Yom HaZikaron: Remembering Our Heroes with Rav Shlomo Katz

Recorded on ערב יום הזיכרון, standing in the חלקה הצבאית of כפר עציון,  Rav Shlomo Katz and the chevra of Shirat David reflect on what it means to stand among קדושים who gave everything for עם ישראל. Through the lens of חז״ל, the story of לוליאנוס ופפוס, and the halachic depth of מסירות נפש, a different picture of Yom HaZikaron begins to emerge.This isn’t only a day of grief. It’s a day of gratitude. A day of clarity. And maybe most of all, a day that asks a question we can’t run from:What are we doing with the lives they gave us?----------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 gratitude to the audience02:29 Personal reflections on Yom HaZikaron and pain09:34 Studying Hilchos Milchamah VeShalom – page 47 focus11:51 Gemara about the daughter of the Caesar in Lod13:23 Analyzing the halachic permissibility of their actions17:17 The profound level of Kiddush Hashem in Gan Eden19:40 The Bach’s story about a poor boy at a wedding23:51 Lessons on mesiras nefesh for today’s generation26:53 Milchama Kiyumit: The existential war concept32:57 Blessing the tzaddikim who saved Am Yisrael34:42 Hope for Techiyat HaMetim and the Messianic era

In this powerful conversation, Rav Shlomo Katz sits down with his dear friend Justin Pines for a special episode recorded for JBS Network, in honor of a very challenging upcoming Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut.Together, they explore the sacred transition between Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut — the moment when a nation moves from mourning to renewal, from loss to life. Speaking with warmth and honesty, Rav Shlomo shares his personal experiences from October 7th and beyond, reflecting on what it means to lead, to grieve, and to believe in Am Yisrael during times of heartbreak.Through stories, Torah, and music, he reveals how prayer can become a mirror of the soul, not just a way to reach Heaven, but a way to truly reach ourselves. He reminds us that teshuvah, the act of return, is not only spiritual but also national: a call to come home to our people, our land, and our purpose.

Rav Shlomo Katz asks a piercing question: What am I doing with Yom HaZikaron today?Drawing from the Ben Ish Chai, the Arizal, and the Tanya, he explores the mystical meaning of mesirut nefesh—the willingness to give one’s life for the sanctification of God’s Name. Rav Shlomo reveals how, according to our sages, every soul that falls al kiddush Hashem creates a cosmic tikkun, a reunion between heaven and earth, cleansing the nation and opening the gates of redemption.But he challenges us: if their sacrifice atones for the nation, how are we honoring it? om HaZikaron, he teaches, is not only a national day of mourning. It is a spiritual day of awakening. It’s a time to remember that holiness and heroism are not abstract; they live in our choices, in how we fill the void left behind, and in how we serve Hashem with all our heart, even when it hurts.

On this Yom HaZikaron gathering, Rav Shlomo Katz sits with Rabbi Stewart & Susie Weiss for a raw, heart-open conversation about memory, faith, and the price of coming home. Through song, tears, and stories of their son Ari Weiss z”l, they invite us into the sacred space where private grief becomes the heartbeat of a people.We hear what it means to choose life after loss, to hold fast to emunah when nothing makes sense, and to see Geulah not as a slogan but as a daily posture—loving each other, building in Eretz Yisrael, and begging Hashem to gather us in mercy. 

In this Yom HaZikaron teaching, Rav Shlomo Katz draws from Eim Habanim Smeicha to reveal a profound truth — that teshuvah, the return to God, is incomplete without aliyah, the return home. Through the words of Rav Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel, Rav Shlomo uncovers how the spiritual and physical journeys of return are inseparable: the soul’s longing for its Source mirrors the nation’s longing for its Land.Delivered on Yom HaZikaron, this shiur transforms remembrance into mission, reminding us that the sacrifices made for Eretz Yisrael are not only acts of courage, but of collective teshuvah. Rav Shlomo invites us to see “coming home” not merely as geography, but as destiny — a living teshuvah that unites heaven and earth, spirit and soil, God and His people.

We went up to a mountain filled with holiness, Har Hertzl, and learned from the Noam Elimelech about mesirus nefesh, by the gravesites of 18, 19, 20, 21, and many other year-old soldiers who gave their lives so that we can have the privilege of dwelling in our motherland.

On Yom HaZikaron, Rav Shlomo Katz braids niggun, story, and Torah into a tender meditation on kedusha—holiness as readiness. From the Jerusalem siren that stops a city, to a moving encounter with “Ron,” an Israeli biker-soldier, Rav Shlomo reflects on the unseen holiness of those willing to take a bullet for Am Yisrael, and how that awareness should change how we live, love, and treat one another—every day.