When Memory Becomes Torah: The Story of Chumash HaGiborim
On October 7th, Yehuda Lanzkron watched the news like everyone else – but for him, the grief was layered. He had walked this road before. Twenty-five years of helping bereaved families memorialize their loved ones prepared him for a mission he never wanted but was undeniably called to. Rabbi Aron White spoke with Yehuda to hear the story behind Chumash HaGiborim and the organization bringing it to life.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. An upcoming edition of HaMizrachi will feature Chumash HaGiborim, and we’re honored to share it with our readers. Before we discuss the project itself, tell us a little about your background.
I was born 57 years ago in London. When I was eighteen months old, my parents made Aliyah with two children – myself and my older sister – and we settled in Petach Tikva. In Israel they had eight more children, so altogether we were ten siblings.
Twenty-five years ago our family experienced a tragedy. My youngest brother was killed in a terrorist bombing during the Second Intifada. He was learning in a yeshiva in Kedumim and was on his way there when the attack happened. He was only thirteen years old, just three months after his bar mitzvah.
For me, the way to cope with that loss was through memorial projects. I’m someone who needs to act, to do something. Over the years I organized a number of initiatives in his memory: writing three sifrei Torah, helping establish two synagogues, a beit midrash, and other projects.
About two years after he was killed, I had a dream in which my brother came to me and said: “Yehuda, stop. You’ve done enough for me. Now go and help other bereaved families.” I took that dream very seriously – almost as a mission.
From that point on I began helping other families commemorate their loved ones. Over the last twenty years I’ve worked with close to a hundred bereaved families. Each family wants something different: a sefer Torah, an aron kodesh, a parochet, sometimes a book or a film. To make these projects possible I had to raise funds, and over time I became deeply involved in fundraising for a range of causes – yeshivot, municipalities, and other communal initiatives.
Yehuda Lanzkron (right), Founder and CEO of the Mantzichim Association, with Chaim Meitlis, Chairman of the Association.
How did that work evolve into the organization you lead today?
Everything changed after October 7th. In the first weeks after the attack I was in a very difficult emotional state – it brought back the trauma of losing my brother. A doctor told me I was experiencing post-trauma.
But after about two months, as I began to process what had happened across the country, I realized that what I had been doing as a volunteer needed to become my full-time work. The scale of loss was enormous, and families needed support.
So I established an organization called Mantzichim – Israel Memorial Project. The word mantzichim comes from the Hebrew root for remembrance. Our goal is to help families commemorate their loved ones in meaningful ways.
Our flagship project is called Etz Chaim – the Tree of Life. As someone who has dedicated sifrei Torah in memory of loved ones, I know firsthand how meaningful a sefer Torah can be for a grieving family. But a new scroll today costs around 200,000 shekels – an enormous sum, especially when there are hundreds of bereaved families.
So we developed a different approach. Around the world there are many sifrei Torah that are no longer usable – old or damaged scrolls. We collect them from Israel and from the United States. About 30 to 40 percent can actually be repaired. We restore those scrolls and dedicate them in memory of fallen soldiers. Each restoration costs approximately $20,000. We run joint fundraising campaigns with the families, often with matching donations from supporters in the United States. The soldier’s name appears on the front of the mantle; donors can dedicate the Torah in memory of someone meaningful to them on the back.
Baruch Hashem, the project is growing. In roughly two years we’ve collected 186 damaged Torah scrolls and restored 65 of them.
You also partnered with Mizrachi on a Simchat Torah memorial initiative. Tell us about that.
I had originally planned a project to create special Torah mantles commemorating those killed on October 7th. When I approached Rabbi Danny Mirvis at World Mizrachi, he told me that Rabbi Andrew Shaw in London had already begun something almost identical. We connected immediately, and when we compared our plans the overlap was remarkable. So we joined forces – their team handled the international marketing and distribution, and I designed and manufactured the mantles in Israel.
Together we produced around 700 mantles that were distributed to synagogues around the world for the first Simchat Torah after October 7th.
Yehuda Lanzkron with the Mantels of the Matzichim’s Project in partnership with Mizrachi’s Simchat Torah Project.
How did the idea for Chumash HaGiborim come about?
Like many Israelis, I feel a deep personal connection to the soldiers who defend this country. I served in the army myself, and my son served in the armored corps during this war. He was injured, but baruch Hashem he recovered.
I wanted every soldier who fell to be connected in some way to a Torah project – but I knew that not every family would choose to dedicate a sefer Torah. So together with my son we conceived the idea of Chumash HaGiborim. Each fallen soldier receives a dedicated page within the volume, including a short biography, words of remembrance from the family, and a Torah insight written in that soldier’s honor.
When we began, there were approximately 960 fallen soldiers and members of Israel’s security forces. We contacted every family personally to ask permission to include their loved one – a process that alone took months. In the end, 818 families agreed. Some declined for personal reasons, and we respected that completely.
The project took a full year of work from roughly forty people and required an investment of close to half a million dollars. Each soldier’s page includes a QR code linking to a website with additional information – their story, photographs, and further tributes.
We also asked families whether there was a rabbi or teacher they wanted to write the Torah insight dedicated to their loved one. In many cases a rabbi from the soldier’s yeshiva or community contributed the piece. When families had no specific request, our team of scholars wrote the essays.
Yehuda Lanzkron presenting the Chumash HaGiborim to President Isaac Herzog.
What has the response been since publication?
Extraordinary. People are deeply moved when they see it – because nothing like this has ever been done before. Integrating the memory of fallen soldiers directly within a Chumash is entirely new.
We’ve heard powerful stories from many families. One moment that stayed with me involved Rabbi Tokayer from the Rabbinical Council of America, who visited Israel after his community helped fund a sefer Torah in memory of a soldier. When we visited the soldier’s mother in Jerusalem, she brought out Chumash HaGiborim and showed us her son’s page. She told Rabbi Tokayer that because of the Torah insight written in his memory, she had begun attending synagogue regularly – and had even decided to dedicate a sefer Torah in his honor.
For many families, this book has become the most meaningful memorial of all. Their son is now part of the Torah itself.
Yehuda Lanzkron at the Siyum of writing letters in a Sefer Torah that he wrote in memory of his brother Naftali HY”D.
What message do you hope this project carries to Jewish communities abroad – especially to young people?
In Israel, everyone feels this war personally. Almost every family knows someone who was killed or injured. In communities abroad the connection is naturally more distant – but it’s important to build bridges.
Through this project, schools and communities can learn about these soldiers – their lives, their dreams, their stories. Students can participate in writing letters in a sefer Torah, raise funds for memorial projects, and meet the families of those who fell.
When a young person learns about a real individual – when they see a face, understand a life, and grasp a sacrifice – it creates something that no headline can. A genuine connection to Israel and to the Jewish people.
These soldiers are part of the story of Am Yisrael. Their lives and their sacrifice are woven into the Torah and into the history of our people. This Chumash is not only a memorial. It is a bridge – between Torah and life, between Israel and Jews around the world, between the past and the future of our nation.