10. Is This a Milchemet Mitzvah?

Recorded in the midst of painful and urgent questions surrounding war, leadership, and Jewish identity, this shiur dives into one of the deepest Torah concepts of our time: מלחמת מצווה.Drawing from Avraham Avinu, Yehoshua bin Nun, Rav Herzog, Rav Soloveitchik, and Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David explore what it actually means for Jews to fight a war with clarity, holiness, and purpose.Is defending Am Yisrael enough to define a war as holy? Does leadership need to understand why it’s fighting? And what happens when soldiers possess more אמונה than the people commanding them?From October 7th to Yehoshua stopping the sun in Givon, this episode wrestles honestly with the tension between Torah, Zionism, המדינה, and the spiritual destiny of Am Yisrael.----------For more Shuirim and Music from Rav Shlomo Katz, visit: https://ravshlomokatz.comJoin Rav Shlomo Katz's WhatsApp Community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KHKOhhPaeHx5Kb74WL9L9a?mode=ems_copy_tCHAPTERS00:00 Opening Remarks and Chuppah Experience01:00 Why Do We Fight? The Core Question03:05 Defining Milchemet Mitzvah vs. Reshut05:08 Exploring the Traits of the Patriarchs07:13 Joshua’s Conquests and Future Promise11:05 The Mystery of the Sun That Stood Still13:13 October 7th — Was It a Milchemet Mitzvah?21:28 Is the Conflict Considered Milchemet Amalek?24:10 Scope of Milchemet Mitzvah Explained25:32 Rav Herzog and the State of Israel31:10 Kol Dodi Dofek and the Zionist Debate36:40 The Tension Between Torah and State Leadership44:15 Can the Army Become Spiritually Aligned?50:20 The Bottom-Up Generation of Redemption54:00 Final Reflections and Closing Words