Shlomo Katz

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Sep 1, 2024, 5:16 PM

Entering Elul: I’m Not Who I Was

Like many Jews around the world, I’ve felt unprecedented anxiety over the past year. But as we enter a new period in the Jewish calendar, my levels of trepidation have skyrocketed. We’re about to begin the High Holiday cycle...

Feb 12, 2023, 11:17 PM

How do we have the chutzpa to dance tonight?

Addressing our congregation this past Friday night was nearly an impossible task. After asking everyone in shul to please open their hearts, I proceeded by asking the following. "How do we have the chutzpah to sing and dance tonight?" Going from tragedy...

Oct 28, 2021, 7:01 AM

Parshat Chayei Sarah: When the Pain is Too Great

Every Motzei Shabbat, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piaseczna Rebbe, would sit in the Warsaw Ghetto and write down the teaching that he had shared with his community during Seudah Shlishit. In 1939, when the stars came out after...

Oct 21, 2021, 10:43 AM

Parshat Vayeira: For If We Knew, We May Concede

This week’s Parsha contains a mind-blowing story that teaches us what it means to be a human being in a relationship with the Divine. Just days after becoming a Jew, God reveals to Abraham and the three visiting angels...

Oct 14, 2021, 7:17 AM

Parshat Lech Lecha: Now It’s Your Turn

As much as we learn tidbits about Avraham Avinu from different midrashic sources, the Torah itself introduces us to our primary patriarch at the ripe age of 75, when he is told to pack his bags and move out...

Sep 2, 2021, 11:28 AM

Nitzavim: The “All” of You

As we usher in the last Shabbat of the year, take a moment to reflect on all that you have gone through over the last twelve months. Whether it was health concerns, financial stress, loneliness, or endless lockdowns struggling...

Aug 26, 2021, 10:53 AM

Parshat Ki Tavo: Our Parsha’s Crucial Reminder

Amidst these sweaty, stressful last days of summer, I invite you to close your eyes for a minute and try to envision yourself on the last Erev Rosh Hashanah. Remember the thoughts, dreams, prayers, and perspectives that ushered you...

Aug 19, 2021, 10:33 AM

Parshat Ki Teitzei: How Do I Know That I’ve Grown?

Parshat Ki Teitzei contains more mitzvot than any other Parsha in the entire Torah, including many that outline ethical conduct in the face of impossibly challenging situations. These commandments touch on some of the greatest personal and collective trials...

Aug 12, 2021, 7:36 AM

Parshat Shoftim: Directing Judgement to Where it Belongs

The world has danced and cried another year around the sun, and here we are again: in the month of Elul. "ותשובה ותפילה וצדקה מעבירין את רוע הגזרה" “Repentance, prayer, and charity avert the severity of the decree” In just a few...

Aug 5, 2021, 10:57 AM

Parshat Re’eh – The Tzedakah of Letting Go

This week’s Parsha contains the mitzvah of giving tzedakah to a brother or sister in need: "פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת-יָדְךָ" “You shall surely open your hand” (Devarim 15:8) Jewish wisdom teaches us that the holy words of the Torah carry many layers of...

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About Me

Born in New Jersey, while growing up between Los Angeles and Ra'anana. I released a number of albums, and have been blessed to sing some of my melodies throughout the world. Received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at Yeshivat Hamivtar. We live in Efrat, with our precious son and five daughters. Spiritual leader of Beit Knesset Shirat David, in Efrat, where I get to pray and learn with some of my best friends.

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