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Each year, on the yahrzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt”l, Rav Shlomo Katz gathers to sing, learn, and remember the light that Reb Shlomo brought into the world.
This collection brings together teachings and stories shared over the years — reflections on the soul of song, the power of love, and the endless invitation to come closer to Hashem through music and heart.
Revisit the melodies, Torah, and spirit of the man who taught us to believe in the holiness of every Jew, and to never stop singing.
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la. Bum bum bum bum. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la profesyonel el 'Ayira, la, yira, yira, yira, yira, yira, la, la, yira, la. קחו עמכם דברים ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, ושובו ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la-da-da, la-yid-a-de-la-he, ta-da-di-la-da, ta-da-da-da-dum. Ta-da-da-la, ai-da-de-da-da-dee, ai-da-de-de-la-de, a-da-la-de-da-lai-da-da. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. קחו עמכם, עמכם דברים, שובו ושובו אל השם. la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum.שלום וברכה, שלום עליכם everyone. Welcome to a really a special, special night that we have. A special opportunity to connect in ways that the world is offering us now, this to connect like this. It used to be that you had to go to a certain somewhere to feel like you're part of something. And today, like ר' שלמה used to say, we don't use the internet because we're able to, and now we're able to connect with people faster. Is that God needs people to connect faster. We're living in an era that God needs us, doesn't need anything, but God would love for us to connect more with each other, faster. So therefore, this is all available to us right now. So sending you a lot of love from here, from אפרת, back in אפרת now. And שלום עליכם to all the חבר'ה from all over the place. This night of חשון, the 16th of חשון, for the last 22 years has played such a pivotal role in so many of our lives. For some of us we've been celebrating, we've been commemorating this night for five years, some of us for 10 years, some of us for 20 years, some of us for literally 22 years. I have so much in my heart to share, so much of so much is going on inside, in my קישקעס. I'm not really quite sure where to begin, but we got to begin somewhere. So like ר' שלמה would always say, I'll just I'll start in the middle. So I'm starting in the middle over here. And I think you could all relate to the following. There was a teaching that ר' שלמה said regarding this past שבת, פרשת לך לך, how do you know what holiness feels like? How do you know if you're amongst holiness? How do you know if you're in the midst of holiness? So he said that you know you're in the midst of holiness when you can't move from where you're at. When you reach a certain place and you literally, it feels so right and so good that you can't, you can't leave that moment. That could happen to you quite often while you're singing a really strong ניגון. You're in it, you can't even think about what the next ניגון is or what you have to be doing next. You're just there, you can't move from that place. And in fact, ר' שלמה explained that that's exactly, I think he said this in the name of the קוצקער רבי, one of the קוצקער רבי's grandchildren. ר' שלמה said that that's exactly how אברהם אבינו knew where ארץ ישראל was, is that every single night, him and his חברה would set up their tents and in the morning, they would put the tents together and continue journeying. But one morning they couldn't move, they couldn't leave. They couldn't leave where they were at. And that's how they knew, this must be the place the מדרש says, this must be the place if I can't leave where I'm at right now. Now I know, I'm sure, that so many of us feel the same way. At a certain point in our lives, there was a certain ניגון, there was a certain story, it was a certain teaching, or anything that we heard from ר' שלמה and we just didn't want to leave that space. We weren't thinking about tomorrow. We weren't thinking about what needs to happen afterwards. We just knew that and even if we were never there before, we felt that this is home and this is a home that feels holy. And this is where my נשמה feels it doesn't want to leave. So, on a very personal note, that world becomes a little bit of a struggle, because you always feel like you have to grow, you have to be in motion. You can't just stay here. You got to, you got to keep on growing, you got to keep on moving. But every now and then comes the 16th of חשוון. And for me, it always feels like just sit down again. Just tune in again. Just remember what it felt like to be so תמים. Remember what it felt like to hear that first ניגון when you weren't trying to figure out what year it was or where it was recorded or all the outside things which are also beautiful things. Just remember, if you were privileged to, what it felt like to not try to move from that spot in the heart that we finally had access to. So we're going to sing some ניגונים, we're going to tell some beautiful stories, learn a little bit too, all in the time that we have right now. But let's just sit back. I feel like I'm on, I'm on the plane right now when they tell you just sit back and relax and you know, we'll take it from here. But, sit back, חברה, deep deep breathing in and out with me, with yourselves. And let's see how much we're, how much we're going to take advantage of this holy communication that we have through all these electronical devices. So, I want to sing for you a ניגון, it's my, one of my father's favorite ניגונים and of ר' שלמה. My father actually sang this at our שבע ברכות. He got the seventh ברכה, and he sang that he, he sang the following ניגון for אשר ברא. But the words are, it's an old ניגון of ר' שלמה. It's one of the most haunting, beautiful ניגונים. I haven't sung it in a long time. So if you know it, please sing with me.האר עיני ואור חיי, ופדני אני, ובכל עת ובכל עת אהיה לך. האר עיני ואור חיי, ופדני אני, ובכל עת ובכל עת אהיה לך. Tu du du du du du du du, du du du du du, di ri ri ri ri ah. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh. Tu du du du du du du du, di ri di ri di ri di, האר עיני ואור חיי. די די די די די די די די די די די די די די די די איי איי איי איי איי האירו עליי ופני אליך וקראנו אליך בכל קוראי אליך. איי איי איי איי איי די די די די די די די די די די די די די די די די איי איי איי די די די די די. דו דו דו דו דו דו דו איי איי די די די די די די די. דו דו דו דו דו דו איי איי איי איי איי די די די די די די די איי איי איי איי איי. די די די די די די די די איי איי איי איי איי. די די די די די די די איי איי איי די די די. די די די די די די די איי איי איי די די די. איי איי איי איי.I'm sure you realized by now that usually when you go to memorials for people that left the world, that after, unfortunately, it's just the nature of it, that after a few years, people, the crowds that show up are much less. It's just the way it is. And it doesn't say anything bad about the person that they come for, whatever it is.But we're witnessing a phenomenon that simply is not changing. It's actually just growing. I can't begin to tell you how many, the countless amounts of events that are taking place right now as we speak, mainly in Israel because the יארצייט is coming in in Israel by now. But the amount of different gatherings that are taking place right now, hundreds, it's not to be believed. As right now we're talking to each other, the web is being, my emails and WhatsApp groups and everything is being filled with stories, pictures, a request to just connect. Now what's crazy is that the vast majority of people that are feeling so connected to this day really are the youngsters that, and I put myself in that category as well, I was only fourteen when רב שלמה passed away. But it's so many kids that somehow miss someone that they never met before. There was an article written in a paper yesterday of a beautiful young singer, Naftali, lives here in ארץ ישראל, young Israeli singer, who wrote a long piece regarding how is it possible to miss someone and love someone that you never knew.And it's so clear that knowing someone physically, obviously, is a great, great privilege and it always has its limitations because it's, you're simply bound to feeling somewhat limited. But when you connect to someone's soul, and your souls just connect, then the connection and its availability, I guess, is limitless. And it goes far beyond whatever we could think of and whatever you could imagine for yourself. And we're witnessing a whole generation now that's so hungry for each story, for each ניגון, for each תורה. It doesn't stop. It only gets deeper and deeper and deeper.So, I feel very, very, I would say, not that it's not being on the level, but I feel that there should be a line of all the people that ever got to spend שבתות with him and ימים טובים and learned with him directly, that they should be broadcasting themselves all over the world right now and hopefully maybe they will. And I see we have a lot of חבר'ה that are with us right now that spent a lot of time with him. And I hope you do. I hope you share everything, share it all out. It all needs to come out. It all needs to be shared. And I I was thinking, what in the world would I like to share? I can't share about any שבת that I had. I can't share about any שיעור that I went to, any learning that I went to. I can't share about any concert that I clearly remember. I remember one image of one of them when I was a little kid in Los Angeles, just a split second in my mind passing by. But what what more could I do? There's this, it's so much not about that. But it's about, in my, again, my humble, humble, humble opinion, it's about the following. We all know, and it's very clear, that just like רב שלמה got up at the הספד for the Lubavitcher רבי, and he got up and he said, and we have this on video, and he said, "You know what the saddest thing is? Everyone knows that there was never, ever, ever a רבי like the רבי, and there will never, ever, ever, ever be a רבי like the רבי." And we all know there will never, ever, there was never, ever anyone like רב שלמה קרליבך and there never, ever will be someone like רב שלמה קרליבך. But what does that have to do with us? Because when you look deep into the teachings of רב שלמה, you realize that possibly what he subconsciously is saying behind every teaching is that there will never, ever, ever be anyone like you, and there was never, ever, ever anyone like you. There was never before anyone like me, and there will never, ever, ever be anyone like me before. And that's profound, and that's overwhelming. And that says, that screams out דרשני. Learn out, what does that mean? What does that mean, that there was never anyone like me? It's almost as if behind every song of רב שלמה, that place that he touches you in such a profound way, in such a deep, deep, intimate place that most people don't know, that place is also screaming out, it's forcing you to have a serious, serious conversation with the רבונו של עולם and develop a real and intimate relationship with God, saying, saying to God, "Okay, so if there was never anyone like me here before and there never, ever will be another person like me here before, Master of the world, can you please let me know a little bit who I am?" רב שלמה would always say that so many of us spend lifetimes never, ever, ever asking that question, either because it doesn't pop up on the surface, it's not something we think about, or that it's something we're completely intimidated and freaked out of asking. Because רב שלמה says, "Can you imagine when you get a glimpse, a little glimpse of who you are? Can you imagine what that is? What does that mean? What would life be like then? You wouldn't be able to ignore anything. You wouldn't be able to ignore that which your נשמה is really asking for, that which you're, you feel your שליחות really is." And so a night like tonight, when we commemorate the passing of רב שלמה, 22 years ago, it's a night to deeply reflect upon that, I feel that point because at a certain point in his life, and he speaks about this in different places, but there was a certain point where he really did ask those questions, "רבונו של עולם, what did you have in mind when you thought of creating me?" And you got to go through so much. You have to, it takes a lot to ask those questions. You just go through so much. Anyone that's been out there on the road, that's out there in the world, knows that this world is absolutely beautiful and absolutely broken. The world is so broken. And the world is so beautiful. But people are not becoming more and more, I would say, at peace with themselves. People are becoming more and more having internal, inner struggles, which, on the one hand, is very sad because you want people to feel peaceful. But like רב שלמה said, on the other hand, it's so beautiful because people לא רוצים להסתפק, they don't want to be satisfied with wherever they were until now. And that's the point, is that that journey of understanding, of figuring out who you are and what God had in mind when he created you, it's a beautiful place to get to, to have those questions, but to then figure that out, you got to go through heaven and hell. You have to go through heaven and hell. And the moments of heaven make it so worth it. And the moments of hell make you want to run away. And perhaps that really is the whole תורה of רבי נחמן of רצוא ושוב of back and forth of that our lives are literally going back and forth dancing in this world, feeling close, feeling far, feeling lovable, feeling hatable, the whole every emotion in the book. That's what each one of his ניגונים bring out. And that's what each one of his stories bring out. So I want to sing one more ניגון. I was asked to sing this ניגון where רב שלמה once said in back of one of his albums, he gave a somewhat of a blessing to people that would listen to him and he said, in each one of my songs, there's a certain tear. Don't wipe away that tear. That tear is my gift to you. So, this is one of his songs that I feel brings out such a tear and yet it also brings out such a smile as well. Very simple song. Those of you who know it, you know that it's only two chords, so sing with me if you know it. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. לה לה לה לה לה לה או. דיי ניי דיי ניי דיי דיי. דיי דיי דיי דיי או. או. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. לה לה לה לה לה לה או. איי איי איי איי איי איי או. איי דיי דיי דיי איי איי. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. איי, איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. די דיי דיי דיי די די איי איי. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי איי איי. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי איי. די די ניי ליי דיי דיי רו רו. לה לה לה לה לה לה או. דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי די דו. וי דה לה לה לה או. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. לה דיי דיי דיי דיי או. דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. דיי דיי דיי דיי או. די דיי דיי דיי די די די רי די. דיי דיי דיי דיי די די איי איי. די דיי דיי דיי דיי די רו רו. טו רו רו רו רו רו רו. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. די די לי לי לי לי די רו איי. די די די די די די די די די רו איי. וי דה לה לה לה לה. איי די ליי לה לה לה לה די די. די די די די די די די די די איי. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי איי. די דה די די די די די. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי איי איי. דיי דה לה לה לה לה לה או. איי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. דיי דיי דיי דיי או. דה דה דה ליי ליי דה ניי דיי דיי. דיי דה לה לה לה לה או. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי. דה לה לה לה לה לה או. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. די דה די דה די דה די דה די דה או. די לה לה לה לה לה די איי. די דה די דה לה לה לה לה או. די לה לה לה לה לה די די או. די דה לה לה לה לה לה או. די דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי דיי או. Over the years I shared with some of you that one of the recordings, I was once listening to, he was asked the most profound question that I think that he was ever asked in an interview. He was asked, Shlomo, he asked him, what would you want written on your מצבה? What would you want written on your tombstone? And he stopped, there was a complete silence. And I was certain that at that moment the recording finished. I was sure that that's what happened. And I was so bummed because finally such a deep and profound question and the tape goes out. But the truth is, the tape didn't finish, it was just that he was taking in that question. And after a few minutes of silence, he basically said, he said, wow, such a deep question. Thank you for asking me such a deep question. Usually people just ask me about my background and what yeshivas I went to. And he stopped and he said, I would probably want written on my tombstone, Here lies brother Shlomo, the son of Rabbi Naftali. A brother who sang with every Jew and non-Jew in the world. A brother who sang to his creator till his last breath. What's freaky is that that's exactly what happened. Everyone knows that Reb Shlomo passed away on the plane, singing, while he was singing. And he was singing a song that he only used to sing on Tisha B'av. In fact, it's not his own ניגון, it's from the סקולענער רבי. And it's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ניגון. And I've never heard of anyone ever kind of prophesying how they're going to pass away, you know, twenty years prior. But that's exactly what happened. So I want to sing with you the song with which he left the world. And when he reached the high point of this song, there are a lot of different versions to this how that exactly happened, but from what we've gathered is that his head went back when they reached the high point of this song and his יארמולקע actually fell off. And the words are חסדי השם כי לא תמנו כי לא כלו רחמיו. That השם's חסד never ceases, never never stops to exist. His רחמים continues, his mercy continues on all of us. And I feel that there's two ways to look at the world. We could look at the world right now and say, where'd you go, God? Where'd you go? But what happens to you is that you realize while you're asking that question, where did you go, that it's such רחמים, it's such mercy from God that he bestowed upon you enough strength and wisdom and love to ask such a question. It's almost like asking that question of where are you, answers your question. It brings you right there. You bring God to the question. חסדי השם כי לא תמנו כי לא כלו רחמיו. Let's find a good key. And please, please, wherever you are, don't worry we can't hear you through the screen, but please sing with me. This is the last ניגון. As he took off on that plane on the runway, before it took off, but as he took off. לעילוי נשמת מורנו, המתוק מכולם, הרב שלמה בן הרב נפתלי ופעסיל, זכותו תגן עלינו ועל כל עם ישראל, אמן. חסדי השם כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו. חסדי השם כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו. הוי, חסדי השם כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו. חסדי השם כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו. חסדי ה׳ כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו. חסדי ה׳ כי לא תמנו, כי לא כלו רחמיו.Wanted to learn with you one very, very short minute of a teaching, which to me, this was not a class he gave, it was a minute of an interview that he gave that was recently discovered online. And I put it down into words. I think that this kind of makes it, it’s just like, I don't know, every year we try to figure out, so what's the mission statement? What are we supposed to be doing? What is it all about? So everyone wants to know what does it mean to be a follower of ר׳ שלמה? What is it, what does it mean, קרליבך? I'm so happy, I'm so thankful that, ברוך ה׳, there's no such thing and there's no such label and that חב״דניקים are sure that ר׳ שלמה was still a ליובאוויטשער, and ברסלברים are sure that he was really a ברסלבר, and he probably was. And obviously, you know, the חברה from לייקווד now would love to say he was one of them, and so on and so forth. But like, you know, it's such a beautiful phenomenon that there's no such thing as who's the next or what is it to be a follower. It changes every second. It's so big and it's so much not about that. But every year we try to focus on one point and to to basically push us a little bit, you know, really push us, to get us, get us further, to make sure that we don't get stuck on just enjoying the ניגונים or even getting stuck on enjoying the תורות, but more on the level of עבודת ה׳, on literally service of God, on a level of actuality. מה אני עושה בעולם? What am I doing in this world? With all the inspiration that I get and with all the good feelings I've received from such a precious soul, what what effect does it have on my life, in the מעשה? Where, where, where is it between me and my wife, between me, my children and I, in my קהילה, with my friends, with my family, with my parents? Where's the עבודה from all the beauty and magic that we've learned and we received from him? So I want to share with you a few sentences that I think are one of the most, to me, puzzling things about him. I always talk about this. More than the highest ניגונים, more than the deep תורות, more than the, you know, miraculous stories, and even more than his, than the love that he had for people or and for nature for that matter, I think that what blows my mind is his ability to sing to ה׳ ten years after Auschwitz. Not just to sing to ה׳, to be so intimately close in his singing, in his praising of God, ten years after the gas chambers, and at the same moment, ask God questions on stage like, if you are the one, the only one, where were you when six million walked through the gas chambers? He was somehow able to constantly be both, being able to sing to a God that was very hard for most religious Jews to… to figure out a way to express that love. And on the other hand, still ask the questions and saying, ריבונו של עולם, איה, where, where are you? Where are you? And further, somehow, some miraculous way, his belief in the world after the six million, it's just, it's unbelievable. It's literally when you say unbelievable, it's like I can't believe, unbelievable, I cannot believe how much he believed in the world after the six million. So I don't have the text in to to present to you. I'm just going to read it off my off my screen right now. But this is what רב שלמה said. He said that most people look at him and say to him, are you crazy? How could משיח come right now? This world is such a sad place to be in. So רב שלמה said the following. And he said, and you could find this online as well. I'm sure many of you know, I've seen this before. To me, this sums up our עבודה because this is one of the hardest things in the world to do. What's this one of the hardest things? He says like this. He says, I have to believe that this world is not so bad. I have to believe that despite what my physical eyes show me and despite what everyone is telling me, I have to believe that deep down inside, the world is pure and holy and is ready for the greatest thing. So outside the text for a second. Those words completely, completely revolutionized, they completely redefine what it means to be a Jew that believes, that believes in God, that believes in the תורה. We always think that being a religious Jew, being an observant Jew, what's the פירוש? What does that mean? It means someone that believes in השם, I do believe in השם, and I believe the תורה is true. That's of course. But it's almost that he's saying that and with that, you have to believe, and this is a hard thing, and you have to work on this. But you have to believe that deep down inside, this world, he says, is pure and holy and is ready for the greatest thing. And I want you to stop for a second and just think about that for a second. How much of our lives, how much of our daily lives are accompanied with the thought that this world is ready for the greatest thing? And then how much of our days are busy, thought spent thinking, oh my God, what have we done here? Or better משיח better come, right? As if this like this is external thing. משיח, he's gonna come and take care of the mess. So here רב שלמה said, he said, what do you mean? When I when I believe משיח could come, I can only say that I believe משיח is gonna come if what? If I truly believe that despite that which I see with my eyes, and despite what the world tells me, despite all of that, I believe this world is holy and pure and is ready for the greatest thing. And then he continues and he says like this. And he said this in the late 60s. And this is where, this is this is our test, you and I today. He says like this, I don't think there was ever a generation that was more aware of it, and our young people are there. They really believe in the world, they really believe in each other, and they really want to make the world God's world, full of peace and love, like make it a little paradise. He believed that's what the young people wanted. So רב שלמה ends off by saying like this, I would say it really isn't so hard to make paradise into paradise. But we are ready to make hell into paradise, which was never done before. I want to say that that line again. This is such a profound statement. It really isn't so hard to make paradise into paradise, meaning, again, this is my, I have no idea if this is what he meant. I'm just I can only say this is what אנוכי הקטן, what I'm receiving from this. When things are beautiful, to wake up to the fact that they're beautiful is not the hardest thing in the world, you just got to become aware. Meaning if if if you're not attuned to holiness and you walk into a בית מדרש that's learning the deepest תורות or singing the greatest ניגונים or you see a family and you're at their שבת table and it's so peaceful and it's loving, that's paradise. So for you to make your own reality into paradise, to connect with what's already happening, that's beautiful. It's not so hard. But he says here, but we're ready to make hell into paradise. We are ready to make hell into paradise. paradise. You know, the world after the six million, there's a sense that of hell exists in this world. And we can't ignore it even though we're 60, 70 years later. It's still there. Maybe it's not in the form of gas chambers, but it's in the form of such abuse with our minds, how our minds are so abused. I don't mean to sound like a media basher right now, חס ושלום. But the way we think we know people is so, has so little to do with what we really know about them. It's just what we're told about people. And that's a hell situation. And here we are, we're saying, he's saying, הלוואי we should be saying this too, we're ready to make hell into paradise. We're ready, we're ready to say, I'm not going to believe that which I'm told about you. I want to get to know you for myself. And I'm sure that we could take a hell world where no one trusts each other and love isn't there and change it into paradise. And he says, that was never done before.It had me thinking, this statement when I when I, those were the kind of video clips that I when I turn it off, I I say to myself, just when you thought you had any idea about what he was about and what he was trying to do in the world, it just comes and humbles the daylights out of you because it it it makes you really, it puts you through the test. It it's just, oh, you you got it. You you're into, you figured this whole thing out. You're into קרליבך, which I I even hearing that statement makes me cringe wherever I travel. Ah, you're into קרליבך, you're into קרליבך. You know, people just think that means, oh, do you know the old מנחה? Right? That's what old, that's what being into קרליבך means, that you know the old מנחה. How about are you willing to have enough guts to love that which you don't know yet? Or are you willing to admit that you don't know everything that you know, but you know that when you do find out about that which you don't know, you'll probably end up loving it.Somehow, somehow, ר' שלמה had guts. He had the most powerful guts to love. I know I'm sounding very much like like all these election stuff going on that went on in the states, חס ושלום, it's not my my intention, my purpose at all. But I know that if we want to, I guess take this day of the 16th of חשוון, it's gonna take a lot of guts as well, and not just fall in love with the character and the ניגונים and the stories. It takes so much to live his תורות. It takes so much. We've been privileged to learn for many years. I'm inviting you all to continue to learn with us. And I'm also personally asking each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart to put a little תפילה in, to put a little prayer tonight, tomorrow, that these teachings that we just learned like right now, that these teachings of his find their way to the hearts and to the eyes of all of עם ישראל and all of the world and all the gates should open to present his תורה to the world in the most כבודיק and holiest way. Because there's no reason in the world that my daughters who are learning about אברהם יצחק ויעקב right now, there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be learning about it from their textbooks in school through the eyes of ר' שלמה. When he, when he brings down the concept of השם and of אברהם, and even of things like even when he talks about בבא מציעא or the רמב"ם or ר' נחמן, everything, you have some kind of a desire to want to see it through those eyes. Those eyes, that heart kept on hearing the words, I love you, from God, beneath every single word of תורה that he learned. Can you imagine if our schools today, our מחנכים, our teachers were capable of giving over to our children the words, I love you, while they're learning the word of God?What would be what would be left? What would we have to do after that? And that's his תורה. That's his תורה, not just I love you, and I believe in you that you could fix your soul and you could figure out what you're doing here in this world. Keep on singing, keep on learning, keep on talking to me, השם is saying. But don't ignore what's happening inside. So I really, really would love if we could all this יארצייט have like some holy group. גבורה, not not גבורה, but it tune into a sense of, oh, it's so much more, it's so much deeper, and it's so much not about whatever I might have thought it wasn't until now. Maybe that was yesterday. But about today, this world, this world is ready for the highest. This world is ready for the highest. הלוואי, friends, that for a few minutes during the 16th of חשוון, we're ready enough to make hell into paradise. So, thank you so much for being here with us. We'll end off with one more ניגון. And I hope and pray that בעזרת השם we'll have many, many more opportunities to continue to grow together, to continue to be real, and to remember that all the things that are important should remain unimportant. And all the things that are important should become more and more important in the זכות of the master of who knew what was important and what wasn't important. Making אידעלעך, making Jews feel loved by God, was of utmost importance by him. Making non-Jews feel loved by Jews was of utmost importance for him. But even much more than that, being able to look in the mirror and from utmost humility say, wow, God's a really cool artist. That would be his gift to all of us this יארצייט.Ta ra rai rai rai rai rai rai rai rai rai rai. Ai ya ra di di di di di. Du ru du ru du ru ru, da da da da la. Ai di di di di. Du nu nu nu nu, da da da da. Ai di di di di. Du nu nu du du du, ai dai dai dai. Ai di di di di. Da ra di ra ra ra di, da ra ra di. Ai di di di di. Da ra di ra ra ra di, da ra ra di. Ai di di di di. Da ra di ra ra ra di, da ra ra di. Ai, du ru ru ru. Da ra di ri da da di, da ra ra di. Ai, di di di di. Ah la la nai di di di di. Oh di da di. Ai la ai la ai. Da ra di, da ra di da ra di. Oi da da da, da da da da da. Ai di di di di. Du nu nu nu nu, ai dai dai dai. Ai di di di di. Di di ai da da da, ai dai dai dai, di di di di. Di di di da du du du du du du. Ai di di di di. Da ra ra di di di di. Oi da da da di. Ai da da da. Da ra di, da ra di da ra di. הוי, לכה דודי לקראת כלה, פני שבת נקבלה. הוי, לכה דודי לקראת כלה, פני שבת נקבלה. שלום everyone. Thank you.