The Foundations of Chassidus with Rav Shlomo Katz

There’s a very strange tension at the heart of avodat Hashem. On the one hand, a Yid has to be able to look at where he is right now and say: "Gevalt, how precious that I’m even here. How beautiful that I’m even in the parsha." And at the exact same time, something inside of us has to keep saying: "Yalla, there’s more." Continuing the learning in Yayin Yashan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shriat David learn through the Pri HaAretz, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, Rav Moshe of Kobrin, the Chovat HaTalmidim of the Piaseczner Rebbe, the Tanya, Rav Kook, Rav Dessler and a piercing mashal from the Kotzker Rebbe. How do we demand greatness from ourselves without despising where we are? When does something that once required real avodah simply become habit? And what happens when the ladder seems to have disappeared, but Shamayim is still calling us to climb? ---------- 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 00:00 Opening Greetings and Upcoming Events 01:58 What Stops Us From Aiming Higher? 04:20 Aspiration Without Losing the Present 12:25 Avodat Hashem Is Never Static 15:46 Never Settling on One Spiritual Level 17:46 The Preciousness of Right Now 20:26 The Soul’s Illness: Not Demanding Greatness 23:01 Demand Greatness From Yourself 24:54 Inner Greatness vs. External Success 26:34 The Blindfold of Thinking You’ve Arrived 28:10 The Builders of Eretz Yisrael Never Stop Building 30:07 When Avodah Means Leaving Your Comfort Zone 32:07 When Yesterday’s Challenge Becomes Today’s Habit 36:24 The Kotzker’s Ladder: Keep Climbing Without a Ladder

What deserves to be at the center of our avodat Hashem — and what was only ever supposed to remain secondary? Continuing the learning in Yayin Yashan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David return to the framework of the Mesillat Yesharim and begins putting the pieces of avodat Hashem into their proper order. The question is not simply whether something is holy, meaningful, or even a good practice. The deeper question is whether we know what is ikar and what is tafel — and whether the things we add around our Yiddishkeit are bringing us deeper inside or quietly distracting us from the main thing. Along the way, the learning moves through the language of kinyan, teachings from Rabbi Elimelech and Rabbi Elazar, the inner work of hitbodedut, and the danger of allowing external practices to replace genuine inner growth. ---------- 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 00:00 Opening Blessings and Sponsor Acknowledgments 02:10 The Five Parts of Avodat Hashem in Mesillat Yesharim 05:03 The Five Components of Serving Hashem 07:52 The Avodah of Effort 11:07 The Work Ethic of the Early Tzaddikim 17:40 What It Means to Make a Kinyan 19:39 When a Kinyan Becomes Part of You 23:07 When Spiritual Pursuits Become Distractions 24:18 Ikar and Tafel: What Actually Matters? 25:24 The Five Essential Categories 27:10 Stop Searching for External Add-Ons 28:25 Rabbi Elimelech and Rabbi Elazar 30:45 When Details Replace the Core Avodah 32:21 External Practice vs. Inner Growth 36:10 Marriage: The Basics and the Extra Expectations 38:19 When the External Distracts From the Ikar 39:29 Hitbodedut and Spiritual Focus 41:17 Half Measures vs. Wholehearted Commitment 43:34 Looking Ahead: Continuing the Learning

How far does בכל דרכיך דעהו (In all your ways, know Him) really go? If the avodah is to invite Hashem into every part of our lives, what happens when the place we’re standing in is messy, compromised, or somewhere we know we probably shouldn’t be? And how do we distinguish between genuinely searching for Hashem from wherever we are and simply finding a holy-sounding way to rationalize what we already want? Continuing Yayin Yashan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn through the Imrei Noam, Malchut Shlomo, the Mei HaShiloach of Izhbitz, the Baal Shem Tov through the Me’or Einayim, and the Piaseczner Rebbe’s Mevo She’arim quoting Rav Asher of Stolin. At the center is an extraordinary Chassidic idea: you do not have to wait until you have arrived somewhere spiritually perfect to begin looking for Hashem. ובקשתם משם — seek Him from there. From the place you actually are. But “from there” does not mean everything suddenly becomes permitted. That tension — between never giving up on finding Hashem and never using Hashem to justify ourselves — is where this shiur lives. ---------- 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 00:00 Opening Blessings and Sponsorship Acknowledgments 01:49 Hashem’s Endless Game of Hide-and-Seek 03:14 The Imrei Noam: Seeking Hashem Everywhere 04:25 Every Person Has a Different Path to Discovery 08:07 Inviting Hashem Into Every Part of Life 20:09 Where “בכל דרכיך דעהו” Has Boundaries 21:42 The Dangerous Voice of Rationalization 22:50 “Hashem, Don’t Let Me Become an Imposter” 24:20 When Repeated Sin Starts Feeling Permitted 26:18 How a Tzaddik Can Strengthen Your Avodat Hashem 28:17 Can You Find Kedushah in a Dark Place? 32:33 Yaakov, Esav and Why We Don’t Seek Out Nisayon 44:17 Protecting Yourself Without Running From Your Shlichut 46:35 The Bracha in the Middle of an Aveirah 47:54 Torah and Mitzvot Are the Framework — Not the Finish Line 49:29 The Baal Shem Tov: Seek Hashem From Where You Are 50:50 Why You Can’t Separate the Neshamah From the Act 52:30 בקשו פניו תמיד — Never Stop Seeking

What does it really mean to fulfill בכל דרכיך דעהו — “In all your ways, know Him” ? Beginning a new section of Yayin Yashan on Avodat Hashem , we learn through the Me’or Einayim of the Chernobler, Mesillat Yesharim, the teachings of Peshischa, the Divrei Binah of Biala, Malchut Shlomo, Orchos Tzaddikim and Rav Shlomo Carlebach to ask a very practical question: what are the things I have quietly become dependent on? Not everything material is a problem. But when I begin to tell myself that I need the right circumstances, the right comforts, the right possessions — maybe even the right spiritual experience — before I can really serve Hashem, something has gotten between us. And from there we move into one of the most beautiful images in the shiur: being pulled toward Hashem like iron toward a magnet . Sometimes He has already been pulling us for years. We just had a completely different picture in our heads of what that pull was supposed to look like. 00:00 Opening Blessings and Sponsorships 01:27 What Does It Mean to “Know Hashem”? 03:00 The Chernobler: Why the World Was Created 04:25 Yichud: Oneness and Your Unique Avodat Hashem 11:31 The Purpose of Creation: Knowing Hashem 13:47 When Material Things Become Spiritual Barriers 23:19 Being Pulled Toward Hashem Like a Magnet 24:54 When Miracles Don’t Look the Way We Expected 26:25 Marriage and the Expectations We Bring With Us 27:28 Aliyah and the Reality We Didn’t Picture 29:01 Can Someone Far From Torah Still Feel the Pull? 30:33 The Friends Who Hold Back Your Growth 31:37 Living Every Day With the Purpose in Mind 32:45 When Even the Shulchan Aruch Becomes Avodah Zarah ------ 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

What if the emunah we spend so much of our lives searching for is not something we need to acquire at all? Continuing Yayin Yashan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter the perek האמונה היא בירושה — Emunah Is an Inheritance, moving through teachings from Torat Avot in the name of Rav Noach of Lechovitch, the Baal HaTanya, Pele Yoetz, Bnei Yissaschar, Rebbe Nachman and the Maggid of Mezeritch. The sources describe a place of emunah already embedded in the Jewish neshamah — inherited from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov — which can become covered, dormant or difficult to feel, but is never actually absent. From there, the question changes. We are no longer asking, How do I get emunah? We have to ask: What am I doing with the emunah I already inherited? How do we awaken it, shepherd it, talk about it with each other, and leave that same yerushah to our children? Along the way, Rav Shlomo reflects on Rav Leo Dee’s extraordinary words of emunah after tragedy, the life of Reuven Halevi, a survivor of Buchenwald singing Ani Ma’amin, and the teaching that stood at the entrance of the Maggid of Mezeritch’s Beit Midrash. The lesson is clear: Chassidus is not here to give you something you do not have. It is here to reveal what is already yours ---------- 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

What does Ahavat Yisrael demand when the Jew standing in front of you thinks, votes, speaks, or lives in a way that genuinely bothers you? Continuing Yayin Yashan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David move through teachings from the Chiddushei HaRim, the Arizal, Sfas Emes, Divrei Binah, Rav Avraham of Kalisk, Maor Einayim, Rebbe Nachman, the Beis Yisrael and Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa to explore the singular place of every Jewish neshamah. Every Jew has a tikkun no one else can accomplish, an illumination no one else carries, and even a unique da’at Hashem that cannot simply be replaced by somebody else’s. And then the learning becomes uncomfortable. If the 600,000 root souls correspond to the letters of the Torah, what happens when we decide one Jew no longer belongs? What does Ahavat Yisrael mean across the deepest religious, political and ideological divisions in Am Yisrael? And can we get beyond saying that we “love” every Jew and learn how to actually like one another? ---------- 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 Chapters 00:00 Opening and Sponsor Acknowledgments 01:27 Continuing Daf Z and the Foundations of Emunah 02:54 Am Yisrael: From the Klal to Every Individual Jew 05:54 The Individual vs. the Klal: The Danger of Conformity 08:59 The Arizal: No Two Souls Have the Same Tikkun 16:21 The Five Words That Saved the World 20:07 600,000 Root Souls and Ahavat Yisrael 21:49 Rabbi Riskin’s First-Date Pomegranate Story 23:41 Who Belongs to the 600,000? The Chareidim Question 25:28 Loving Is Easy. Actually Liking Someone Is Hard 26:43 A Personal Tefillah About Drivers and Torah Connection 27:43 Zionism, Chareidim and Writing Off Other Jews 34:55 Every Jew Has a Unique Da’at Hashem 38:06 Rabbi Schraider, Da’at Torah and the Influencer Poem 40:05 No Jew Is Unnecessary — The Yitro Insight

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David begin the second perek of Yayin Yashan, Ma’alat Yisrael — and enter a series of teachings that are much harder to simply “know” than they first appear. Through the Ramchal, Baal Shem Tov, R’ Baruch of Mezhibuzh, the Tanya, Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Shem MiShmuel, Maor Einayim and Ohev Yisrael, Rav Shlomo looks at one of the foundations of emunah: what a Jewish neshama actually is, what happens in the higher worlds when a Jew learns, davens or performs a mitzvah, and why even the Jew who looks completely covered in schmutz never loses the essential kedushah within. Along the way, the conversation moves from Moshe Feiglin’s response to Tucker Carlson, to Jeremy Boreing’s recent Shabbos visit, to the Alter Rebbe’s astonishing teaching about what happens when ten Jews simply stand together. But underneath all of it is one question: what would our lives — and the way we looked at another Jew — actually look like if we had even a clue? -------- 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 00:00 Opening Greetings and Dedications 01:40 Ma’alat Yisrael: A New Foundation of Emunah 02:43 The Baal Shem Tov: Why Jews Are Compared to Stars 05:14 Moshe Feiglin, Tucker Carlson and Explaining What a Jew Is 06:29 Why a Jewish Neshama Is Greater Than an Angel 07:41 Stop Thinking Only About What You Haven’t Done 09:23 How Do We Actually Internalize These Teachings? 12:18 Seeing the Greatness in Every Other Jew 13:07 Your Torah and Tefillah Nourish the Higher Worlds 17:12 Hashem Is Waiting for Your Torah and Tefillah 18:01 You Are a Ladder Reaching Heaven 18:54 Jeremy Boreing, Shabbos and Righteous Gentiles 21:41 What Happens When Ten Jews Stand Together? 24:11 The Alter Rebbe: An Angel Couldn’t Withstand Ten Jews 25:47 Kedushat Yisrael Is Part of Who You Are 27:46 Gerim and Full Inclusion in Am Yisrael 29:43 This Is a Principle of Emunah 30:06 A Jew Can Never Lose This Kedushah 31:25 The Precious Stone Covered in Schmutz 32:06 Rav Shlomo Carlebach and the Rebbe’s Mikvah Story 33:35 Simmy Green Finds a Hidden Jew in London 34:45 Every Jewish Soul Will Ultimately Be Rectified 36:42 Hashem Does Not Want a Single Soul Lost 38:17 Gilgulim, Tikkun and the Final Redemption

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue learning Yayin Yashan and move through an extraordinary chain of teachings from the Chafetz Chaim, Chovot HaLevavot, Reb Aharon Karliner, the Me’or Einayim, Ma’or VaShemesh, Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah, the Imrei Elimelech, the Baal HaTanya, and Yosher Divrei Emet — all circling one foundational point: what it means to actually believe in Hashem’s love for every Jew. These sources push us far beyond the idea that Hashem’s love is something earned through performance. They ask us to believe that His love and compassion are beyond our measurements, that every Jew can give Him real נחת רוח, and that even the smallest act of Torah, tefillah, or connection carries a weight we barely understand. ----- 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 opening shiur of a new series on the sefer יין ישן by Rav Nissan, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David begin where everything begins: Emunah אמונה. Not the thin version of faith. Not just whether God exists. But the kind of Emunah that changes how a Jew walks through the world — how we think about Hashem’s greatness, His closeness, His presence in the smallest details of life, and the love He has for every Jew. --------- 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 CHAPTERS 00:00 Memorials and Sponsorships for the Breakfast 03:58 Winter Greetings and Thanks to the Community 07:17 Embarking on a Journey of Foundations and Learning 10:49 Understanding the Two Aspects: God Far and Near 23:53 Divine Providence: The Concept of Hashgacha Pratit 26:24 Private Divine Providence and Personal Insults 28:42 Stage Incident and Unexpected Blessing 33:31 Rabbi Shlomo's Trials and Resilience 36:13 God's Love Beyond Comprehension 37:58 Finding God in Natural Beauty 39:56 Jewish Concept of Faith 41:31 Upcoming Sessions and New Books