Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David dive into a letter from Reb Usher that hits a nerve: what happens when you know you’re right… and it still doesn’t bring peace?

Reb Usher takes us beneath the surface of machlokes and into the heart of the matter: the hidden “tzar hatzorer”—that inner dictator that keeps chanting “I’m right, he’s wrong”—and how it slowly disconnects us from the source of life. The surprising avodah here isn’t winning the argument. It’s building a bris ahavah she’einah teluyah b’davar—a covenant of love that isn’t dependent on agreement—until it can actually spark hisnatzetzus Or HaGeulah.

And then comes the most vulnerable turn: the real tefillah of geulah might be only one word—“Ima!” The cry of a soul that’s terrified of one thing בלבד: being cut off from Hashem’s Presence for even a moment.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a “right vs. wrong” loop, this one is for you.

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For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.com
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00:00 Intro
03:24 Covenant of Unconditional Love Explanation
09:02 Reb Asher’s Method: Uniting Diverse Groups
10:55 Digging Deeper Than the Argument
20:42 Consequences of Separating from Friends
22:14 Distraction’s Role in Breaking Unity
23:21 Prayer of the Poor Soul
26:43 Gates of Faith Open Before a Person
28:11 Ultimate Knowledge: Realizing We Never Truly Know
32:36 Cannot Control Others – Prepare a Vessel for Redemption
34:29 Entering the Gates of Faith – Touching Eternity
37:56 Stage Incident and Desire to Retaliate
38:57 Choosing Silence – Walking Off the Stage
46:21 Closing Prayer and Invitation to Shul

This week, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David continue the letter from Reb Usher which deals with one of the most painful questions in real avodas Hashem:

Why do the dirtiest, most damaging thoughts show up precisely in our holiest moments – during davening, on Yom Kippur, when we finally feel like we’re showing up?

Instead of letting those thoughts “prove” that we’re garbage, Reb Usher flips the script. He teaches that these intrusive machshavos are not a verdict on who we are – they’re a wake-up call to who we aren’t without Hashem, and an invitation to deeper bitul and compassion instead of toxic shame and self-loathing.

Rav Shlomo walks us through:

• Why the worst thoughts so often attack us in shul, during Shemoneh Esrei, or in moments of kedusha
• The dangerous lie that “if I’m still thinking this, it must be the real me”
• How Reb Usher reads “don’t let it break you” – let your heart crack open to Hashem, but don’t shatter as a person
• The difference between healthy shiflus and the cycle of shame that actually feeds addiction
• What this all means for a generation raised on TikTok, over-exposure, and impossible expectations
• Why the Ba'al Teshuva has an advantage over someone who is Frum from Birth when these thoughts attack

For anyone who’s ever walked out of davening feeling like, “If people knew what was in my head…”, this shiur is a lifeline. Don’t let damaging thoughts define you. Let them become the place where you discover how deeply Hashem is holding you, every second.

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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

Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn a fierce, grounding letter from Reb Usher Freund: why the most confusing thoughts show up specifically in the holiest moments, and how that’s not a failure but a signal. From the Kohen Gadol’s risk in the Kodesh HaKodashim to David HaMelech’s “beheimos hayisi imach,” we’re taught to stop panicking, return to bitul, and let those thoughts flip into emunah peshutah. Galus HaShechinah isn’t abstract. It’s the ache of not feeling seen - in tefillah, in marriage, in self. The work is to notice, name, and tether the mind back to “Imach,” and to cry over the right things.

Topics include:

• Why “bad thoughts at the wrong time” often mean you’re close to a real aliyah
• Bitul vs. despair: what ayin is and isn’t
• Yom Kippur inside you: more kedushah = more vulnerability = more opportunity
• Galus HaShechinah in everyday life: not being seen, and how to daven from there
• Practical tools to reframe, not repress, and to turn panic into presence

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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