Even Shlomo - Rav Shlomo Carlebach zt"l on the Weekly Parsha

How is it possible that someone can know so much Torah, teach it beautifully, and still leave us feeling absolutely nothing? And then someone else, who barely knows anything, can share one word that stays with us for the rest of our lives?

In this week's Even Shlomo on the Parsha, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David begin Bereishit with a remarkable teaching from Reb Efraim of Breslov, as brought down in Reb Shlomo Carlebach's Even Shlomo.

Through Adam HaRishon, the Akeidah, and the teachings of Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson, we explore what it really means to receive the word of Hashem and give it over to another person.

A deeply relevant learning for anyone who teaches Torah, raises children, or simply wants the Torah they're learning to become a living part of who they are.

------------

For more Shiurim 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 Niggun and Gratitude

01:59 Dedication and Welcome

08:11 What Adam Blamed Chava For

10:17 Reb Efraim's Remarkable Teaching

11:41 What Was Adam's Real Sin?

12:56 Why Prayer Is Called Work of the Heart

17:08 How Avraham Transmitted God's Word to Yitzchak

19:01 Why Torah Must Be Accompanied by Prayer

24:36 Davening Over the Gift of Eretz Yisrael

29:18 The Secret of La'avdah U'leshamrah

30:53 How Adam Passed God's Command to Chava

32:04 Why Some Torah Leaves Us Cold

33:12 When One Word of Torah Changes Everything

34:33 The Crisis in Jewish Education

36:03 Choosing Teachers of the Tree of Life

As Parshat Balak unfolds, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore one of the most uncomfortable questions in Judaism: what does it actually mean to be the "Chosen People"? Is chosenness about superiority, exclusivity, or something entirely different?

Drawing on the Even Shlomo, Rebbe Nachman, and a breathtaking reading of Balak's deepest desire, Rav Shlomo reveals that Balak's mistake wasn't simply hatred of the Jewish people. At his core, he longed for a world where everyone could be close to Hashem, but he misunderstood what that closeness truly meant.

Through the stories of Ruth HaMoaviah, Pinchas, Ger Tzedek Avraham Potocki, and Reb Tzadok HaKohen, this shiur uncovers the inner meaning of בינו לבין קונו—a deeply personal relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam that cannot be reduced to ritual alone. 

Chosenness, Rav Shlomo explains, isn't about excluding others. It's about becoming so deeply connected to Hashem that your greatest joy is seeing the entire world draw close to Him as well.

----------
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 Nigun, Dedication, and Netanel's Birthday
05:06 Introducing Parshat Balak: The Seemingly Simple Portion
08:32 Balak vs. Bilaam: Why the Parsha Bears Balak's Name
13:16 Chosenness vs. Political Correctness
16:23 Balak's Jealousy and His Desire for Universal Closeness
19:16 The Miss America Analogy and the Meaning of Chosenness
23:19 Idol Worship vs. True Service of Hashem
27:02 Ger Tzedek Avraham Potocki's Final Reflection
28:43 Refining the Inner Self Takes a Lifetime
29:53 Why Pinchas Appears at the End of Parshat Balak
31:18 Pinchas: The Tikkun of Anger and Jealousy
33:05 The Personal Relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam
34:08 Beino L'Vein Kono: The Messianic Secret
36:23 Balak's Dream Fulfilled Through Ruth
38:12 You're Not Disappointing Your Ancestors

As Parshat Chukat opens with the mystery of the Parah Adumah, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover a startling teaching hidden within its ashes. 

Drawing from  Reb Tzadok HaKohen, the Rambam, and Reb Shlomo Carlebach, this short but powerful shiur becomes a meditation on exile, redemption, and what it truly means to prepare for Mashiach.

Beginning with the Rambam's surprising prayer in the middle of Mishneh Torah, Rav Shlomo explores the deeper meaning of the Parah Adumah as a symbol of Am Yisrael itself: pure, whole, and sent "outside the camp" into centuries of galut. Yet the story does not end there. One day, the ashes will be gathered.

From the haunting image of the ashes of Majdanek to Avraham Avinu's first prayer in the Torah, a profound teaching emerges: before Mashiach comes, a Jew must be connected to both the dust of Eretz Yisrael and the ashes of the Six Million. Not one without the other.

----------------------
For more Shiurim 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

Every year, we return to Parshat Korach, thinking we know the story. A jealous man challenges Moshe Rabbeinu, gets swallowed by the earth, and that's the end of it. But Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore a much deeper reading: Korach's downfall was not that he made a mistake. It was that he could not admit he had made one.

Drawing on the Ishbitzer, Chazal, and the inner relationship between Korach, Kayin, Hevel, and Moshe Rabbeinu, this shiur uncovers what may be the ultimate test of truth: not whether we know the truth, but whether we can accept it when it exposes our own flaws.

Why is it often harder for religious people to admit they're wrong? What separates Moshe's humility from Korach's certainty? And why does genuine teshuvah require the courage to dismantle structures we've spent decades building?

From shalom bayis and friendship to leadership and spiritual growth, this episode becomes a powerful meditation on humility, learning, and the liberating realization that being wrong is not the end of the story. It may be the beginning of redemption.

----------
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

As Parshat Shelach confronts us once again with the story of the Meraglim, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover what may be the deepest question hidden beneath their report.

Were the spies really afraid?

Drawing from the Even Shlomo, Rav Shlomo suggests that the issue was not fear at all. The issue was רצון.

Because if there is something you truly want — something your life depends on — nothing can stop you. Obstacles only reveal uncertainty in the connection. When desire is absolute, doubt disappears.

In this powerful shiur, Rav Shlomo explores the difference between responsibility and ratzon, the deeper meaning of אין דבר עומד בפני הרצון, the spiritual root of the Meraglim's mistake, and why Eretz Yisrael remains the ultimate test of what Am Yisrael truly wants.

Through stories of parents risking everything for their children, hostages who discovered hidden strengths, the Six-Day War, Oslo, and the eternal longing for Yerushalayim, this episode becomes a meditation on the question that every Jew must eventually ask:

What do I want so deeply that nothing in the world could stop me?
----------
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 Intro & Opening Blessings
02:37 Identifying the Core Issue of Today’s Shiur
13:17 When Obstacles Reveal a Flaw in Our Connection
14:36 The Unstoppable Drive: Jumping Into a Stormy Ocean
17:07 A Mother’s Heroic Act in a Car Accident
23:38 Lessons from the Meraglim’s Report
26:47 Reordering Responsibility and Ratzon

As Parshat Behaalotecha opens with the lighting of the Menorah, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover a deeper question hidden beneath the mitzvah: what was it that Moshe Rabbeinu could not understand about the Menorah?

Drawing from the teachings of Reb Leibel Eiger, the Sfas Emes, and Reb Shlomo Carlebach, this shiur explores the meaning of “fire” in Avodat Hashem — not external excitement, but the פנימיות שבפנימיות, the hidden flame burning deep within every Jewish soul. Rav Shlomo explains that Aharon HaKohen’s greatness was not simply lighting candles, but revealing to every Yid that there is already a fire inside them that never truly goes out.

----------
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 greetings and theme introduction
08:40 Moshe's difficulty with the Menorah explained
13:09 Reb Leibel Eger on the nature of fire
15:38 Aharon HaKohen reveals the inner fire of mitzvah
18:24 Rebbe’s torch: fire that spreads the world
19:42 Maftirz becha – divine request for fire
23:35 Avoiding transgression with inner fire
28:23 Sefer Bamidbar’s perpetual failures and fire plea
29:33 Miriam’s Fire Extinguished – Keep Your Spiritual Flame Alive
34:48 Skeptics Question the Longevity of Our Community’s Fire
36:02 Moshe’s Struggle with the Menorah’s Eternal Flame
38:20 Returning to the Vision: The Menorah as a Divine Mirror
42:15 Overcoming the Inner Cynic with Aharon’s Persistent Fire

As Parshat Behar–Bechukotai closes Sefer Vayikra, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore one of the deepest teachings of the Ishbitzer on the words “אם בחוקותי תלכו.” What does it mean for Torah to become חקוק — engraved — inside a person? And how do you know if your mitzvot are truly becoming part of you, or just remaining external behaviors?

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo weaves together Sefirat HaOmer, friendship, humility, and the danger of humiliating another Jew. Through a powerful story with IDF soldiers, the hidden meaning of counting the Omer, and the teachings of the Ishbitzer and Rebbi Akiva, he reveals that real spiritual growth happens not through perfection, but through closeness — closeness to Hashem, to Torah, and to each other.

At the center of the episode is a piercing question: what if the deepest form of Torah is simply learning to look at another person and say, “I actually have no idea what they’re carrying”?
----------
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 Niggun and Sponsorships
14:34 Bechukotai and the Depth of Connection
16:56 Achieving Bechukotai Through Not Humiliating Others
18:10 Uncertainty About Others' Struggles
22:01 Understanding Chokim and Human Reason
24:24 Sefirat HaOmer as Daily Spiritual Growth
26:07 Consequences of Missing Omer Counting
27:09 Friendship as the Essence of Omer Counting
40:48 Bottom-Up Influence of Friendship

As Parshat Emor brings us into the avodah of Sefirat HaOmer, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David uncover a deep teaching from the Even Shlomo: the secret of time and space is not abstract. It’s the key to knowing where you are, who you are, and what this moment is asking of you.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo explores why we specifically daven for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash after counting the Omer, and how Sefirah trains a person to become sensitive to time itself and to feel that every רגע is completely new. Drawing on the cheit ha’eigel, everyday life, and the inner world of Chassidut, he shows how losing touch with time leads to losing our sense of place, and how reconnecting to both restores clarity.

From the idea that “nothing is ever wasted” on Pesach Sheni, to the deeper meaning of lashon hara, relationships, and מחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד, this episode becomes a powerful meditation on living in the here and now, and what it really means to be ready for the Beit HaMikdash.
----------
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 Rav Ginsburgh and Pesach Sheni
03:22 Iyar Sponsorships and Memorials
05:14 Harachaman After Omer: Calling for the Beis HaMikdash
07:29 Knowing the Secret of Time and Space
10:40 Friend Reunion Analogy: Avoiding Lashon Hara
14:28 Forgetting Space: Disconnection from the Present
17:39 Yom Kippur’s Unique Shem HaShem Revelation
23:45 Sefirah Connects Time, Space, and the Temple
25:14 Personal Revelation and Giluy Naot
27:27 Unique Personal Interpretations of Omer
28:39 Seeing Everyone as Newly Created
30:19 Traversing the Seven Emotional Sephirot
31:23 Tefillin in the Bathroom: A Time/Space Lesson
32:35 Leaders Ignoring Time and Space
35:09 Prayer to Restore the Temple
37:14 Humility and Davening During the Omer

As Parshat Tazria–Metzora confronts the difficult reality of lashon hara, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David reveal a deeper and almost surprising truth: the one who speaks negatively is not small, but someone with a big soul.

Drawing from the Mei HaShiloach and the Meor Einayim, Rav Shlomo explores why the Torah דווקא calls the metzora an “Adam” — the highest name for a human being. What emerges is a powerful insight: lashon hara often comes not from pettiness, but from deep disappointment — from people who wanted something very much and couldn’t bear when it didn’t come true.

In this shiur, Rav Shlomo traces the inner journey from unmet expectations to anger, and from anger to speech that wounds. He then uncovers the deeper תיקון of the metzora — not punishment, but space: stepping outside the noise of life to rediscover that the פנימיות never changed, that it’s only the “skin” that became hardened.

From the role of hitbodedut and isolation, to the deeper meaning of tzaraat affecting דווקא the עור, this episode becomes a guide to softening again — to seeing ourselves and others not through disappointment, but through the lens of what we know they can be.

----------
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 Sponsorship Announcements
01:17 Shlomo Hamelech and Mastery of Tazria/Metzora
03:29 Why the Torah Calls the Afflicted ‘Adam’
06:58 Disappointment Leads to Anger and Lashon Hara
08:51 Isolation and Hitbodedut as the Remedy
12:40 The Skin Metaphor and the Meaning of Tzaraat
20:42 Final Blessing: Softening Our Hardened Skins

There are stories in the Torah we think we understand… until we slow down and actually listen.

Nadav and Avihu are usually taught as a warning—two sons who did something wrong and paid the price.

But what if that’s not the real story?

In this shiur on Parshat Shemini, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David go deeper into one of the most misunderstood moments in the Torah and uncover what they were באמת afraid of.

What happens when serving Hashem becomes something we only do because we “have to”?  What happens when obligation replaces desire?

Nadav and Avihu saw a future where Yiddishkeit could become mechanical… where the fire is still there, but it’s no longer alive inside of us.

And they couldn’t accept that.

This isn’t about justifying what they did. It’s about understanding the נקודה they revealed and what it demands from us today.

Because the question isn’t just what they did wrong. It’s whether we’re living the kind of Yiddishkeit they were afraid of.
----------
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 greetings and sponsor acknowledgment
01:50 Gilgulim connection: Eliyahu, Pinchas and the bris story
04:50 Deeper meaning of Tzelafchad’s punishment
06:51 Multiple reasons offered for their fall
07:52 Repeated verse “כאשר צוה השם את משה” analysis
13:00 Halachic discussion on hitting children
16:33 Kotzker vort on lo tirtzach and the value of life
24:38 When God Becomes a Dead Idol
29:34 Nadav and Avihu’s Fear of Compulsory Worship
31:31 Mishkan Built from Command and Love
35:34 Rav Shlomo's Trip to Albany: Balancing Desire and Duty