Entering Rosh Hashanah with Rav Shlomo Katz

What am I actually supposed to be davening for on Rosh Hashanah?We know the language. Malchut Hashem. Kavod Shamayim. We stand before the King and ask that His presence fill the world.But then we open the machzor—and we're asking for life. For parnasah. For our children. For our families. For all the things we so desperately need.So which one is it?In this Rosh Hashanah shiur, given shortly after the passing of the Biala Rebbe of Givat Shaul, Rav Shlomo Katz and the women of Shirat David enter the machzor through a Torah Rav Shlomo received from the world of Biala—and through memories of a Rebbe whose words took him nearly 25 years to understand.At the center is one extraordinary line:כלום חסר בבית המלך — Nothing is lacking in the house of the King.The avodah of Rosh Hashanah isn't to pretend we don't have personal needs. It's to ask a deeper question about those needs: Why do I want what I want?CHAPTERS00:00 Opening & Dedications01:46 Remembering the Biala Rebbe06:19 The Lesson I Needed 25 Years to Understand12:35 What Should We Daven for on Rosh Hashanah?17:25 Nothing Is Lacking in the King's House23:06 Rosh Hashanah & the Beit HaMikdash24:57 Can We Make Personal Requests?26:50 Why Does Avinu Malkeinu Ask for Our Needs?28:46 The Zohar's Warning About Personal Tefillah30:50 The Ikar: Davening for Kavod Shamayim32:14 How to Ask Hashem for Parnasah44:45 Helping Another Jew Is Kavod Shamayim----------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_t

We spend so much of our lives trying.We work on our marriages. We work on our children. We work on our parnasah, our Torah, ourselves. And because Hashem created us adam la'amal yulad—born to work—that yegiah isn't something we're supposed to escape.But then comes the danger.When something finally works, it's very easy to look back at everything we did and think: I did this.In this Rosh Hashanah shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue an extraordinary teaching from the Tolna Rebbe about the ba'al tokeia who simply could not get a sound out of the shofar. From the building of the Mishkan and Beit Hamikdash to Moshe Rabbeinu forgetting everything he learned on Har Sinai, we discover a pattern that runs through Torah: techilah hishtadlut, sofo matanah. First comes our effort. In the end, it's a gift.And that changes how we understand the shofar itself.We blow from the narrow end—min hameitzar karati Kah—and somehow an enormous sound emerges from the other side. The more we toil, the more we're able to recognize and actually taste the miracle when it comes.Maybe that's part of what it means to crown Hashem on Rosh Hashanah: not waiting until life pushes us into the narrowest place to realize that everything we have was a gift all along.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOh hPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening Announcements & Memorials03:20 Recap: The Miracle of the Shofar05:00 The Mishkan, Beit Hamikdash & Menorah07:15 Why Does Hashem Make Us Work?09:05 The Danger of Kochi V'Otzem Yadi12:01 Yagata U'Matzata: Effort vs. Gift15:03 Why Moshe Forgot the Torah21:35 The More You Toil, the More You Taste the Miracle22:45 The Paradox of Yagata U'Matzata26:07 Why Our Effort Still Matters28:40 Vihi Noam: Bringing Hashem Into Our Work31:36 Why We Blow Shofar From the Narrow End32:50 A Jew Is a Shofar34:19 Min HaMeitzar: From Narrowness to Expansiveness36:18 Why They Turned the Shofar Around39:43 Why Three Ba'alei Tekiah Had to Fail41:40 Don't Wait for the Narrowest Place42:10 The Avodah of Rosh Hashanah43:21 The Richest People in the World44:19 A Blessing for a Year of Real Ashirut

Why does Hashem make us work so hard for something that, in the end, only He can make happen?In this Rosh Hashanah shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn an extraordinary teaching from the Tolna Rebbe that begins with an almost unbelievable halacha: what happens when the ba'al tokeia simply cannot get a sound out of the shofar?From there, we enter into the deeper meaning of Vihi Noam, the miraculous building of the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash, and the Menorah that Moshe Rabbeinu could not make no matter how hard he tried.And that's where this becomes about our lives.There are things we want so badly. Things we work for, daven for, fight for. And sometimes we wonder: if ultimately everything is in Hashem's hands, why am I being asked to work so hard?The answer lies in one tiny letter—the yud separating ta'aseh from tei'aseh.We have to do everything we can. Empty the tank. Exhaust what we believe is possible. And then discover that the greatest things in our lives were never ours to accomplish alone.That's one of the deepest preparations for Rosh Hashanah: our job is to give Hashem everything we've got. The miracle was never our job.----------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 & Dedications01:40 A Rosh Hashanah I'll Never Forget04:07 When the Shofar Wouldn't Blow08:31 The Strange Halacha of Vihi Noam17:57 Why Vihi Noam?19:56 Did We Really Build the Mishkan?22:38 The Mishkan's Final Miracle24:04 When Human Effort Isn't Enough25:04 The Beis Hamikdash Built Itself26:39 The Menorah Moshe Couldn't Make28:05 Ta'aseh vs. Tei'aseh33:46 If Hashem Does It, Why Do We Have to Try?41:37 Have You Really Tried Everything?

What does it mean to enter into a bris with Hashem?On the final Shabbos of the year, Parshas Nitzavim gives us the hachana for Rosh Hashanah: אתם נצבים היום כולכם. Stand up. Stand together. Not because we're all the same. Not because we even understand one another. But because every Jew has something that completes another Jew.And then the Torah tells us why we're standing there: לעברך בברית ה׳ אלקיך. To enter into a covenant with Hashem.A bris, the Rebbe teaches, is what two people establish when their love is strong so that the relationship will remain even when there are reasons for it not to. It's a love l'ma'alah mita'am vada'as—beyond logic and reason.It's the deepest thing we're longing to hear from Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, and the deepest thing we want to be able to say back:My love for You will not end.Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn how Elul clears away everything that has covered over that love, why our relationship with other Jews is part of the covenant itself, and how standing together can awaken a sweetness from Hashem that goes beyond what any of us deserve. ----------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_t00:00 Opening Niggun03:11 The Final Shabbos of the Year06:57 Nitzavim and Rosh Hashanah08:42 How to Enter Rosh Hashanah10:25 Why We Need Every Jew15:25 Renewing Our Covenant With Hashem20:00 My Love For You Will Not End26:41 Elul Reveals the Love Beneath the Sin28:29 Why Do We Need a Bris?30:12 A Love Beyond Reason31:47 Why Rosh Hashanah Needs Every Kind of Jew33:17 The Shofar: From Judgment to Mercy35:34 Final Blessings

What happens when Elul doesn't go the way we planned?We enter the month with plans, kabbalos, hopes for who we're going to become. Then suddenly, Selichos is almost here. Rosh Hashanah is around the corner. And somehow, we're still us.In this shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David return to a mashal from the Ba’al Shem Tov about a fox, a group of animals, and their journey to face the lion they had rebelled against. The fox begins the journey armed with hundreds of brilliant parables to appease the king. But the closer he gets, the more he forgets, until finally, standing before the king, he has nothing left.And that may be exactly the point.What Hashem wants from us isn't another story about who we thought we'd become. It's for us to come. To show up honestly. To keep trying, to take on what we can, but ultimately to stand before the King without pretending that we've earned anything.CHAPTERS00:00 Opening & Dedications03:31 Rav Weinberger & Returning to the Ba’al Shem Tov07:08 The Ba’al Shem Tov’s Fox & Lion14:01 What the Mashal Means for Elul19:08 All the Plans We Make for Elul22:29 When Elul Doesn’t Go According to Plan24:30 “I’ll Start When Selichos Begins”26:05 Then Comes Rosh Hashanah…27:48 Come Before the King Anyway30:09 Teshuvah Never Ends31:21 Nothing Can Separate You From Hashem34:25 How We Really Enter Selichos36:14 Asking Hashem for a Matnas Chinam39:30 Show Up Authentically----------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_t

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In this Elul shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue the Tolna Rebbe’s Torah, asking the most vulnerable question: “What does Hashem really think of me?”Through the pasuk “לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל, ה׳ אלקיו עמו ותרועת מלך בו” we uncover a breathtaking teaching: when a Jew is מואס ברע—disgusted by the bad even if he still stumbles—and cultivates חיבוב מצווה, Hashem doesn’t fix His gaze on the fall. Instead, He sees the yearning, the effort, and the love.The Rebbe reads the halacha of בעליו עמו לא ישלם as a key to teshuvah: when the Master is “with you,” even your failures don’t define you. What matters most is whether your heart wants to be on the path of טוב, and whether mitzvot excite you enough to awaken the friendship of the King—ותרועת מלך בו.What you’ll hear:Why the Satan “gives up” when he sees our love of mitzvosHow disgust at רע can actually be a sign of deep healthWhy חיבוב מצווה brings reward even in this worldEntering Rosh Hashanah not with self-beating, but with holy anticipation----------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_t

In this Elul shiur Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David begin a sweet journey into the Tolna Rebbe’s Torah on “לערבב את השטן – confusing the Satan.” Why do we blow shofar both “מיושב” and “מעומד”? What actually silences the מקטרג on Rosh Hashanah? Through Rashi and the Pnei Yeshua we discover a radical key: חיבוב מצווה—genuine love and longing for mitzvot—pushes us from teshuvah mi’yirah into teshuvah me’ahavah, where “זדונות נעשים לו כזכויות.” We also learn the Tolna Rebbe’s powerful reading of “יתיצב על דרך לא טוב, רע לא ימאס”: it’s not only what you do; it’s what you tolerate. Elul is not just סור מרע; it’s training the heart for עשה טוב, building holy anticipation and preparation so we can truly stand on a good path.What you’ll hear:Why liking a mitzvah may matter even more than merely doing itHow love-driven teshuvah flips debts into credits“Live and let live” vs. מואס ברע—why tolerance of רע is spiritually dangerousThe art of הכנה: turning Elul into daily training for תקיעת שופרDropping “pins” on moments of קדושה, so getting back up is fasterDedications: לע״נ ר׳ שלום ברודט זצ״ל • לע״נ בתיה פייגא בת ישראל לוי בן יוסף • לרפואה שלמה לאה שושנה בת מלכה ולשרה בת רחל פייגא • Sponsored by the Reinitz family in honor of my sister’s birthday—מזל טוב!

What if the key to Rosh Hashana isn't about being perfect — but about being real?In this deeply moving pre-Rosh Hashana shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz shares personal stories, Chassidic insights, and the soul of what it means to crown Hashem as King — not just in the world, but in your life. From a missed moment at Madison Square Garden to the power of not laughing at your own spiritual yearning, this shiur cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of malchut.With teachings from the Piaseczner Rebbe, Rav Moshe Weinberger, and a powerful story from the Gerrer Rebbe, Rav Shlomo reminds us: Hashem takes you as seriously as you take yourself.If you've ever struggled with cynicism, felt disconnected from the Yomim Noraim, or wondered how to begin again… this is for you.

Rav Shlomo Katz explores Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s profound connection to Rosh Hashana—and why this day is considered the “head” of the entire year. Through moving insights, personal stories, and deep Torah, we’re guided into a mindset of renewal, clarity, and preparation for the new year.Why did Rebbe Nachman say, “My whole thing is Rosh Hashana”? Why are thousands willing to risk so much just to be in Uman during this time? And more personally: what spiritual “baggage” are we still holding on to that we shouldn’t carry with us into a new year?As the world around us feels increasingly chaotic, this is our opportunity to clear space in the mind, release old weight, and open the gates to a sweet, clear, and connected year ahead.