Hachana L'Shabbos

There are moments in history when the greatest miracle isn’t what we do… but how clearly we can say why we’re doing it. On the original Shabbos HaGadol, Bnei Yisrael didn’t just take the korban Pesach. They were asked by the Egyptians what they were doing… and they answered בלי גמגום. No hesitation. No confusion. Total clarity. This wasn’t just bravery. This was a miracle. In this deeply timely Ha...

In this Hachana L’Shabbos for Parshas Hachodesh , Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David open up one of the deepest avodos of this season: hischadshus —not changing into someone else, but renewing yourself exactly from where you are right now . Drawing from the Chiddushei Harim , the Beis Avraham of Slonim , Reb Nosson, and Rebbe Nachman, this shiur is a call to stop waiting for the “right...

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter Shabbos Zachor in a moment unlike any other. There has never been a Shabbos Zachor like this one. Not in our lifetimes. Drawing from the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rav Biderman, the Ishbitzer Rebbes, and the holy Tiferes Shmuel, we explore Amalek’s true war — not against belief in God, but against belief in hashgacha pratis. Not “Does God exist?” but...

This week in Hachana L’Shabbos , Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David take us deeper into the “benching series” with a powerful focus on bitachon —what it really means to trust Hashem, and how that trust changes a person from the inside out. Starting from the words we sing and say so often— “Baruch HaGever asher yivtach baHashem” —we explore why the pasuk repeats itself, and how Chazal r...

What does it really mean to acquire Yirat Hashem without becoming anxious, rigid, or spiritually “small”? In this Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David zoom in on the words we often rush past near the end of bentching: “Yiru es Hashem kedoshav, ki ein machsor l’yire’av.” Rav Biederman brings a powerful teaching בשם בית אהרן מקרלין: if a person is truly chasing Yirat Sha...

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat Davud open a window into what really happens when we bentch. Drawing from the Baal Shem Tov, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, the Chofetz Chaim, and Rabbeinu Bachya,  we discover that Birkat HaMazon is not just gratitude after a meal. It is an eis ratzon , a moment when gates open in Shamayim. When a mitzvah d’Oraita is fulfilled with presence and kavana, someth...

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David step into a quiet but radical idea: food doesn’t truly satiate a Jew — blessing does . Beginning with niggun and moving into the inner meaning of Birchas HaMazon , we learn from Reb Shlomo of Karlin that “vesavata” doesn’t come from eating alone, but from uverachta . The real fullness is not physical; it’s spiritual. Through Chazal, Chassidus, and a p...

There’s a certain kind of dream that leaves you with a pounding heart… and then you wake up, and the room is quiet, and you realize: it wasn’t real. And in that quiet, in that calm, there’s a taste of what Dovid HaMelech calls “היינו כחולמים”. In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David open up a life-changing lens from the Beis Avraham of Slonim and Rav Bieder...

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore the avodah of Melave Malka not as a custom but as an act of love. Drawing from Shulchan Aruch, Gemara, the Rizhiner Rebbe, and the Shlah HaKadosh, we learn that escorting the Shabbos Queen is not about leftovers or convenience, but about honoring the Presence that filled our homes for twenty-five hours. Melave Malka stands as its own seudah— m...

Motzei Shabbos is often the most fragile moment of the week — when the light of Shabbos fades and old patterns rush back in. In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos , Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn a deceptively simple avodah that can transform the entire week ahead: folding . Drawing from the Be’er Mayim Chaim , we learn that folding the tallis on Motzei Shabbos isn’t just a custom...

Waves are loud. Waves do big things. They rise higher and higher… and then they crash. And the chiddush is: that's exactly   what Hashem praises. Not the person who “arrived,” but the person who keeps trying to rise מתוך געגועים והשתוקקות — even when it didn’t work yet. Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn the difference between “success” in the Western world (goal-oriented) and su...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos we step back into the holy words of Yedid Nefesh and learn a line that is daring, almost chutzpadik, and yet it’s Torah-emes : “אל תתעלם” — Don’t ignore me. How can a Jew speak like that to the Ribbono Shel Olam ? Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra learn that this isn’t entitlement — it’s relationship . Like a child speaking to a parent, when the longing is real and th...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos we return to Yedid Nefesh and the words: “ירוץ עבדך כמו איל – May Your servant run like a deer.” Chazal tell us: “לעולם ירוץ אדם לדבר הלכה אפילו בשבת – a person should run to a dvar halacha even on Shabbos,” and yet the pasuk they bring says “אחרי ה’ ילכו – they will walk after Hashem.” So are we meant to walk… or to run? With the help of the Chidushei HaRim, the S...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn that there’s a difference between believing in Hashem and leaning on Hashem. It’s one thing to say “I have emunah.” It’s something else entirely to make the Ribbono shel Olam your mish’enet – the crutch you actually put your weight on when nothing in your life logically adds up. Through a piercing Midrash about a...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos we linger in Mizmor L’David and reach the line that so many of us recite without understanding: שבטך ומשענתך המה ינחמוני “Shivtecha u’Mishantecha, hema yenachamuni.” How can a shevet (rod/whip) possibly console? Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevre of Shirat David learn that what feels like the blow often becomes the very mish’enet (staff) we lean on later. We hear a sea...

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter Mizmor L’David (Tehillim 23) through the eyes of Rav Tzadok HaKohen (ר׳ צדוק הכהן) and discover why David HaMelech shifts from לשון נסתר (speaking about Hashem) —“יַרְבִּיצֵנִי… יְנַהֲלֵנִי… יַנְחֵנִי”—to לשון נוכח (speaking to Hashem) —“כִּי אַתָּה עִמָּדִי.” The teaching is piercing and tender: most of us turn to אַתָּה (You) only in the גֵּיא...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter the niggun of “ה׳ רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר” and ask a very simple, very brave question: am I still wrestling with life, or am I letting the Shepherd lead? Together we learn that Shalosh Seudos is an עת רצון to be led: to discover what we truly want, to cry for it, and to begin living it now. From the Slonimer and the m...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos — The Shabbos between Yom Kippur and Sukkot — we breathe in the freshness after Ne’ilah and learn how to land with gentleness.  Join Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David in learning from the Slonimer Rebbe: this Shabbos holds two lights at once— יום השביעי that carries the love and cleansing of Yom Kippur, and תחילה למקראי קודש that calls out the joy of S...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos— The Importance of a Real Third Meal —we sing our way into the year with ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה and remember that Torah itself is a song : learning must stay fresh— אסור להזדקן —ever new. Then we turn to the hidden jewel of Shabbos: Seudah Shlishit , the ne’ilah of every Shabbos . With the Bnei Yissaschar (in the name of R. Menachem Mendel of Rimanov), we learn that...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos— The Last Shabbos of 5785 —Rav Shlomo Katz invites us to step out of autopilot and enter Shabbos as something utterly new. From the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching that on this Shabbos Hashem Himself blesses Tishrei —and through it the entire coming year—to the Shem MiShmuel and Avnei Nezer on “אם תשיב משבת רגלך” , we learn how to lay down our hergel (habit) and receive a...

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos, we enter the quiet glow of Friday night and the tefillah of “מגן אבות בדברו—מחיה מתים במאמרו.” Together we sing Shomer Yisrael and ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה , then learn how Shabbos revives what feels lifeless—sometimes not by miracles, but by a word, a smile, or real listening. Through the Beit Avraham of Slonim, the Shevet Musar , the Maharal , and Chazal’s line “טו...

Rav Shlomo Katz explores the depth and beauty of this popular Shabbos niggun, composed by Rav Aharon Hakoen of Karlin zy"a ---------- 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 this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz reminds us that Elul תשפ"ה is not a repeat of last year—it is brand new. Together we enter into the niggun of ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה , the song of renewal, and the tefillot that prepare us for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Through the words of the Ibn Ezra and the teachings of Rav Biderman, the Shla Hakadosh, and the Ba'al Shem Tov, we learn that tr...

Friends, in this powerful shiur, we journey deeply into the beautiful zemer, "Kah Ribon," exploring the heartfelt call from Hashem to rebuild the Beit Hamikdash within each of us. Together, we uncover profound teachings from Rav Birmann, the Belzer Rebbe, the Mei HaShiloach (Izhbitzer Rebbe), and other holy sources that illuminate how every act of holiness we choose shapes the Divine sanctuary in...

As we conclude the Kah Ribon series, Rav Shlomo Katz takes us deep into the hauntingly beautiful stanza למקדשך תוב ולקדש קדשים -  exploring what it truly means to become a Mishkan, a sanctuary, for Hashem. Drawing from the Ohr HaChaim, the Ramchal, and the Akedat Yitzchak, this shiur uncovers the profound teaching that God's dwelling is not limited to a structure. It resides within the soul of eve...