Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore the hidden depth of Zot Chanukah through a striking Belzer custom: singing Mizmor L’Todah specifically on the final night of Chanukah. Why does gratitude wait until now? Why wasn’t it possible earlier?

We uncover a powerful idea: for the first seven days of Chanukah, Am Yisrael was still unable to fully say “thank you.” They were impure, the Mizbeach wasn’t ready, the Beit HaMikdash itself wasn’t yet fit for korbanot. Everything was preparation.

Only on Zot Chanukah, when the Mizbeach was finally completed and Klal Yisrael became pure, could everyone bring a Korban Todah. Thousands of pent-up thank-yous, from years of waiting, finally poured out in one day. Zot Chanukah became a national Yom Tov of gratitude.

This teaching reframes the avodah of today:

Not waiting for a perfect ending to say thank you. Not postponing gratitude until the picture is complete. Learning to give thanks as soon as it becomes possible.

Zot Chanukah isn’t closure. It’s commitment. It’s the beginning of a year lived with awareness, humility, and gratitude.

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In this shiur, Rav Shlomo Katz and the women of Shirat David learn a short but powerful piece from Rav Ginsburgh that flips the way we think about the “two miracles” of Chanukah: the military victory and the miracle of the oil. Both are above nature, but they’re not the same kind of miracle.

The war was loud, dramatic, “split-the-sea” miraculous — and it came after Yidden cried out from below: Ribbono Shel Olam, save us. But the miracle of the oil is the opposite: it’s a miracle that, halachically speaking, wasn’t even necessary (tumah hutrah b’tzibbur). Hashem did it anyway,  not because we demanded it, but because He chose to come close and say, “I’m here.”

We explore the difference between miracles that break nature and miracles that quietly merge the supernatural into the natural — “התמזגות שקטה… שרק ניכרת בעיני המתבונן.” And we take it into real life: relationships, healing, growth, chinuch, the subtle turn of a child’s heart — the kind of “oil miracle” you only see if you slow down enough to look.

And then Rav Ginsburgh lands it with a stunning remez: Chanukah is not only Chanu kaf-hei (we “rested” from war on the 25th) — it’s also Chana kaf-vav: Hashem (26) “parks” with us… without being invited, just to show His chibah, His delight in His people.

This is Chanukah prep as a way of living: not waiting only for the loud salvations, but becoming a person of hisbonenus who can see the miracle of the oil inside your own life.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com

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The Menorah of the Mikdash shone in a time of shleimut – when the Shechinah was revealed, when life in Am Yisrael was “hakol sababa,” full and bright. Seven branches, lit in broad daylight, from inside the Beit HaMikdash outwards – a light of harmony, order, and holy routine.

Chanukah light is born somewhere else entirely. It comes out of war on the Jewish soul, from thick darkness, from galut that still hasn’t ended. One small candle at the doorway, after night has already fallen, insisting on shining.

In this shiur we learn how Ner Chanukah reveals the eitan sheba’neshama – the indestructible point inside every Jew that often only wakes up when something is missing, when the heart is breaking. Together we explore why our generation is so deeply connected to Chanukah light, how “seven” (Beit HaMikdash) becomes “eight” (me’al ha’teva), why the oil of Chanukah is the sod of Torah the Baal Shem Tov wanted to bring to every Jew, and how a single “lonely candle” at your doorway can become the beginning of vayehi boker – a new morning of geulah.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com

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In this shiur full of heart, music, memory, and truth, Rav Shlomo Katz takes us into the light of Chanukah, the soul of Shabbos, and the cry of the Jew who just wants to break free. We journey from ancient Greek philosophy to modern academia, from Rabbi Mordechai Singer z”l in Vietnam to the cries of tzaddikim by the candles.

At the center is a single plea: “Please, Hashem… unshackle me.”

In this Shiur:

• The danger of overthinking in the face of emunah
• The exile of “Yavan” inside our own minds
• How humility, not intellect, is the real path to truth
• Why crying out is more powerful than figuring it all out

Rav Shlomo Katz opens a window into the soul of Matisyahu and his sons — not at the moment of military triumph, but as they stood in the newly reclaimed Beit HaMikdash, weeping. Two of their children had died in the war. And now, at the peak of victory, they turned to Heaven with a trembling plea:

“Hashem, please show us it wasn’t for nothing.”

This shiur is for anyone who’s ever made a bold move, sacrificed for truth, fought for holiness — and then, when the dust settled, wondered: Was it worth it?

Rav Shlomo Katz invites us into a raw, real, and radiant journey through parenting, faith, and the meaning of light. Using the song “HaYeledim HaEilu” by Chanan Ben Ari as a living text, Rav Shlomo explores how the mitzvah of Neirot Chanukah — lights that we’re not allowed to use, only to look at — teaches us how to see our children.

If you’ve ever wondered: “Am I enough for my child?”, this episode will answer: If Hashem gave them to you, He believes in you — now believe in yourself.

In this Shiur:

• Letting go of control — and replacing it with presence
• Trusting that your child’s smile holds the key to how to raise them
• The terrifying and holy moment of sending a child out into the world
• Why just looking at them with pride might be the greatest chinuch of all

Woodmere, NY
Erev Chanukah
December, 2022

December, 2016
Efrat, Israel

Based on the Chernobler Rebbe and Rav Raz Hartman, we learned the depths of the second bracha we say on the candles.

An in-depth learning of the second teaching from the second volume of Likutei Moharan, where Rebbe Nachman takes on a journey through the days of Chanukah to delight in the world, to learning halacha, to the flow of blood, to childbirth, and much more.

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In this luminous teaching from Likutey Moharan (Tinyana 2), Rebbe Nachman reveals that the essence of Olam Haba is simply this: gratitude. To thank, to praise, and to deeply recognize Hashem — that's the truest delight there is. And that’s why Chanukah, more than anything else, is about hoda’ah — giving thanks.

These eight days aren’t just about light. They’re about seeing Hashem in the dark, and letting your heart say, “Thank You” — even when it’s hard.

And the light doesn’t stop there. Reb Nosson of Breslov teaches that even when you're in the middle of confusion and pressure, you can grab onto just a drop of expansiveness — and in that moment, begin to feel Hashem’s kindness. Or at the very least, believe that it’s there. Believe that He’s good. Because He is.

In this episode we’ll explore:

• Why the korban todah (Thanksgiving offering) never gets nullified — even in the future
• How learning halachah connects us to the deepest joy of existence
• The holy advice of Rav Nosson: how to feel Hashem’s love even in your tightest places

Chanukah isn’t just a remembrance. It’s a rehearsal for eternity.
And eternity is filled with thanks.

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