Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditc

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos—The Last Shabbos of 5785—Rav Shlomo Katz invites us to step out of autopilot and enter Shabbos as something utterly new. From the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching that on this Shabbos Hashem Himself blesses Tishrei—and through it the entire coming year—to the Shem MiShmuel and Avnei Nezer on “אם תשיב משבת רגלך”, we learn how to lay down our hergel (habit) and receive a heart that’s awake today—“היום אם בקולו תשמעו.”

Together we explore:
 • Why each Shabbos is its own world—no “tashlumin next week,” only now.
• Shalom between guf and neshamah—how the candles, Kiddush, and even our eating can rise instead of weigh us down.
• The covered challahs: not a table custom, but a covenant of kavod habriyot—if we guard bread from shame, how much more a fellow Jew.
• Practical avodah for this Shabbos: pause before Kiddush and name one “new” you’re bringing; choose one act of pre-emptive chesed (don’t wait for a shinui tzurah); and let one song or smile lift a soul.

May the Ribbono Shel Olam bless our Tishrei, renew our strength, and grant a year where body and soul, heaven and earth, meet in Shabbos-peace—with חיות, dignity, and new song.

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The Last Shabbos of 5785

In this week’s shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz explores the foundation of Natural vs. Conditional Loving. Every parent begins with an unconditional, unexplainable love—ahavah tiv’it—simply because our child exists. As children grow and reveal talents, quirks, and challenges, a second layer—ahavah mutenet—forms, often shaping how we respond and how they feel loved. The work is to bridge these two, so the deepest, unconditional love never gets buried.

Together we learn:

The long–short path of chinuch: why taking time to explain clearly now creates quicker, gentler reception later.

How unconditional love at birth (you are, therefore I love you) often gets clouded by comparison, correction, and “fixing.”

The shift from ahavah tiv’it (rooted in existence) to ahavah mutenet (shaped by personality and traits).

Why “favorites” and subtle distance creep in, and how to return to the root love beneath them.

A Rosh Hashanah lens: just as the day celebrates the creation of Adam, so too it calls us back to love that flows from existence itself.

Practical takeaways:
Give one no-reason act of kindness to your child this week—just because they are.
Catch yourself when love feels conditional; pause and recall the root, unconditional bond.
Think one positive thought about each child daily; they feel the shift, even before you act.

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Natural vs. Conditional Loving

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos—The Importance of a Real Third Meal—we sing our way into the year with ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה and remember that Torah itself is a song: learning must stay fresh—אסור להזדקן—ever new.

Then we turn to the hidden jewel of Shabbos: Seudah Shlishit, the ne’ilah of every Shabbos. With the Bnei Yissaschar (in the name of R. Menachem Mendel of Rimanov), we learn that at late-afternoon רצון דרצונות the original will to create the world resurfaces—יש מאין energy enters the air. That’s why tefillah there can open gates “beyond nature.” The Chafetz Chaim’s story of a father crying Tehillim at Seudah Shlishit—and the shidduch that birthed the Ketzot HaChoshen—reminds us what one cracked-open heart can draw down.

Practical avodah for this Shabbos Shuvah:
• Make Seudah Shlishit real (wash, sing, Tehillim, a few words of chizuk).
• Guard the עת רצון: start Mincha earlier or plan a later Maariv so you’re not rushing.
• Aim your tefillah from the heart—especially for others and for Klal Yisrael.
• Choose one small “new note” in learning or song so Shabbos ends with חיות.

May the Ribbono Shel Olam let this Seudah Shlishit lift us into a year of revealed mercy—where guf and neshamah, heaven and earth, meet in Shabbos-peace, and miracles above nature become our everyday path.

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The Importance of a Real Third Meal

Join Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David as we step from the awe of Rosh Hashanah into the יום של אמת of Yom Kippur—where the day itself reveals who we’ve been all along. With the Shem MiShmuel and a luminous teaching from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, we learn that on Yom Kippur the מידת האמת shines, the עצם הנשמה is uncovered, and עיצומו של יום מכפר—the core of the day atones. From that place, even על חטא turns future-facing: “That was last year; this year you won’t recognize me.” And with the Radomsker Rebbe’s reading of the Mishnah, we enter the Kodesh HaKodashim carrying one short tefillah of the Kohen Gadol: לא להבהית את ישראל—Hashem, don’t let Your children live in fear.

Practical avodah to take into Yom Kippur:
• Learn 10 quiet minutes before Kol Nidrei on מידת האמת—so the simchah of truth feels familiar, not foreign.
• Reframe על חטא: name one pattern from last year, then write its new, honest opposite for this year.
• Two moments of “eye contact” with Hashem (no words): once after Ashamnu, once before Ne’ilah—let the neshama speak.
• Whisper the Kohen Gadol’s line during Ne’ilah: לא להבהית את ישראל—and include tefillah for our soldiers and the return of all captives.
• Leave with one small kabbalah of emet—a truthful act you can keep the morning after.

May the Ribbono Shel Olam let us meet our truest self this Yom Kippur—חבוקה ודבוקה בך—and write us all into a year where truth dissolves fear, and the light of atonement becomes everyday life.

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What to Take with Me into Yom Kippur

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos — The Shabbos between Yom Kippur and Sukkot — we breathe in the freshness after Ne’ilah and learn how to land with gentleness. 

Join Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David in learning from the Slonimer Rebbe: this Shabbos holds two lights at once— יום השביעי that carries the love and cleansing of Yom Kippur, and תחילה למקראי קודש that calls out the joy of Sukkot. 

From Rav Kook we receive the avodah of these days: to re-educate our return to olam hazeh with קדושה—less סבלנות (gritting teeth) and more הַמתנה (patient waiting as a gift).

Together we explore:
• Why this Shabbos can be the holiest of the year—where YK’s “בני, אל תמאס” meets Succot’s “זמן שמחתנו.”
• How to guard calm—כל מלאכתך עשויה—even while building the sukkah, chasing schach, and lists upon lists.
• A simple practice: welcome Shabbos with one conscious hamtanah—slow Kiddush, a softer niggun, or a whispered “thank You for letting me come back gently.”

May the Ribbono Shel Olam let our bodies be proud of our souls this week, as heaven and earth meet in patience, joy, and Shabbos-peace.

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The Shabbos Between Yom Kippur and Sukkot 5785

R’ Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev and Parshat Bereishit on his Yahrzeit

In this week’s shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz continues our journey in "Know Your Children" toward a deeper parent–child bond—נפשו קשורה בנפשו / kesher nafshi—a two-way soul connection modeled by Yaakov and Binyamin. We review the “personalized funnel” of chinuch for each child and revisit the two loves that start every home—ahavah tiv’it (rooted in existence) and ahavah mutenet (shaped by traits)—then ask: how do we grow beyond one-way love into a shared inner bond without slipping into favoritism, enmeshment, or blurred boundaries?

Together we learn:
- Why every child demands a unique funnel from our heart to theirs—and why it begins with knowing ourselves.
- The limits of one-way love (newborn stage and trait-based affection) and the promise of two-sided connection.
- What “kesher nafshi” isn’t: dependency, replacing clear expectations, or making our child responsible for our feelings.
- How to model kibbud av va’em, set invitations (not ultimatums), and keep the family as the first lab for reciprocal relationships.
- Seeing our children inside Nishmat Kelal Yisrael—love that holds the individual and the bigger picture.

Practical takeaways:
- This week, offer one “invitation without expectation” for connection (walk, note, shared task) tailored to that child’s language of love.
- Before correction, ask: Am I speaking from ahavah tiv’it or from my need to feel loved? Adjust tone accordingly.
- Name and protect boundaries that keep closeness healthy (sleep, devices, respectful speech), so kesher can grow safely.

L’ilui nishmat Batya Feiga bat Yisrael, Levi ben Yosef; for refuah sheleimah of Aliza Chana bat Naomi—tachat sha’arei shamayim.

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Aiming Towards a Kesher Nafshi

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn Reb Usher’s short but piercing letter about the “game” Hashem set into creation: neshamas sent into gufim—so that our way to powers lema’alah min ha’teva (above our nature) actually runs through the body, not around it. We explore free will in real time (not acting on every thought), the danger of turning streaks of self-control into self-worship, and the quiet addiction to feeling like a victim. The avodah is to notice the strength we’re given, trace it back to its Source, and live like a baby held by its mother—safe, nourished, and not compelled by every impulse.

Topics include:
“The game”: souls in bodies—why access to kochos she’me’al hateva is davka through the guf.
Bechira in the moment: thoughts arise constantly; emunah means I don’t have to act on them.
Streaks vs. Source: when discipline becomes ego-service—and how to turn victories into thanksgiving.
The quiet pleasure of sadness: how victimhood removes responsibility—and how to break its spell.
“Like a baby in its mother’s arms”: cultivating felt safety with Hashem to dissolve compulsion.
Reading the paragraph again (and again): training the eye to see that every strength is a gift.
Touching Or HaGanuz—the light of Bereishit—without pretending we’re perfect.
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Accessing Supernatural Powers

In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David enter the niggun of “ה׳ רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר” and ask a very simple, very brave question: am I still wrestling with life, or am I letting the Shepherd lead?

Together we learn that Shalosh Seudos is an עת רצון to be led: to discover what we truly want, to cry for it, and to begin living it now. From the Slonimer and the mefarshim on Tehillim 23, and from the image of ra’aya meheimna (Moshe the “faithful shepherd”), we hear that leaders don’t just inspire. They plant אמונה until following Hashem becomes natural, not forced.

We explore:

Why “Hashem is my Shepherd” is not poetry but a posture: when He’s leading, what am I really lacking?

The animal-market mashal: resisting the pull of the Shepherd bruises us; softening to His guidance brings calm and protection.

Yaakov’s secret—“הָאֱ-לֹקִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי… עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה”: a lifetime of hard chapters without losing the Shepherd-consciousness.

What true ביטול looks like (not becoming “gefilte-fish frum,” but awake, dignified surrender).

Practice for this Shabbos: choose one place you’ve been fighting reality. During Shalosh Seudos, whisper: “Ribono Shel Olam, You are my Shepherd here too.” Then let your next small step follow, not drag.

May we merit to feel guided, guarded, and gently gathered, so our bodies stop bracing, our hearts stop bruising, and Shabbos becomes the pasture of trust.

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Has God Become Your Shepherd Yet?

In this week’s shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz asks the heart-level question: Do I Want to Know My Child’s World?

We deepen last week’s kesher nafshi—a two-way soul-bond—by facing a common gap: many parents are pouring from their world into children living in a different one. Without curiosity and reciprocity, the funnel leaks; with it, chinuch can finally land.

Together we learn:
- Why a mutual bond (ke-mayim ha-panim) is the only stable “funnel” for real chinuch.
- How to enter a child’s dor (generation) with humility—see, listen, learn—before you speak.
- The difference between organic kibbud av va’em and guilt-based demands—and how to keep it gentle.
- Why relying on “passive osmosis” (they’ll just pick it up) isn’t a shittah—we need a conscious method.
- Creation’s order as a model: a spousal kesher of mutuality precedes and teaches the parent–child bond.

Practical takeaways:
- Schedule one curiosity block this week (10–15 min): ask about their music, friends, game, class—no fixing, just “teach me your world.”
- Before giving mussar, ask: Do I have a funnel here? If not, build it first (listen, reflect back, then speak briefly).
- Name one gentle boundary that keeps connection safe (tone, timing, devices), and keep it with consistency and warmth.
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L’ilui nishmat Batya Feiga bat Yisrael; Levi ben Yosef; Avraham Mordechai ben Yosef.
For refuah sheleimah Aliza Chana bat Naomi; Shoshana Yona bat Eidel—תחת שערי שמים.
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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com

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Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditc

Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo