“Know Your Children with Rav Shlomo Katz” is a series about the everyday holy work of raising children with heart, patience, and honesty. Join Rav Shlomo in learning from the sefer Da Et Yeladecha by Rav Itamar Shwartz, author of Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh, and explore how Torah and Chazal guide us in building a healthy, loving connection between parent and child.
This isn’t about perfect techniques or quick fixes. It’s about creating a foundation of truth, learning to really listen, and finding the right “funnel” so that what we want to give actually reaches our children. Each shiur is meant to be practical, gentle, and encouraging, and something you can take home and live with.
24. Are You Teaching Mitzvot But Forgetting The Soul?
In this final class of the year on the sefer Know Your Children, Rav Shlomo Katz and the women of Shirat David explore what it truly means to make Hashem the center of your home.
It doesn't mean walking around holding Tehillim all day. It means integrating a deep, spiritual purpose into the daily grind of parenting, from giving baths to feeding your kids dinner.
Rav Shlomo discusses the critical balance between teaching the actions of Halacha and cultivating the emotional regesh (vitality) behind those actions, warning against the dangers of raising "doers" without teaching them how to be "feelers"
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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
14 Jun 2026
23. Why Do We Really Want Our Kids to Be Religious?
What are we really hoping for when we say we want our children to be religious?
In this week's episode, Rav Shlomo Katz and the women of Shirat David explore one of the deepest questions in Jewish parenting. Is the goal simply that our children keep Torah and mitzvot, or is there something even more fundamental that must come first?
Drawing from the teachings of Rav Itamar Schwartz, Chassidut, Parshat Beha'alotecha, and powerful personal stories, Rav Shlomo explains why Jewish parenting must be built around the soul, why children need to experience a living relationship with Hashem in the home, and why even the most meticulous religious upbringing can miss the point if it lacks genuine connection.
Along the way, he discusses humor in parenting, trauma and resilience, the role of schools versus parents, hitbodedut, community pressure, and what it means to create a home where Hashem is not merely discussed—but truly felt.
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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
CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening and Sponsorship Announcements
02:18 Humor Required in Soul-Focused Parenting
07:13 Addressing Trauma: Need for Laughter
08:17 Behaalotecha Lesson: Feeling the Torah
11:57 Parents Must Experience Hashem First
14:43 NBA Analogy: Perseverance and Humility
16:27 Story of Rabbi Meir Abuchatzeira
19:04 Chabad-Knicks Moshiach Humor
23:01 Hashem Is Everywhere, Not Just at Shul
24:14 Teaching Kids Hashem with Joy and Simcha
25:40 Parents Must Model Hashem-Centered Homes
28:14 Self-Esteem vs. Infinite Divine Potential
29:19 When Chinuch Misses Its True Purpose
30:20 Parents Focused Solely on Torah/Mitzvos
32:25 Considering Hitbodedut in Summer Break
35:06 Relationship with God vs. Staying Frum Debate
36:33 Baal Teshuvah Family: Kids Stray Yet Seek God
39:03 Parents’ Authentic Relationship Transfers to Children
44:10 Making Hashem Central in the Home All Day
46:18 Covenant and Kirvas Hashem as Core
47:39 Closeness to God Brings Pain
49:22 Teaching Desire, Not Obligation, for Mitzvot
52:32 Motivation Behind Wanting Kids to Wear Tzitzit
54:27 Modeling Love for Mitzvot at Home
55:49 Community Pressure vs Personal Desire in Parenting
57:00 War Trauma and Spiritual Connection
58:48 Final Thoughts on Passing the Legacy
31 May 2026
22. The Significance of Jewish Parenting
What changes when we stop seeing parenting as behavior management… and start seeing it as caring for a נשמה?
In this deeply moving episode of Know Your Children, Rav Shlomo Katz and the women of Shirat David explore the uniquely Jewish foundation of parenting — not merely raising functional children, but honoring the divine soul hidden within them. Through stories from Reb Shlomo Carlebach, reflections on “בצלם אלוקים,” and practical shifts in consciousness, this conversation reframes what kavod for children באמת means.
Why do Jewish parents give honor to children? Is it psychological? Emotional? Or something much deeper?
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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
CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening Blessings and Sponsor Acknowledgments
01:25 Choosing Our Focus for the Final Weeks
05:07 Reb Shlomo’s Lesson on Respect for Jewish Children
08:42 VeAhavta LeReiacha Kamocha and Family Hierarchy
11:35 Seeing Our Children as Divine Souls
13:37 A Personal Moment Recognizing Children as Souls
22:27 Starting Point: Placing the Soul at the Center
24:08 Correct Prayer Phrase for the Soul
28:09 Nekudat Motza: Parenting Beyond Dependence
31:07 Love Exercise: Visualizing Affection for Others
34:09 Koach Ha'emuna: Faith Strength Over Intellect
36:50 Jewish vs Psychological Reasons for Honoring Children
48:37 Shtikel Elokus: Tiny Pieces of Hashem as Our Source
50:36 When Kids Feel Unlovable: Using Neshama as a Remedy
51:58 Reb Leo’s Lesson: Learning Emunah Every Day
53:00 Building an Emunah Muscle: Never Wait for the Neshamas
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