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

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

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

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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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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 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.

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

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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.

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