Listen "Why Isn’t the Mitzvah of Having Children on the Woman?"
Episode Synopsis
Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David learn from the Biala Rebbe’s Zechut Nashim Tzidkaniyot: what is the ma’alah of a Jewish mother, and why is the mitzvah of pru u’rvu placed on men rather than women?
Through the words of Devorah HaNeviah—“ad shekamti Devorah, shekamti em b’Yisrael”—we discover that a mother’s greatness is not defined by obligation but by being the ma’amidah, the one who holds up the home and sustains the future of Am Yisrael. Chazal teach that davar ha’ma’amid is considered like the mitzvah itself: just as Zevulun upholds Issachar’s Torah, so too every mother upholds the Torah of her children.
The Biala Rebbe reveals that such constant mesirut nefesh—pregnancy, birth, raising children, pouring heart and soul day and night—can never come from tzivui alone. It must flow from ratzon, the innermost will, the same root that fuels women’s tefillah and faith that redeemed us from Mitzrayim and continues to carry our people above nature.
What you’ll hear:
Why pru u’rvu rests on men halachically, but lives through women spiritually
How Devorah HaNeviah defined leadership as “being a mother in Israel”
The halachic principle of davar ha’ma’amid applied to the Jewish home
Why children are not just “a mitzvah,” but new paths of avodat Hashem
How women’s ratzon and tefillah sustain Torah itself across generations
----------
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
Through the words of Devorah HaNeviah—“ad shekamti Devorah, shekamti em b’Yisrael”—we discover that a mother’s greatness is not defined by obligation but by being the ma’amidah, the one who holds up the home and sustains the future of Am Yisrael. Chazal teach that davar ha’ma’amid is considered like the mitzvah itself: just as Zevulun upholds Issachar’s Torah, so too every mother upholds the Torah of her children.
The Biala Rebbe reveals that such constant mesirut nefesh—pregnancy, birth, raising children, pouring heart and soul day and night—can never come from tzivui alone. It must flow from ratzon, the innermost will, the same root that fuels women’s tefillah and faith that redeemed us from Mitzrayim and continues to carry our people above nature.
What you’ll hear:
Why pru u’rvu rests on men halachically, but lives through women spiritually
How Devorah HaNeviah defined leadership as “being a mother in Israel”
The halachic principle of davar ha’ma’amid applied to the Jewish home
Why children are not just “a mitzvah,” but new paths of avodat Hashem
How women’s ratzon and tefillah sustain Torah itself across generations
----------
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
More episodes of the podcast Rav Shlomo Katz
Do I Want to Know My Child’s World?
26/10/2025
Has God Become Your Shepherd Yet?
24/10/2025
Accessing Supernatural Powers
20/10/2025
Aiming Towards a Kesher Nafshi
19/10/2025
What to Take with Me into Yom Kippur
28/09/2025
The Importance of a Real Third Meal
26/09/2025
Natural vs. Conditional Loving
21/09/2025
The Last Shabbos of 5785
19/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.