A questioning, witty teacher
Rabbi Shmuel Skaist's shiurim announce their character in their titles. A class called "All You Know About Chanuka May Be… WRONG" tells you what to expect: a teacher willing to challenge the assumptions a listener walks in with, and to re-examine a familiar holiday until it looks new. Another, "Jewish Truth and the Consequences," plays on the same instinct — turning a well-worn phrase into an invitation to think harder. His is Torah delivered with a light touch and a serious point underneath.
This questioning approach is well suited to older students and adults who want their learning to engage them, not just inform them. Rabbi Skaist tends to take a subject people assume they already understand and open it back up, which is a natural way to hold the attention of a thoughtful listener. The collection here is modest in size, but its titles suggest a teacher more interested in provoking real thought than in covering ground.
Chagim and the Jewish calendar
A clear thread in Rabbi Skaist's teaching is the Jewish calendar. Classes like "Introduction to Chodesh Av" and his treatment of Chanuka show a teacher who uses the rhythm of the year as a way into deeper ideas — approaching each season not as a set of customs to review but as a moment with something specific to say. Chodesh Av, with its themes of loss and eventual consolation, is exactly the kind of subject his reflective style suits.
Learning built around the calendar has a natural advantage: it arrives when it is most relevant. A shiur on Chanuka lands differently in Kislev, and a class introducing Chodesh Av prepares a listener for the mood of the Three Weeks. Rabbi Skaist's holiday teachings give a family a way to enter each season with fresh understanding rather than routine, which is often what keeps the Yamim Tovim feeling alive.
Philosophy, dating, and modern life
Rabbi Skaist also turns his attention to questions of philosophy and relationships. His two-part class, "How to Tell if I am Dating a Robot," uses a deliberately playful frame to address something serious — how a person stays genuinely present and human in dating and marriage. Paired with his more philosophical material, it shows a teacher willing to bring Torah to bear on the real, sometimes awkward questions of contemporary life rather than keeping to safe abstractions.
For families, this combination is valuable. Guidance on dating and marriage that is thoughtful and a little irreverent can reach young adults who tune out a more solemn approach, and philosophical shiurim model the idea that Torah can hold up to hard questions. A class such as "Chukat: There is No Potential in a Vacuum" hints at how he links the parsha to that larger project — reading the text for what it says about how a person actually grows.
Finding kosher Torah video for your family
FilteredTube is a kosher video service built for Jewish families — every single video is approved against one written standard before it can appear, with no open feed, no comments, and no surprises. It is a calm, safe place to look for the Torah and Jewish music you love.
If your family enjoys teachers like Rabbi Shmuel Skaist, search FilteredTube for the speakers and topics that matter most to you. With a daf yomi shelf, a weekly parsha shelf, topic shelves, audio-only listening for the car, and a kids mode with a PIN, kosher Jewish video is easy to reach — and the approved catalog keeps growing every day.
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Rabbi Shmuel Skaist teaches with wit and a questioning edge, as in "All You Know About Chanuka May Be… WRONG."
- His shiurim span the Yamim Tovim, Jewish philosophy, and dating and marriage.
- Calendar-based classes like "Introduction to Chodesh Av" arrive when they are most relevant.
- His playful "How to Tell if I am Dating a Robot" brings Torah to real questions of modern relationships.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.