Purim

Recorded live on Zoom in the midst of war here in Eretz Yisrael, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter Ta’anit Esther with open hearts and trembling emunah.We begin with niggunim — Kulanu Ke’echad, Ayeh Mekom Kevodo, Avo El HaMelech — and move into the deeper battlefield of Purim: not just the destruction of Haman, but the removal of machshevet Haman.What is the “thought of Haman”? Why does Esther insist that even after victory, something deeper must be uprooted? Why is the only tefillah that is always answered the request for emunah peshuta?In a time of missiles and miracles, Rav Shlomo speaks about:The illusion of political correctness as modern avodah zarahThe difference between physical victory and spiritual freedomArur Haman = Baruch Mordechai = Emunah Peshuta (502)Hisbodedus as the weapon of this generationVision — not for 20 years from now, but for right nowThis is a Purim shiur for a generation standing at a turning point in Jewish history. Come before the King. Ask for simple faith. Remove the thought of Haman.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening Niggun – Kulanu Ke’Echad00:39 Safe Rooms and the Reality of War03:29 Not Knowing How to Feel in History06:46 Reb Nosson’s Prayer Against Klipat Haman08:38 What Is Machshevet Haman?11:12 Esther’s True Victory Explained13:08 The Avodah Zarah of “What Do People Think?”20:40 The One Prayer That Is Always Answered31:02 Hisbodedus as the Weapon of Purim33:20 Vision, Emunah Peshuta and Coming Before the King

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue Rav Kluger’s journey into the pnimiyus of Purim, this time through Matanos La’Evyonim and the question: Who is an “evyon”? Rav Shlomo explains why Mordechai specifically established this mitzvah — to remind every Jew that a רגע לפני הישועה, we were all in a state of “evyon,” totally dependent on Hashem’s saving grace.From there, the shiur opens a deeper door: the hidden roots of taavas mamon (the pull of money), the Gemara about galus and adding geirim, the Baal Shem Tov’s language of lifting sparks, and Rebbe Nachman’s teaching on 70 souls / 70 languages, and how “concealment before revelation” works like cracking a klipah to reach the fruit.A Purim shiur about money… that turns into a shiur about humility, dependence on Hashem, and the inner תיקון that makes redemption possible.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening and Sponsorship02:07 Money (Taivas Mamon) in Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings10:54 Gemara on Adding Converts (Pesachim)13:36 Lifting Sparks and Adding Gerim19:26 70 Souls and the Roots of Israel22:36 70 Languages and Their Negative Traits23:43 Galus of 70 Languages as Spiritual Test25:12 Ethiopian Women and the Birth Analogy29:25 Rebbe Nachman on Pre-Revelation Soul Journey34:21 Breaking the Klipah to Reach the Fruit43:09 Mordechai’s Call to Give to the Poor

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue Rav Kluger’s gorgeous ma’amar on Purim, and  go deeper into the pnimiyus of Mishloach Manos as a preparation for Beis HaMikdash Sheini.We open with “Shoshanat Yaakov,” then step right back into the sugya: Achashveirosh’s feast isn’t just a party — it’s temple-consciousness. Esther’s “לך כנוס את כל היהודים” is not only about survival; it’s about waking up and becoming a people again, so we can return and build.Then comes the wild historical reveal from Sefer Ezra: during the Purim era, there was already a mizbe’ach in Yerushalayim, with korbanos happening, even while the Heichal still wasn’t built. Meaning: something can be “alive” before it’s “complete”… and unity is the foundation that makes the building possible.From there, we turn to the wine: why “ad d’lo yada”? Not as an escape, but as a holy breaking of the inner mechitzos that keep us isolated. We bring in Rebbe Nachman’s yesod of yishuv hada’as, the fight against modern distraction, and the line between a Purim that opens the heart… and a Purim where Haman is still sitting at the seudah.Yasher koach, and may we be zocheh to a Purim of real achdus, the kind that can hold a Beis HaMikdash.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening Niggun and Greeting02:44 Opening the Sefer and Starting Reish Nun03:50 Mishloach Manos as Preparation for the Second Beis Hamikdash06:02 Achashverosh’s Feast and Its Temple Implications07:22 Esther’s Directive to Gather the Jews17:03 Ezra’s Altar While the Temple Remains Unbuilt19:27 Unity, Mishloach Manos, and the Path to Rebuilding25:45 Rav Kluger on Wine Drinking Purpose27:59 Video Testimony and Emotional Overload29:43 Three Cardinal Sins and Yishuv HaDa'at32:51 Ribo’s Song and Modern Distractions34:04 Practicing Hisbodedus for Yishuv HaDa'at35:25 Ayahuasca and Short-Term Yishuv HaDa'at36:31 Purpose of Desires in Rebbe Nachman38:03 Intellectual Isolation and Haman’s Role40:38 When Purim Drinking Fails Yishuv HaDa'at42:44 Building a Beit Hamikdash and Unity

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David officially start the march toward the Megillah. Purim is coming, and we’re opening with a deep beginning: the pnimiyus of Mishloach Manos (and Matanos La’Evyonim) through a powerful מהלך from Rav Avraham Tzvi Kluger, built on a יסוד from the Maharal (Netzach Yisrael).Why did Mishloach Manos become the mitzvah people naturally ran to first, even before Mordechai formally added Matanos La’Evyonim? What’s the unique DNA of Purim that demanded these takanos specifically here, and not on any other Yom Tov? And why is the only way to truly understand Purim to read it through the prism of Beis HaMikdash consciousness — right in that tense historic moment between Churban Bayis Rishon and the dream of building Bayis Sheini?Along the way we touch the stunning “trust” dimension of Mishloach Manos (yes, even kashrus trust), the stages of how the mitzvos formed, and the Maharal’s contrast between Bayis Rishon (Avos) and Bayis Sheini (Knesses Yisrael) — and what that demands from us now.This is Part 1. We’re laying the foundation, and next week, בעז״ה, it gets even juicier.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening Honors and Sponsorship 01:09 Exploring the Daled Mitzvos of Purim 02:13 Rav Kluger’s Opening Quote on Purim 04:18 Reviewing Megillah Verses 05:33 Stages of Mitzvah Development 10:26 Why Mishloach Manos Was Self-Adopted 13:29 Uniqueness of Purim Mitzvos 19:42 Historical Context: Post-Exile Purim 22:30 Maharal’s Insight on the Two Temples 23:32 Foundations: Yesod of the Two Temples 24:50 Kedusha of the Avot vs Israel 28:30 Ezra’s Account of Second Temple Dedication 30:38 Gemara on the End of Avot’s Merit 31:49 Hope for Restoring Avot’s Mercy 43:55 Yom Haatzmaut: Cheshbon HaNefesh and Preparation

A brief and wild 18 minutes of learning after Hallel, discussing the origins of Mishenichnas Adar and a wild twist connecting to Bob Saget. Good Purim.

Rebbe Nachman said that all beginnings used to begin from Pesach, but now....(and he didn't complete the sentence). In Breslov tradition, the Rebbe was speaking about how today, from then and now, Purim is the real beginning of all beginningsIn this 15-minute learning, we try to understand what the Rebbe meant by this, and how it is more relevant to our lives today than ever.

A class given in Nachlaot, Yerushalayim, discussing the concept of putting trust back into the game of humanity

Purim often looks like the most playful, physical, even chaotic day in the Jewish year. But beneath the mask lies one of the deepest teachings of our faith: that Hashem is present, especially when He seems most hidden.Rav Shlomo Katz shares teachings from Rabbi Erez Moshe Doron, exploring the paradox at the heart of Megillat Esther: a miracle so deeply clothed in nature that God’s Name doesn’t appear once. And yet, our Sages tell us this day surpasses even Yom Kippur in holiness. How can that be?Drawing on the writings of Rebbe Nachman and the Tikkunei Zohar, we journey into the spiritual anatomy of exile where concealment hides even the fact that anything is hidden, and shows us how Purim reveals the secret: God is here, always. Not only in the supernatural, but in the natural. Not only in the revealed, but in the hidden. Not only in the Beit Midrash, but in the palace of Achashverosh too.This is the joy of Purim. The joy that comes from knowing your life is not random. That even in darkness, there is a story unfolding and you’re part of it.

A short piece from Reb Meilech Biderman on Purim and Adar, discussing the usage of the word Mishenichnas

When one has a mitzvah to fulfill, they are usually exempt from having to do another mitzvah that would have to be done at that exact time. Is this the case when one is drunk on Purim and may not be able to daven? Leave it to the kohen hagadol to bring us to a deeper look at this question?