Rethinking what you thought you knew
Rabbi Shmuel Skaist teaches Torah with a knack for turning familiar subjects on their head. Titles like "All You Know About Chanuka May Be… WRONG" and "Jewish Truth and the Consequences" capture the approach — he takes an idea a listener assumes they understand and reopens it, revealing that the standard version was thinner than the real one.
This is Torah for the curious and the slightly skeptical. Rather than restating what everyone already knows, Rabbi Skaist presses on assumptions and asks better questions, which makes his shiurim especially engaging for teenagers and adults who want their learning to make them think, not just nod along.
Dating, marriage and modern life
One of Rabbi Skaist's notable topics is dating and marriage — an area where his willingness to be provocative serves a real purpose. His two-part shiur "How to Tell if I am Dating a Robot" uses a playful, pointed frame to talk about something serious: how to recognize genuine connection and character in a relationship.
Bringing a Torah lens to modern relationships is exactly the kind of guidance many families are looking for. Young adults navigating dating, and parents trying to advise them, benefit from teaching that is honest about real questions rather than abstract. Rabbi Skaist's willingness to engage those questions directly is part of his appeal.
The holidays and the Jewish year
Rabbi Skaist also teaches on the holidays and the Jewish calendar, again with an eye for the overlooked angle. His "Introduction to Chodesh Av" opens up a difficult month, and a parsha shiur like "Chukat: There is No Potential in a Vacuum" shows how he draws a sharp, memorable idea out of the weekly reading.
Across holidays, philosophy and the parsha, the common thread is a refusal to settle for the surface. With a smaller but pointed collection of recorded shiurim, Rabbi Skaist offers families Torah that rewards attention — the kind of class that sends people out still thinking about the question.
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 Torah that challenges assumptions, as in "All You Know About Chanuka May Be… WRONG."
- He brings a candid Torah lens to dating and marriage, including his "How to Tell if I am Dating a Robot" shiurim.
- He also teaches on the holidays, philosophy and the parsha, always seeking the overlooked angle.
- His shiurim reward attention and are well suited to thoughtful teens and adults.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.