The "Good Old Days" Are Irrelevant | Shabbos Hachodesh

In this Hachana L’Shabbos for Parshas Hachodesh, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David open up one of the deepest avodos of this season: hischadshus—not changing into someone else, but renewing yourself exactly from where you are right now.

Drawing from the Chiddushei Harim, the Beis Avraham of Slonim, Reb Nosson, and Rebbe Nachman, this shiur is a call to stop waiting for the “right time,” the “better version” of yourself, or the return of the so-called “good old days.” The mitzvah of Hachodesh hazeh lachem was given דווקא in Mitzrayim to teach us that renewal begins in the mud, in the constriction, in the place where a person feels most stuck.

Rav Shlomo explores the danger of becoming a matzevah—a fixed monument to your old self—and the holiness of small acts of mesirus nefesh that open the gates to real growth.

From the symbolism of fish scales swimming against the current, to the challenge of not letting yesterday enslave today, this is a powerful preparation for entering Shabbos Hachodesh with courage, honesty, and hope.

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening encouragement for Shabbat preparation
01:44 Yahrtzeit reminder and linking to Chiddushei Harim
04:45 Renewal is in our hands – Chiddushei Harim quote
15:00 Reb Nosson on grabbing moments for spiritual growth
19:16 Small actions as the catalyst for true hischadshus
23:58 Aliyah as a Matzevah: Growing Beyond Past Selves
24:59 Finding the Middle Path Between Matzevah and Asherah
27:59 Avoiding the Mask: Don't Create a God of Yourself
29:48 Fish Scales as Symbols of Purity Against the Current
32:34 Rethinking Prime Years: Beyond Shana Aleph
35:54 Seizing the Moment for Mesirus Nefesh