What happens when the well of connection dries up?

Join Rav Shlomo Katz and the Chevra of Shirat David as they explore the mysterious link between Miriam HaNeviah and the life-giving waters that sustained Am Yisrael in the desert. Why did the water cease with her passing? What does it mean to “taste infinity” in a mitzvah, a relationship, or even a single word of Torah?

From perfectionism in spirituality to the infinite power of a single drop of water, this shiur travels from Moshe’s grief to Miriam’s unique essence of chibur—connection. Through Chassidic stories, deep Torah from the Ba’er Miriam, and insights into emotional resilience, we are reminded that it’s not how “perfectly” we live, but how connected we remain—especially through our mistakes.

Topics include:

• The danger of spiritual perfectionism
• How a mitzvah touches infinity
• Why the Jewish soul is rooted in the mother
• The ongoing journey of Miriam’s well
• What it means to be holy… but not connected

A must-listen for anyone longing for depth, gentleness, and reconnection.

What makes someone truly great? Is it perfection, success, or never making a mistake? Rav Shlomo Katz dives deep into Parshat Korach, uncovering profound insights from the teachings of Reb Leibele Eiger and Even Shlomo. Discover why genuine greatness isn't about always being right—but about the courage to admit when you're wrong. Explore the critical difference between truth and the "truth of truths," and learn how the ultimate test of character lies in embracing humility and vulnerability.
This shiur illuminates what it truly means to be an איש אמת (a person of truth) in a world full of confusing messages, teaching us how to find real clarity and spiritual strength.

#ParshatKorach #JewishWisdom #TrueGreatness #Emunah #Humility #ShlomoKatz

Join Rav Shlomo Katz as we dive deep into one of the most vulnerable, explosive, and essential teachings of the Ishbitzer Rebbe: the yearning for a lev basar — a heart of flesh.

Why did Bnei Yisrael suddenly ask for meat in the desert, after witnessing the greatest miracles in history? Was it physical craving... or a spiritual cry to feel something again?

Drawing from the teachings of Rav Shlomo Carlebach, the Ishbitzer Rebbe, and the prophetic vision of the Messianic era, Rav Shlomo challenges us to ask: Are we strong because we're tough, or are we strong because we're soft? What does it mean to be a Jew with a heart that feels — even when it hurts?

In this shiur:

• Why the complaint for “meat” was really a cry for inner life
• What it truly means to serve Hashem with a lev basar — a heart that feels
• How leadership, vulnerability, and humility go hand in hand

Why does the Torah open Parshat Naso with בני גרשון—and why are they the ones who need their heads lifted?

Join Rav Shlomo Katz as he dives deep into the Torah of Even Shlomo, the teachings of Rav Shlomo Carlebach, to reveal the inner world of those who feel cast out, rejected, or spiritually divorced from their source. What does it mean to feel מגורש—exiled, pushed away? And how does the Torah respond?

Through the lens of the name גרשון, Rav Shlomo brings healing to anyone who’s ever felt like God wasn’t interested in them. We learn that lifting the head doesn’t just mean cheering someone up—it means elevating the way they think. Seeing exile not as rejection, but as preparation. Realizing that you can only be divorced from a place you were once deeply connected to.

This is a Torah for those who feel spiritually stuck, who wonder if they’ve been left behind. It's for those who need another Har Sinai—a new revelation that reminds them: you were never really exiled. You just need to lift your head.

In this shiur:

• Why the name Gershon holds the secret to spiritual return
• What it really means to be "divorced" from God
• How the Levi'im were masters of lifting people out of despair
• Why post-Shavuot is when we need Har Sinai the most
• And how Rav Shlomo Carlebach’s Torah heals the souls of the “גם הם”—those who wonder if they’re still wanted

This teaching is from Even Shlomo on Sefer Bamidbar, with live reflection and depth from Rav Shlomo Katz.

Why did Rav Shlomo Carlebach call Sefer Bamidbar “The Book of Mistakes”?

Join Rav Shlomo Katz as he reflects on the teachings of Even Shlomo, the Torah of Rav Shlomo Carlebach, revealing how Bamidbar is not just a book of wandering, but a book of becoming. From Moshe Rabbeinu’s failure to enter Eretz Yisrael to the downfall of the meraglim (spies), we learn that failure isn’t the end. It’s part of the path.

As Rav Shlomo Carlebach writes, “The higher the goal, the more you’re going to fall on the way.” Rav Shlomo Katz brings these words to life, especially as we prepare for Shavuot, reminding us that Torah was given in the desert because only those who know they’re lost can truly hold on to it.

In this shiur:

Why Bamidbar is the “Book of Mistakes”

The inner Torah of failure, growth, and humility

Why even Moshe Rabbeinu’s failures matter—and how they teach us to keep going

How to spiritually prepare for Matan Torah when you feel unworthy

This teaching is from Even Shlomo on Sefer Bamidbar, the collected Torah of Rav Shlomo Carlebach, with live commentary and reflection by Rav Shlomo Katz.

What does it mean to live with Hashem engraved in your soul?

This shiur dives into the Torah of חקיקה — of engraving. Not just doing mitzvot, but becoming someone who can't not. Someone whose subconscious, whose smallest actions, carry Hashem’s light.

Drawing from the teachings of Rav Shlomo Carlebach, the Izhbitzer, and Chazal, we explore what happens when the inner world becomes clean, when your heart cries out even before you speak.

We talk about the power of פנימיות, of the צעקה של הלב, the scream of the heart that goes deeper than tefillah. And we ask the uncomfortable question: If this isn’t engraved in me and if I’m not living from that place, can I really stand at Har Sinai?

What if the greatest danger to your soul isn’t failure… but arrival?

This week’s Torah hits a deeper nerve: what happens when the thing you begged for actually happens? You’re here. You’re holding it. Now what?

What if we’ve stopped dreaming because we think we’ve already arrived?

In Parshat Lech Lecha, Avraham Avinu begins the journey that defines what it means to be a Jew, and asks the question that still echoes through every generation: “במה אדע כי אירשנה” — “Hashem, how will I know that this Land is truly ours?”

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore Reb Shlomo Carlebach’s teachings on the Even Shlomo, uncovering why Eretz Yisrael is the deepest and most complicated question in the world. Through the words of the Aish Kodesh, the Izhbitzer, and Reb Shlomo, we learn that the promise of the Land is not a guarantee — it’s a relationship. A relationship that can only survive when it rises מעל הבחירה — beyond choice.
A connection that demands not just faith in Hashem, but a longing to hear directly from Him.

#rsk-lech-lecha

Takeaways:
– The bond with the land of Israel mirrors the bond with Hashem — it only lasts when it’s beyond choice.
– The hardest questions in faith aren’t a lack of belief; they’re part of how we stay in the conversation.
– Our generation’s holy chutzpah — to want to hear directly from Hashem — is itself a sign of Geulah.
– The question “Why is Eretz Yisrael so complicated?” isn’t a doubt — it’s a calling.
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In one of the most hidden episodes of the Torah, Parshat Balak reveals a dimension of Hashem’s love that we never even knew was happening. Am Yisrael was entirely unaware while curses were being transformed into blessings, because Hashem simply refused to hear anything negative about His people.

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David take us deep into the teachings of the Izhbitzer and Chazal, showing how the story of Bilam, the story of Iyov, and the Five Books of the Torah form a complete spiritual picture: what we feel when Hashem seems absent, and what Hashem feels when we seem absent. The answer? He’s always thinking about us.

A perfect entry into the Three Weeks with clarity and compassion.

Chayei Sara is the world after the Akeidah: how Avraham and Yitzchak walked back into life with new eyes, and how we’re meant to daven with those eyes today.

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevre of Shirat David learn a short, potent piece from Reb Carlebach's Even Shlomo about מיחדות—that inner point of “what’s special” inside every Jew—and why Yitzchak and Rivka’s shidduch had to be more than “compatible”; it had to be
"special meets special."

From Eliezer’s test at the well, to zeh Keili v’anveihu (a personal, beautiful connection to Hashem), to the way Yom Kippur → Sukkah → Simchas Torah reconnects us to that inner point, we map how to find our word in tefillah, our portion in Torah, and our way back when we’ve gone external.

What you’ll hear

• Why after the Akeidah, ordinary compatibility isn’t enough
• How to help our generation by linking Torah to each person’s unique nekudah (and why they’ll keep searching elsewhere until we do).
• A practical path: Yom Kippur restores the link → Sukkah expresses it → Simchas Torah rejoices in it.
• The chuppah image: the kallah “points”—zeh zivugi v’anveihu—and how to bring that clarity into daily avodah.

Takeaways

• Ask daily: What felt special in my davening today? One word.
• Give first honor to the inborn nekudah, and then coach behavior.
• Teach Torah by matching it to people’s inner point.
• If you feel disconnected: rebuild with the YK→Sukkah→Simchas Torah ladder

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In Vayera, the name Yitzchak —“laughter”— opens a window into two kinds of kedushah: the holiness we build through our choices, and the inborn holiness that no failure can touch. On Reb Shlomo’s 31st yahrtzeit, we sing, remember, and learn how courageous love makes our days longer and our lives larger.

Drawing from Even Shlomo, we explore why the world “burst into laughter” at Yitzchak’s birth: Avraham and Sarah toiled for years so a new truth could enter creation: that Jewish children are born holy. From there, we look at how we can learn to see that holiness in ourselves and in others, especially our children, even when it’s covered by dust.

What you’ll hear

• Nigunim from the archives and the yahrtzeit story that shaped this week’s learning
• The two levels of kedushah: earned vs. inherent, and how to live with both
• Why Yitzchak’s birth changed human joy, and what “holy laughter” means in hard times
• Practical avodah: courageous love, giving kavod to children, and listening for the place inside that already knows what to do

Takeaways

• Your inborn kedushah is untouchable; your choices uncover it.
• Holy laughter = the shock of seeing that goodness is real.
• Give first honor to a person’s inner holiness and then coach the behavior.

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In this week’s Even Shlomo on the Parsha, Rav Shlomo Katz learns a Beis Yaakov from Ishbitz on Yaakov Avinu’s first steps out into galus, and quietly rewrites our whole definition of “success.”

We follow Yaakov as he leaves Be’er Sheva and discovers that when you’re searching for Hashem, every step on the way already fills you, unlike the Western model where nothing “counts” until you close the deal, get the money, or hit the goal.

Rav Shlomo contrasts wanting money with longing for Hashem, shows how Shabbos and Matan Torah are tasted before they arrive, and opens up “ישמח לב מבקשי ה׳” as a blueprint for a different life: one where holy longing itself is already dveikus.

Along the way we touch longing for a soulmate, Messianic fear, Zionism, and why, if your spiritual search just makes you angrier, you might be searching for the wrong thing altogether.

This is a shiur for anyone burnt out on outcome-chasing who still feels a stubborn hunger for emes, for Geulah, and for a life where the journey with Hashem is not a consolation prize — it’s the point.
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Parshat Toldot opens a door into spiritual speed. When Yitzchak asks, “ מַה־זֶּ֛ה מִהַ֥רְתָּ לִמְצֹ֖א בְּנִ֑י”—“How did you find it so fast?”—and Yaakov answers, “ כִּ֥י הִקְרָ֛ה ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ לְפָנָֽי”—"Because Hashem has granted me good fortune"— Reb Shlomo Carlebach reads it as a secret of kefitzat haderech: the heart can shorten the road when there’s clarity, love, and the courage to truly see one another.

We trace that current back to Eliezer’s “וָאָבֹ֥א הַיֹּ֖ום אֶל־הָעָ֑יִן” (arriving today at the well), showing how the right shlichut, aligned with kedushah, compresses what “should” take years.

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore how Yitzchak’s inner sight during the brachot let him finally “meet” Yaakov, and how that recognition accelerates redemption on the clock of Jewish history. Toldot becomes a guide for our week: less waiting, more seeing; less delay, more doing.

Takeaways

• Practice “kefitzat haderech” in real life: choose one mitzvah and act now, not later.
• See someone fully today: name one thing unique/special about them and reflect it back.

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In this week’s Even Shlomo on the Parsha, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevre of Shirat David walk with Yaakov into the darkest, most misunderstood place in the human heart – loneliness.

“ויבשר יעקב לבדו" – Yaakov was left alone.” Reb Shlomo reads this night of wrestling not as a tragedy, but as the moment Yaakov’s deepest self is revealed on the night he receives the name Yisrael and gives every Jew the strength to stand alone until the dawn of Geulah.

Rav Shlomo Katz unpacks:

• The difference between crushing loneliness and a holy state of being levado
• How the revelation of your soul is really “finding out what Hashem had in mind when He created you”
• Why you were never meant to be an “identical bagel” in shul – and how to discover the one shlichus no one else can do
• The Tzanzer Rebbe’s radical teaching that the thing you most need in life cannot be written black-on-white in the Torah, so that you’ll have to seek it directly from Hashem
• Why real hisbodedus is not a mental-health “add-on,” but the place where Vayivaser Yaakov Levado becomes real in our own lives

For anyone who feels out of place, unseen, or “too different,” this shiur is a lifeline: a Torah that says your essential loneliness isn’t a mistake – it may be the only place your true name can be revealed.

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Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David open parshat Vayeshev in a way most of us never heard growing up. Instead of a childish tale of jealous brothers and a flashy coat, we meet two kings of Am Yisrael – Yosef and Yehuda – and an underground story of sacrifice, responsibility, and teshuva.

Drawing on Ishbitz, Zohar and Reb Shlomo Carlebach, Rav Shlomo explores the possibility that Yosef actually prayed to be the one who goes down to the exile of Egypt, taking the chains of slavery so his father and brothers wouldn’t have to. The brothers, for their part, are not cartoon villains, but holy tribes testing whether Yosef is truly one of them, and sending him off with tears and blessings. Yosef blesses Yehuda with the power of teshuva; Yehuda blesses Yosef with the strength to remain a tzaddik in exile – and both brachos come true.

From this hidden story of two kings, Rav Shlomo speaks to our own lives: what it means to carry pain for our family and our people, to do the right thing even when we know we’ll still need to do teshuva, and to hold both kochos – not falling, and getting back up when we do.

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Parshat Vayigash is the moment the Ishbitzer says is the closest we can taste in this world to what it will feel like when Moshiach reveals himself.

Because “Ani Yosef” isn’t just a plot twist. It’s the revelation that everything that looked like hester panim… everything that felt like an enemy… everything that seemed like punishment… was actually part of the process that “squeezed” a deeper YOU out of you.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David dive into the Even Shlomo which opens a daring question:

If not every Jew is always living on the level of kodesh… could it be that every Jew is still Kodesh Kodashim?

We explore:

• Why the Kodesh Kodashim is in Binyamin’s portion (not Yosef’s)
• The difference between being “holy” vs being Holy of Holies
• Why sinas chinam is uniquely incompatible with Kodesh Kodashim
• Reb Carlebach's radical lens: the Ba’al Teshuva doesn’t just need the Mikdash. He builds it
• What forgiveness looks like on the level of kodesh… versus kodesh kodashim, where the whole story dissolves

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#rsk-vayigash

As Parshat Vayikra opens the world of korbanot, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover a deeper truth from the Even Shlomo: the purpose of a korban was never only to express guilt. It was to bring a person back to clarity — to help them leave the Beit HaMikdash knowing more deeply what truly matters, what doesn’t, and who they really are.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo explores the inner meaning of charatah — regret — not as self-hatred, but as a revelation: this is not the real me. Drawing on Chazal, the Baal Shem Tov, and Reb Shlomo Carlebach, he explains how true teshuvah is not just feeling bad about what was done, but discovering that the sin never reflected the deepest רצון of the soul in the first place.

From wartime clarity and the question of what is truly essential, to a haunting story from Berlin, the Titanic, and the hidden purpose of Levi’im singing in the Beit HaMikdash, this episode becomes a meditation on desire itself: not only what we don’t want, but what we do want — and how Vayikra helps us remember.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening Niggun: Divine Presence Fills and Sustains the World
10:21 Introducing Today’s Special Shiur on Parshat Vayikra
11:36 The Blessing of Prioritizing What Truly Matters
13:03 Inner Essence of the Korban: Clarity After the Temple
15:43 Current Turmoil: Storms, Bombs, and Spiritual Discernment
18:27 Regret (Charatah) When Offering a Sacrifice
25:45 Radomsk Chasid’s Tragic Tale in Berlin
28:09 Existential Question: Who Are We Really?
30:03 Baal Shem Tov on Regret and the Heart
32:40 Scar Metaphor and Personal Reflection
34:01 Family Neglect on the Titanic
36:41 Reb Shlomo on Awakening and Desire
38:59 Korban Discussion in Masechet Taanit
44:49 Levi Music and Holy Nigunim Purpose
46:41 Donald Trump & Achashverosh
49:03 Closing Announcements and Shabbat Plans

As the war with Iran widens, Rav Shlomo Katz turns to one word in Parshat Ki Tisa that may define this moment more than any other: Ayeh — Where? Recent days have brought more Israeli strikes, Iranian missile attacks, and a growing sense that the conflict is both militarily real and spiritually overwhelming.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo explores Moshe Rabbeinu’s cry after the Golden Calf — “Har’eini na et kevodecha” — and the deeper avodah of “Ayeh mekom kevodo.” Drawing on Reb Shlomo Carlebach and Rebbe Nachman, he explains how the deepest question of faith is not pretending everything is clear, but daring to ask Hashem, from within the confusion, “Where is the place of Your glory?”

From the aftermath of the Eigel HaZahav, to the hiddenness before Mashiach, to the spiritual danger of “smart” voices that speak falsehood in the name of truth, this episode is a call to stay focused, remain vulnerable, and turn confusion itself into a מקום כבודו — a place where Hashem’s presence can be revealed.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening Niggun and Prayer Invitation
04:37 Favorite Davening Words and Staying Focused
06:41 Introducing the Key Word Aye m'kom kevodo
09:50 Moshe’s Monologue Bringing Down Rachamim
12:32 Golden Calf, Mishkan, and Chronology Debate
15:59 Divine Hiddenness Before Mashiach
18:26 Future Intellectuals and the Call to Aye
26:57 Finding Hashem's Honor in Our Relationship
28:23 The World as a Spiritual Desert
30:13 Is the Desert Journey Lechatchila or Bediavad?
31:30 The Snake's Role in Humanity's Questioning
32:39 Simple Faith vs. Tested Faith
35:18 Ki Tisa: Begging Hashem’s Presence
37:59 Final Encouragement to the Community

As Purim approaches, Parshat Zachor arrives first—an annual call not only to remember Amalek historically, but to recognize Amalek as a force that shows up while you’re already on the way.

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore “asher karcha baderech” as the place where momentum gets sabotaged: the moment someone begins real growth, a convincing inner voice appears in the name of “realism,” “compassion,” and “I’m just trying to protect you”—and tells them to stop before they disappoint themselves again. Drawing on Rebbe Nachman (as brought by Reb Shlomo Carlebach), the shiur reframes Amalek as the cynicism that blocks follow-through, often disguised as care, sometimes from others, sometimes from friends, and often from within.

The conversation expands from personal avodah (minyan, change, consistency, courage to finish) to the national story of starting strong and being stopped mid-journey, and ends with Purim’s deeper promise: not only that evil can be erased, but that it’s possible to live, if only for a day, inside a reality where the “it’ll never happen” voice is gone.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Personal Celebration and New Baby
02:22 Prelude to Purim: Parshat Zachor Importance
04:15 Challenge of Starting vs. Finishing
05:56 Amalek as Metaphor for Incompletion
08:42 Depth Behind Simple Hebrew Phrase
10:36 Rebbe Nachman on Wholehearted Service
13:27 Marriage Arrows: Cynical Chuppah Observers
21:31 Friends as Courage Boosters
23:02 Enemies Hidden Among Friends
24:04 Friends Discourage New Ideas
26:04 Friends as Greatest Enemies
28:15 Yossi’s Arabic-Script Picture Story
29:22 Amalek Among Decision Makers
31:02 Courage to Finish What You Start
33:30 Thoughts About People Reflect Thoughts About God
39:06 Purim as Erasing Amalek
42:17 Yom Kippur vs Purim Self-Reflection
47:43 Purim as the holiday of those who remember
49:21 ICC claims of Israeli genocide
50:48 Remembering Amalek's historical threat
52:01 Israel's solitary destiny prophecy
53:30 Call to march with confidence

In Parshas Terumah, the Torah details the measurements of the Mishkan — broken numbers, halves, small dimensions. Why?

In this powerful shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover a radical truth from Reb Shlomo: holy light doesn’t overpower small light. It awakens us to it.

What’s the difference between holy money and unholy money? Between a big donation and a small one? Between psychedelic light and a tiny flashlight?

From the Kotel built from “pennies” to the קול דממה דקה hidden inside the shofar blast, this teaching reframes how we see value, contribution, community, and even ourselves.
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Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn the shocking Midrash from Parshat Yitro that says Am Yisrael were sleeping the night before receiving the Torah.

But Reb Shlomo Carlebach reveals something much deeper: it wasn’t laziness. It was small anava. The feeling of “Who am I to stand by Har Sinai?”

And Moshe Rabbeinu comes tent-to-tent with one last message before Torah can be given:

If you still see yourself as limited — if you’re still living inside “Beit Avadim,” the mindset of measuring and calculating what you think you’re capable of — don’t bother coming to Sinai.

Freedom isn’t “I do what I want.” Freedom is: I stop measuring. I stop disqualifying myself. I learn to believe that if Hashem is asking it from me, He believes in me.

This is the Torah of the night before Sinai: the moment we become people who can say Naaseh v’Nishma — not because we’re naïve, but because we’re finally free.
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Chapters
00:00 Opening + sponsorships / setting the tone
02:40 Introducing Today’s Powerful Parshas Yisro Lesson
06:28 Analyzing the Key Word “Vayotze” in the Pasuk
08:40 Moshe’s Personal Mission: Visiting Every Tent
09:50 Alexander Rebbe on Becoming Moshe’s Students
13:04 Moshe’s First Argument with God over Leadership 
16:16 Why Moshe No Longer Argues at Sinai
18:13 Identifying the First Sign of a Slave
23:05 Defining True Freedom versus Slavery
26:29 Doing It Even When You Doubt Your Ability
27:46 Marriage Prep: Overthinking Before the Commitment
29:33 From Beit Avadim to Freedom: First Pasuk Insight
30:58 Naaseh V’Nishma: Commitment Without…
34:34 Moshe’s Speech Impediment and the…
35:51 The Mitzvah to Tell Our Children About Exodus
39:29 Bas Mitzvah Story: Learning Through a Young Woman
41:05 Moshe’s Final Lesson Before Receiving the Torah

Parshas Bo is not just the story of leaving Egypt. It’s the inner blueprint of freedom.

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David opens an Even Shlomo that sounds “insane” at first: why does the Torah say “וישאלו איש מאת רעהו” — “ask from your friend” — when it’s describing Egyptians who enslaved us? Why call them re’ehu at all?

Because the night of Yetzias Mitzrayim wasn’t only an exit from suffering. It was a flash of Mashiach reality: a moment where Hashem’s light was so clear that no human being could be anyone’s master. Not Pharoah over Egypt. Not fear over your heart. Not people, not pressure, not addiction, not the invisible “dominions” that run our moods and reactions.

From the Alter Rebbe fainting at his Seder table, to what freedom looked like in the tunnels of Gaza, to what it means to carry da’as Hashem until it spreads outward, this shiur reframes geulah as the deepest kind of relationship: Hashem shining into us, and us shining back.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com
Join Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_t

Chapters
00:00 Intro and Sponsor Shoutouts
01:31 Choosing a Torah Topic for Parshas Bo
03:26 Who Is the “Re’ehu” in the Commandment?
04:40 Lenny Solomon Story and Cultural References
07:14 Flipping the Traditional Pshat
08:37 The Alter Rebbe’s Leil Seder
12:51 Modern Freedom and the Possibility of Geula
20:45 Egyptians’ View of the Night of Exodus
24:17 Moshiach and the Filling of Daas
25:59 Daas of Hashem Required for Global Peace
27:40 Egyptians Recognized Hashem as Their Master
28:42 Understanding “Re’ehu” — Asking an Equal
30:55 One Night of Moshiach-Like Equality
32:28 Breslover Chassid’s Tears and Dance
36:24 Filling Ourselves with Daas to Bring Redemption

This week in Even Shlomo on Parshat Va’era, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David go straight into the cry so many of us are holding: “Ribono Shel Olam… for what? Haven’t we been through enough?” Moshe Rabbeinu asks it too — and the answer isn’t a slogan, it’s a demand: Geulah is not “back to normal.”

Reb Shlomo teaches that the world’s “unnatural” situation can’t last forever — but the real question is what happens to us while we’re waiting. Do we settle for healthy, functional, status quo… or do we move into above nature: the place of an Eved Hashem, where Yiddishkeit isn’t routine, relationships aren’t “fine,” and a shul isn’t just a place to daven — it’s a center for dreaming Geulah.

Through a piercing story of Reb Shlomo saving a life, and then meeting a lifeguard who saved 26 and didn’t shine at all, we learn the difference between doing something because it’s your job… and doing it with your pnimiyus. And we end with the charge that builds everything: accountability, patience, chaverus, and a Ruach Se’arah — a stormy spirit inside keilim — to carry this community (and our lives) beyond “normal.”

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com
Join Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_t

Chapters

0:00 Opening dedication and sponsors
1:17 Why does suffering continue?
2:45 Moshe’s dialogue with Hashem
4:36 Maharal: the unnatural has a limit
7:43 Natural vs. normal (and “status quo”)
13:12 Eved vs. Oved Hashem (Tanya)
24:07 The nature of true revelation
25:16 Moshe’s imagined dialogue with Pharaoh
26:19 Moshe’s question: “For what?”
27:58 Imagining a miracle in Iran
29:09 Why continue suffering? Moshe’s inquiry
30:54 Moshe seeks the nature of future redemption
32:49 Call for deeper commitment
35:55 Lifeguard story: “26 lives saved”
37:00 Service as job vs. spiritual involvement
45:18 Understanding Avodah Zarah (the “zarah to you” definition)
46:34 Avoiding spiritual estrangement (not a stranger to God)
48:19 Taking responsibility + helping the hungry
49:29 Exodus vs. returning to Eretz Yisrael
50:50 House of Love & Prayer vision
52:39 Removing Avodah Zarah from our kehillah
54:17 Ruach Se’arah (Rav Weinberger)
55:36 Inner pulse of chevra for redemption

What happens when an enemy loses every shred of humanity?

In a deeply personal and vulnerable Shemot shiur on Reb Shlomo’s birthday, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David confront the painful reality of our generation. Drawing from the Izhbitzer Rebbe (Mei HaShiloach), we explore the verse "The King of Egypt died." We learn that this does not merely refer to a physical death, but to the death of humaneness itself—a state where the enemy is no longer capable of basic human feeling.

From the tunnels of Gaza to the hallways of the Knesset, we discuss the shattering of Western assumptions and the necessity of returning to the "Har Sinai Values" that define true morality. Rav Shlomo challenges us to look beyond the confusion of Western culture and "woke" terminology to ask the hard question: Have we actually woken up? We discuss the danger of falling back into the mindset of "it wasn't that bad" and the necessity of screaming out to Hashem. Featuring a powerful story from Rav Soloveitchik regarding the sanctity of life and insights from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on the modern-day worship of Molech, this episode is a call to clear the fog, choose our side, and realize that true redemption begins when we stop tolerating the intolerable.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com
Join Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_t

In Parashat Vayechi, Yaakov Avinu gathers his children for what feels like the ultimate “final download” — He’asfu… and I’ll tell you what will happen at the end of days.

 And then… it disappears. Nistalka mimenu haShechinah.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn a short but life-shaping Torah from Even Shlomo: sometimes the deepest clarity isn’t prophecy at all. It’s the holy not knowing that opens a person into yearning, into tefillah, into real closeness.

We speak about what a parent wants most for their children, why “knowing how it’ll all turn out” can quietly shut down the heart, and why the night, when you can’t see clearly, can bring out the deepest kind of sight: “וכל עין לך תצפה” — a life of yearning.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com

Join Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_t

#rsk-vayechi