About Shavuot: Preparing for Sinai with Rav Shlomo Katz
What does it mean to truly get ready for Matan Torah? In this series, Rav Shlomo Katz guides us through the emotional, spiritual, and practical steps of preparing for Shavuot. Drawing from Chassidic masters including Rav Kook, Rebbe Nachman, the Piasetzna Rebbe, as well a deep dive into Megilat Rut, each episode helps you build toward a deeper, more personal Kabbalat HaTorah—one that’s alive, real, and yours.
The Hidden Contradiction Inside Every Yid at Har Sinai
What really happened when Am Yisrael said Na’aseh V’Nishma at Har Sinai?
In this powerful continuation of the Tolner Rebbe’s teaching, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore the frightening possibility that even our greatest spiritual moments may contain contradiction beneath the surface.
Why did the first Luchos come with thunder, fire, and overwhelming revelation — only to be broken? Why does true Torah seem to deepen דווקא in quietness, hiddenness, and tznius?
This shiur is about the difference between excitement and permanence, inspiration and transformation, external fire and inner truth. And ultimately, it is a deeply hopeful teaching about why Hashem still believes in us even when we are not fully where we want to be.
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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 the Paradox at Sinai
02:19 Tracing the Roots of Our Inner Contradiction
03:45 Excitement Over the First Tablets as the Trigger
04:54 Desire Versus Willingness to Sacrifice One’s Life
06:34 Internal vs External Sparks of Spiritual Experience
13:49 Shema as a Plea for True Commitment
14:55 Bnei Yisrael’s Stated Desire and Real Reluctance
16:31 The Bullet Metaphor: Measuring Real Commitment
19:06 When Excitement Leads to Unexamined Choices
21:38 Post-1967 Optimism and the Same Ancient Conflict
24:08 Exploring What God Gained from Na'aseh V'nishma
26:28 God's Choice of Israel Explained
27:41 Divine Love Behind the Light Show
30:16 Our Generation's Loss of Connection
31:47 The Role of Tzniut in Spiritual Depth
32:48 Sfas Emes on Passion Followed by Modesty
38:24 Need for a Storm Before Modesty
39:42 Tricking Ourselves to Build Authentic Connection
41:25 Post-Commitment: Catching Hashem's Ongoing Mastery
44:58 Dealing with Inner Contradictions and Spiritual Growth
46:07 Deepening Na'aseh V'nishma Each Year
47:10 Shavuos Night Preparations and High School Inclusion
18 May 2026
Were We Fake at Har Sinai — And Are We Still Fake Today?
On the journey toward Shavuot, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore one of the most uncomfortable, and liberating, questions in avodas Hashem:
What if Am Yisrael themselves weren’t fully “there” at Har Sinai?
Drawing from a breathtaking teaching of the Tolner Rebbe, this shiur dives into the mystery of Naaseh V’Nishma, the feeling of being spiritually “fake,” and the deeply Jewish ability to hold contradictory emotions at the very same time.
Can a person genuinely long for Hashem while still carrying confusion, resistance, or even inner contradiction? And if so… what does Hashem actually see when He looks at us?
This is a profoundly honest preparation for Shavuos — one that may completely change the way you understand authenticity, struggle, and the Jewish heart.
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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 Memorial dedication and significance of Beit Sivan
02:25 Feeling fake? Impostor syndrome introduction
03:28 Tolner Rebbe on Na'aseh V'nishma gemara
05:15 Bas Kol reveals the angelic password
07:29 Na'aseh V'nishma as future salvation
10:54 Authenticity vs. in-between in Jewish practice
16:32 Duping the angels: implications and doubts
23:17 Ten inner depths of the human heart
24:50 Holy Contradictions: Pesach as Night of Opposites
27:29 Rav Kook’s Eyes Reveal Contrasting Feelings
28:42 Reb Shlomo’s Niggun: Planting with Tears and Joy
29:46 Personal Experiences of Simultaneous Tears and Joy
31:51 Na'aseh V'nishma: The Heart’s Two Desires
35:28 Gemara on the Unfathomable Character of Am Yisrael
29 Jul 2025
Megilat Rut Part 4: Why Do We Read Rut On Shavuot?
Two different explanations from Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev as to why we read Megilat Rut on Shavuot
29 Jul 2025
Megilat Rut Part 3: Naomi's Vision & Greatness
How did Naomi become Naomi, and what did Rut see in her?
29 Jul 2025
Megilat Rut Part 2: Our Introduction to Boaz
As soon as the megila records the first few words of Boaz, we learn of a new light, the light of Mashiach that begins to shine forth.
29 Jul 2025
Megilat Rut Part 1: What Does it Mean to Be Tzanu'a ?
What did Boaz really see in Ruth?
In this opening shiur on Megilat Rut, Rav Shlomo Katz guides us into the soul of tzniut—not as modesty of dress, but as a posture of presence, humility, and royalty.
29 Jul 2025
What Is The Chiddush of Shavuot? (Preparing For Shavuot #12)
Based on a teaching by Reb Nosson of Breslov, we learn of the chiddush that took place once the Torah was placed in the world.
29 Jul 2025
Temimut: Then, Now, & Always (Preparing For Shavuot #11)
Before you can receive the Torah, you have to return to something deeper than brilliance. You have to return to temimut—wholeness, sincerity, simple truth.
Rav Shlomo Katz brings down a beautiful teaching from the tzaddik of Yerushalayim, Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter. We learn how the Torah wasn’t, and isn’t given to the clever or the perfect, but to those who show up with open hearts and honest intentions.
29 Jul 2025
Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Taken (Preparing For Shavuot #10)
At Har Sinai, it was not only Torah and mitzvot that were revealed to us. We discovered our own true, inner essence. The result? Responding to G-d, NA'ASEH VENISHMA.
In this class, we learn the beautiful words of Rav Kook from 1932, as Shavuot day was approaching.
29 Jul 2025
Inside I’m Gold: The Piasetzna Rebbe on Shavuot Night (Preparing For Shavuot #9)
Shavuot night, 1929. Warsaw hums in holy anticipation.
Reb Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piaseczno Rebbe, reveals a radiant teaching from the Baal Shem Tov that pierces straight to the soul: Inside, I’m gold. No matter how tarnished or tired we feel, the inner spark remains untouched.
In this powerful shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz guides us through the Piaseczno’s Torah from Derech HaMelech, lifting the veil on what gives us the strength to say Na’aseh Venishma once more.
29 Jul 2025
Marching Towards Shavuot with Rebbe Nachman (Preparing For Shavuot #8)
It’s the sixth week of Sefira, and you feel unprepared. Again.
So did Rebbe Nachman. And through two searing letters from Reb Nosson to his son, we’re shown a breathtaking path forward—one paved not with perfection, but with truth.
Rav Shlomo Katz walks us hand-in-hand with Breslov’s deepest lights through the inner work of these final days before Matan Torah. From trembling awe to tears of longing, from guilt that paralyzes to yearning that empowers, we uncover the ultimate vessel to receive the Torah: simcha born of brokenness, awe born of love. It’s not too late. The gates are still wide open. And this year, it might just be your turn to hear the thunder.
29 Jul 2025
The Avoda of Rosh Chodesh Sivan: The HQ of Passion (Preparing For Shavuot #7)
What if preparing for Shavuot isn’t just about learning more, but about wanting more?
Rav Shlomo Katz takes us into the depths of Rosh Chodesh Sivan, guided by the radiant lights of the Ohr HaChaim and Reb Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin. This day, often passed over quietly, is revealed as the Headquarters of Passion, the time when Am Yisrael arrives at the foot of Sinai and declares, “We’re here. We want this.”
The true avoda of this day is not about adding information, but awakening cheshek—holy yearning. Before Torah can be received, the heart has to burn.
29 Jul 2025
Boaz & Ruth: The Ingredients For An Intriguing Relationship of Holiness (Preparing For Shavuot #6)
What made Ruth find favor in Boaz’s eyes? Rav Shlomo Katz opens up the first meeting between Ruth and Boaz—not as a romantic tale, but as a blueprint for holy connection. Ruth’s words, “And I am a foreigner,” are not a disclaimer, but the very reason she is worthy of being seen. Her sense of distance, of not-yet-being, is what draws Boaz in.
Through the lens of Chassidut, we explore the spiritual power of shef’lut—humble self-awareness— as the fertile ground where true intimacy, both with Hashem and with another soul, begins to grow. Because the more I recognize that I am not the center, the more room I have for love, gratitude, and the kind of partnership that holds space for imperfection. And in this space, a David HaMelech can be born.
29 Jul 2025
How Many Times Have You Despaired? (Preparing For Shavuot #5)
There is a secret in the calendar hidden in plain sight on the 2nd of Sivan. Rav Shlomo Katz reveals the day of Yom HaMiyuchas, the Day of Lineage, as a wellspring of identity, hope, and preparation for Matan Torah. Drawing from the teachings of the Piaseczno Rebbe and the heartbeats of Avraham and Sarah, we discover that the foundation of Am Yisrael was not perfect faith, but despair transformed into return.
29 Jul 2025
No More Self-Denial (Preparing For Shavuot #4)
Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Rav Kook.
Efrat, Israel
29 Jul 2025
My Two Camps (Preparing For Shavuot #3)
Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter
Efrat, Israel
29 Jul 2025
Once You Get The Rhythm (Preparing For Shavuot #2)
Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter
Efrat, Israel
29 Jul 2025
Loving Through Learning (Preparing For Shavuot #1)
Based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter
Efrat, Israel
28 Jul 2025
Preparing for Shavuot with a Broken Heart
The Rizhiner Rebbe reveals a surprising path to Kabbalat HaTorah: not through perfection, but through a broken heart. Rav Shlomo Katz teaches that even if we haven’t prepared the way we hoped, there’s still a way in: by being real about where we are and letting that move us. That honesty is the clearest vessel to receive the Torah.
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