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PODCAST

Hachana L"Shabbos

Rav Shlomo Katz

What type of rest do we yearn for on Shabbat? How do we frame our mindset during the week to prepare for Shabbat and how can we transform our Shabbat experience? Using the teachings of Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, a leading Breslov Rabbi, in his sefer Yom Machmadim, we build tools towards enhancing our ability to connect to the day of rest.

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

30:17

Why Are We Still Stuttering? | Shabbos HaGadol

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/03/27

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 Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore why Shabbos HaGadol is not

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37:56

The "Good Old Days" Are Irrelevant | Shabbos Hachodesh

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/03/13

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 time,” the “better version” of yourself, or the return of the so-called “good old days.” The mitzvah

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32:38

A Shabbos Zachor Above the Heavens

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/02/27

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 “Is He involved?”Amalek cools us off. He whispers: It’s all a coincidence. It’s all mitachas

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52:22

Ultimate Trust in the One Above

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/02/20

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 read that repetition as a map of ultimate trust: not just believing in Hashem, but letting Hashem

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43:06

Acquiring Yirat Hashem

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/02/06

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 Shamayim, nothing is missing — spiritually and emotionally.From there we open Rav Kook’s Middot

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41:37

The Gates that Open During Bentching

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/01/30

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, something shifts. A person is no longer standing in the same place. And once the gates are open, the

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36:29

The REAL Satiation of Food

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/01/23

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 powerful story carried through generations, this shiur reframes benching as the heart of Jewish life

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43:52

The Calm that Follows Waking Up from Certain Dreams

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/01/16

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 Biederman: the ultimate Redemption won’t only be that things get better moving forward. Part of the

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37:01

Escorting the Queen

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/01/09

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—mutzav artza, v’rosho magia ha’shamayma—rooted in the weekday yet reaching Heaven.Through niggun,

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30:41

Motzei Shabbos Folding

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2026/01/02

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. It’s a spiritual practice. Just as a tallis is folded again and again until it rests properly, so

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40:20

The Waves of Our Soul

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/12/26

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 success in avodas Hashem: not that I made it.... but that I didn’t give up. And how real yearning

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33:44

Do You Have Passion that Can’t Be Ignored?

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/12/12

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 the yearning is true, a Jew has the right to say: Abba… please don’t hide. Please don’t turn away.We

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45:53

We Are Infinitely Stronger Than We Think We Are

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/11/28

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 Sochatchover Rebbe, the Klausenberger Rebbe, and the Piaseczna, we learn that inside every Jew

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27:35

When Nothing Adds Up, Everything Opens Up

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/11/21

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 wanderer who calls himself “ben beiso shel melech” and the fiery Torah of the Piaseczna Rebbe

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21:37

The Deepest Consolation One Can Have During Affliction

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/11/14

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 searing, hope-filled story from the recent wedding of Rachel Goldberg and Aminadav Rotenberg where

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35:20

Learning How to Cry Out When Things are Going Smooth

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/10/31

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 צַלְמָוֶת (valley of shadow), but the avodah is to live in אַתָּה even on the green pastures.We

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38:55

Has God Become Your Shepherd Yet?

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/10/24

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 mefarshim on Tehillim 23, and from the image of ra’aya meheimna (Moshe the “faithful shepherd”),

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31:00

The Shabbos Between Yom Kippur and Sukkot

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/10/03

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 Sukkot. From Rav Kook we receive the avodah of these days: to re-educate our return to olam hazeh

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40:05

The Importance of a Real Third Meal

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/09/26

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 at late-afternoon רצון דרצונות the original will to create the world resurfaces—יש מאין energy enters

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34:14

The Last Shabbos of 5785

Hachana L"Shabbos ·

2025/09/19

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 heart that’s awake today—“היום אם בקולו תשמעו.”Together we explore: • Why each Shabbos is its own

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