part 3)

How to Tell if a “Friend” Will Betray Your Trust (Seneca Letter #3: On True and False Friendship, Part 2)

Rambam vs. Seneca on True Friendship (Seneca Letter #3: On True and False Friendship, Part 1)

TSJ Interlude: Was George Washington a Stoic?

My February 2021 Experiments in the Art of Creating Time (Seneca Letter #1: On Using and Wasting Time, Part 4)

Teach Us to Count Our Days (Seneca Letter #1: On Using and Wasting Time, Part 3)

The Metaphysical Psychosis of Wasting Time (Seneca Letter #1: On Using and Wasting Time, Part 2)

The Berachos That Remind Us of Death (Seneca - Letter #1: On Using and Wasting Time, Part 1)

TSJ Interlude - What Seneca Thought Concerning the Jews

Seneca Letter #2 - On Doing Nothing (Part 4 of 4) The Experiment

Seneca Letter #2 - On Doing Nothing (Part 3 of 4) Naval Ravikant's Take

Seneca Letter #2 - On Doing Nothing (Part 2 of 4) Rabbi Moskowitz's Take

Seneca Letter #2 - On Doing Nothing (Part 1 of 4) Marcus Aurelius's Take

TSJ Interlude - On Blizzards, (Re)bookings, and Beginning with the Little Things

Seneca - Letter #2: "On Discursiveness in Reading"

Aurelius - Meditations 4:37: Marcus's Lapse in Stoicism

TSJ Interlude - A Stoic Perspective on Vaccination

Aurelius - Meditations 4:36: The Fact of Matter

Aurelius - Meditations 4:35: Human Life is a Day Soon Forgotten

TSJ Interlude - 37th Birthday Reflections: On the Allegory of the Soldier

Aurelius - Meditations 4:34: A Virtuous Life in the Present vs. a Forgotten Legacy in the Future

Aurelius - Meditations 4:33: How to Live Forever by Embracing Your Mortality

Aurelius - Meditations 4:32: Remember the Titans, that They Too Are Forgotten

Aurelius - Meditations 4:31: The Stoic 401(k)

Aurelius - Meditations 4.30: On Being a Stoic Philosopher