Inspiration for the Nation with Yaakov Langer
Inspiration for the Nation with Yaakov Langer

Rom Braslavski: Why This Hostage in Gaza for 738 Days is THANKING God For It?!

October 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

"My Soul Is Still in Gaza"

On October 7, 2023, Rom Braslavski was working security at the Nova music festival. He knew the terrain — every rock, every hiding spot — because he had worked the site the day before. When rockets began falling at 6:30 AM, he ran to the DJ booth and cut the music. People laughed at the evacuation order. They were young, drunk, wanting to dance. By 7 AM, AK-47 fire was audible. Rom began moving people toward the forest, taking about 20 with him. Within hours, he was walking through a landscape of dead bodies, burning ambulances, and smoke. He and another hostage, Aitan, tried to move two murdered young women to safety so Hamas fighters could not desecrate them. As they walked back toward the festival grounds, four armed terrorists appeared. The men opened fire with full magazines. Rom felt bullets passing near his head. None hit him or Aitan. "That was the first miracle I saw in my life," he says.

Captivity and the Choice to Remain Jewish

Rom was captured, beaten, handcuffed, and walked to the Gaza border. At one point he broke the plastic cuffs and punched a guard, then hid in bushes. After three minutes of hiding, terrorists found him. A grenade was pressed to his face. He raised his hands and was taken into Gaza.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Trauma & Intrusion** - The episode opens with a raw, visceral clip of Rom describing a bullet passing through his head without hitting him, and the chilling threat from a Hamas leader that October 7th will come again.
  • 2 (01:06) **Episode Introduction & Trigger Warning** - Host Yaakov Langer introduces Rom Braslavski, held for 738 days, and issues a trigger warning for mature content including suicide and murder.
  • 3 (02:08) **Life Before October 7th** - Rom describes his pre-war life as "really, really chill" and happy, working as a soldier and security guard, and states he misses that life deeply.
  • 4 (03:30) **The Morning of October 7th: Cutting the Music** - Rom explains he was a security guard at the Nova festival site the day before. At 6:30 AM, he saw rockets, ran to the DJ booth with his boss, and ordered the music to be cut, thinking the party was simply over.
  • 5 (05:34) **The Hunt Begins: Running for Survival** - As rockets and AK-47 fire intensify, Rom leads about 20 people into the forest, describing the chaos of seeing dead bodies and bullets flying past his ear. He notes that there was "no safe place."
  • 6 (08:21) **The First Miracle: Bullets Miss Him and Aitan** - Rom recounts being spotted by four Hamas terrorists disguised as IDF soldiers. As they ran in zigzags, the terrorists fired a full magazine at them, but miraculously, no bullets hit Rom or his friend Aitan.
  • 7 (10:27) **The Unforgettable Image** - Rom describes the horrific moment he and Aitan found two young women shot from leg to head. He shares the haunting regret of not answering a dead woman's ringing phone, knowing it was her mother calling.

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Show Notes

Rom Braslavski was kidnapped on October 7th and held hostage in Gaza for 738 days. In this powerful conversation, he shares how he found God in a tunnel in Gaza, the miracles he saw with his own eyes, the torture he survived, why he says part of his soul is still there, and the chilling warning Hamas gave him about what is coming next.✬ SPONSORS ✬► PZ Deals: Never Pay Full Price AgainAn epic app that tracks deals for you. Before you buy anything on Amazon, check PZ Deals. AirPods, robot vacuums, LEGO sets, Apple products, luggage, kitchen appliances, toys, baby gear, and everyday household items, all at deep discounts with hidden coupons and price drops.→ Download here: https://app.pz.deals/install/iftn► Touro's Lander College for MenSerious about success and committed to Torah learning? Touro's Lander College for Men / Beis Medrash L'Talmud offers a dual curriculum, a Medical Honors Pathway with New York Medical College, and a Dental Honors Pathway with Touro College of Dental Medicine, plus 20+ majors and a record of placing students at top firms and Fortune 500 companies.→ Join the Open House on November 8: lcm.touro.edu/openhouse→ Choose Excellence. Choose Touro.► Wheels To Lease: #1 Leasing CompanyFrom family cars to commercial vehicles, Wheels To Lease has been helping people find the right car since 1989. Tell them what you need and they'll handle the rest. Tell them Inspiration for the Nation sent you.→ CALL/TEXT: 718-871-8715→ EMAIL: [email protected]→ WEB: https://bit.ly/41lnzYU→ WHATSAPP: https://wa.link/0w46ce► Hiring4LessHire a talented, full-time employee for a fraction of what you're paying today. Hiring4Less connects you with skilled professionals around the world, dedicated team members for customer service, admin, sales, bookkeeping, design, architecture, and operations, starting at around $7 an hour.→ https://www.hiring4less.com► Torat ImechaBring more Torah into your everyday life. Torat Imecha offers learning opportunities for thousands of women through Parsha, Nach Yomi, Haftorah, and daily Halacha, designed to fit your schedule and your stage of life.→ https://go.ou.org/EAhbp✬ FOLLOW ROM ✬► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rom_braslavski► Podcast (The 8 October Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/the_8_october_podcast_► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9D%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%99✬ IN MEMORY OF ✬This episode is in memory of:• Miriam Sarah bas Yaakov Moshe• Shimon Dovid ben Yaakov Shloima• ALL the victims of October 7th

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Lchaim.

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