Shavuot: Preparing for Sinai with Rav Shlomo Katz

Two different explanations from Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev as to why we read Megilat Rut on Shavuot

How did Naomi become Naomi, and what did Rut see in her?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Rav Kook.Efrat, Israel

Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir ShechterEfrat, Israel

Shavuot preparation based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir ShechterEfrat, Israel

Based on the teachings of Reb Yaakov Meir ShechterEfrat, Israel

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.