45. The Mystery of a Niggun

What is a niggun? Is it just melody or is it the soul itself, whispering where words can’t follow?

In this wondrous teaching, Rav Shlomo Katz opens the Piaseczner Rebbe’s heart as he unveils the mystery of music as avodas Hashem. A niggun is not just sung, it sings you. The moment you stop controlling it and it begins to carry you, the soul cracks open a path to the Heavens. There, in the shattering and soaring, you’re pulled upward. Not because you're worthy, but because you're real.

But this gift is delicate. Holy music reveals the heart—but so can unholy sound. When melody becomes manipulation, it awakens the soul into confusion. This shiur is an invitation to choose music that brings you back to your Source—to learn how to sing like a chassid, like one who knows he's standing before the King.

What is Bnei Machshava Tova?

Diving into the essays by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, in which the establishment of a “conscious community” is promoted and aimed at attaining spiritual growth.

Why is there a need for a “conscious community”? Could the individual not achieve this aim on his own? R. Kalonymus insists that belonging to a chavura is a precondition for self-improvement and chasidic service: “That which can be achieved by the group cannot by any means be achieved by the individual.”

The group is open to anyone seeking to draw close to God – people who have had enough of their mundane, contemptible lives of “lowly spirit”; people who are ready for uncompromising psychological and spiritual exertion.

The shiur was recorded at Shirat David (Efrat,Israel). To learn more about Shirat David and various learning opportunities:
www.shiratdavid.com, [e-mail]