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Overarching Themes in the Thought and Life of Rav Kook concept and translations ravkooktorah.org

Theme #1: The World Strives for Perfection Eyn Ayah – Berachot 7b

Abraham, the Sages noted, was the first person in history to address God as “My Master”

(Gen. 15:8). What makes this event so noteworthy?

We must first understand the essence of the servant-master relationship. The servant

fulfills the wishes of his master by completing the master’s work. The servant is an

extension of his master, his shaliach or agent. When the servant acts, it is as if the master

has acted. Before Abraham, people acknowledged the existence of a Prime Mover, an

infinite Being Who created the universe. But they could not fathom how a truly perfect

Being would be concerned with an imperfect and lowly world such as ours. Why would

God, transcendent beyond all things, be involved in the smallest details of the workings of

the universe?

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They failed to recognize that an integral aspect of creation — its inner core — is that the

universe aspires to perfect itself. This underlying aspiration for perfection and the world’s

gradual moral progression is by plan and purpose; thus Divine providence governs all

moral paths in the world, even the smallest and least significant.

The central conduit for the universe’s pursuit of perfection is mankind’s efforts to elevate

its deeds, traits, and thoughts. We have free will to choose good or evil. And that which

leads us to choose good over evil is God’s will stamped in creation, resulting in the

universe’s inner aspiration to perfection.

By declaring God as his Master, Abraham publicly proclaimed that God governs the world

and desires its moral perfection. God wills that we should be His agents in bringing about

the world’s gradual advancement. As we work toward our own personal spiritual growth,

we promote the work of our Master — the spiritual elevation of the entire universe.

Theme #2: Shifting from Ya’akov to Yisrael

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“The first one came out reddish, hairy all over like a fur coat. They named him Esau. His

brother then came out, his hand grasping Esau’s heel. He named him Jacob.” (Gen. 25:25-26)

The name Esau means ‘made’ or ‘completed'. From day one, Esau was full of strength and

energy. The name Jacob (Ya’akov) refers to the fact that he was holding on to Esau’s heel

(ekev). Later on, Jacob is named a second time; here too, his name refers to his relationship

with his brother Esau. The night before meeting up with Esau, he struggles with a

mysterious stranger. This stranger — according to some, Esau’s guardian angel — informs

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him: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. You have struggled with angels and

men, and you have prevailed” (Gen. 32:29). What is the inner meaning of Jacob’s names?

What is the significance of his grasping on to Esau’s heel? Why does he have two names?

Just as there are both positive and negative forces in the world, so too, every person is a

composite of positive and negative traits. We need these negative forces, however; without

their power and vitality, many goals and aspirations would lack the energy necessary to be

realized. Esau represents the raw, base forces in the world. His reddish complexion

indicated the violent and brutal nature of his personality. Jacob did not prevent Esau from

coming into the world; after all, the world needs Esau and his raw power. Rather, Jacob

held on to Esau’s heel, holding him back. The name Jacob refers to this aspect of restraint,

reining in the fierce forces. Ultimately, however, our goal is not to simply hold back these

negative forces. We aspire to gain control over them and utilize them, like a hydroelectric

dam that harnesses the vast energy of a raging waterfall for the production of electricity.

For example, the Talmud tells us that a person with blood-thirsty tendencies should

become a shochet (ritual slaughterer) or a mohel, thus sublimating his violent nature for

noble purposes. This higher aspiration is represented by Jacob’s second name, Israel, which

comes from the root-word sar, meaning ‘to rule.’ The name Jacob is appropriate when the

Jews are in the Diaspora. There, they serve as a moral conscience to partially restrict the

wild and violent forces in the world. But when redeemed and living in their own land, the

Jewish people are able to attain the higher level of Israel. Then they have the opportunity to

demonstrate how a nation may utilize its material capabilities for constructive and ethical

goals. (Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 58-59. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 68)

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Theme #3: Cherishing the “Tzarot”

“Our Rabbis taught: Who wrote Megillat Ta’anit? Hananiah ben Hezekiah and his colleagues,

who cherished the troubles (tsarot).” (Shabbat 13b)

What an unusual trait for a scholar — “who cherished the troubles"! Who likes troubles?

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What does this mean? Rashi explains that they cherished the miraculous rescue from these

persecutions; they valued the opportunity to express thanks and gratitude to God. But the

literal interpretation of the phrase indicates that these scholars found value in the troubles

themselves.

Rav Kook suggests a bold theory, writing that these difficult events in fact play an

important and positive role in the survival of Israel. Counterintuitively, they have a part in

the Divine providence which watches over the Jewish people, especially during their long

and difficult centuries of dispersion and exile. How do persecutions protect the people of

Israel?

The continued existence of Israel depends on the love and connection that each individual

Jew feels for God, for His Torah in our midst, and for the Jewish people in general. This is an

innate love, flowing from the soul’s natural inclinations, which is substantiated by the

intellectual recognition of how fitting is this love for the entire people, with its Torah and

special national mission.

When the nation is in exile, however, this innate love may wane. Ties to the Jewish people

tend to weaken as individuals find their own path in life. They become fully engaged in

their own personal goals and aspirations, without considering the holy ties binding them to

God’s covenant — a covenant granted to the collective, which reaches the individual

through the collective.

At such times, additional means are needed to bolster the connection of each individual to

the nation. In an earlier age, Divine Providence provided a means to watch over humanity

and its moral obligations. After the sin of Adam and Eve, the distinction between right and

wrong became less obvious, and commitments to family and community less binding.

The punishments meted out after Adam’s sin — “I will greatly increase your anguish and

your pregnancy. With anguish you will give birth to children... You will derive food from [the

land] with anguish all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:16-17) — these were not arbitrary

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punishments. They were meant to protect and strengthen the family unit. By increasing the

difficulty in bringing children into the world and providing for them, they reinforced the

natural love of parents for their children. More invested in their children, fathers and

mothers would be more willing to suffer the burdens of raising children until they become

independent. A similar dynamic is at work with the Jewish people. It was critical that the

connection to Torah, Jewish faith, and the nation of Israel should not be weakened as a

result of dispersion and exile. This is particularly true when we witness many peoples, after

losing their national independence and sovereignty, assimilate within great empires and

disappear from the annals of history.

What will strengthen the natural love of Israel, so that even its lowliest members will

recognize its value, and be willing to undergo the hardships of exile?

This is the function of troubles and persecutions. The challenges met and the dangers

confronted for the sake of observing Torah, for the sake of Jewish faith, or merely for the

sake of Jewish identity — they lead to an awakening of love and connection in the hearts of

the children, throughout the generations. We learn to appreciate the heavy price which the

Jewish national soul has paid for its survival and the survival of its Torah. This very

awareness bestows strength and resolve, a sense of connection and allegiance. With this in

mind, these sages composed Megillat Ta’anit. They recognized the value that knowledge of

these trials and tribulations in our national history would impart for future generations.

“They cherished the troubles.”

(Adapted from Ein Eyah, Shabbat vol. 1 (1:62) on Shabbat 13)

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Theme #4: A United Jerusalem – The Perspective of Talmidei Rav Kook

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Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neriah, a student of Rav Kook and noted author and educator, posed the

following question shortly after the Old City of Jerusalem was liberated in 1967: Why is it

that only now we merited conquering the Old City? Why did our efforts during the 1948

War of Independence fail?

Liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967

The psalmist describes Jerusalem as a “city that was joined together” (122:3). What is this

‘joining’ quality of Jerusalem? The Jerusalem Talmud (Baba Kama 7:7) explains that

Jerusalem “joins each Jew to the other.” Jerusalem is meant to be a focal point of unity and

cohesion for the Jewish people.

The Sages in Zevachim 114b used a peculiar phrase when teaching that the Passover

offering may only be brought in the city of Jerusalem. For this offering, the Talmud explains,

it is necessary that “all of Israel enter through one gate.” This unusual expression of unity —

‘entering through one gate’ - rings with an amazing prophetic resonance.

During the 1948 War of Independence, the Palmach forces broke through Zion Gate, while

the Etzel forces were ready to break through Damascus Gate. At that point in time, we were

divided and disunited. Had we succeeded then in conquering the city, there would have

been arguments about who had captured the city and to whom does she belong. Jerusalem

would have become a cause for conflict and dissension.

But Jerusalem was given to the entire Jewish people. As the Talmud (Yoma 12a) says, the

city was not portioned out to any particular tribe. For this reason, it was only in 1967,

when we approached the Old City united, with one army — and entering through one gate

— that we merited regaining the city. The IDF, an army representing the national unity

government of Israel, and the Jewish people all over the world, entered via Jerusalem’s

Lions Gate and liberated the city.

Interestingly, we find a similar idea when the Jewish people first conquered Jerusalem.

Jerusalem — our holiest city, the eternal home for the Holy Temple — was not conquered

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during Joshua’s conquest of the Eretz Yisrael. Nor was it secured during the time of the

Judges, a period lasting 400 years. Nor did King Saul capture it. Only when the Jewish

people were united under the permanent dynasty of King David was Jerusalem delivered.

The medieval biblical commentator Rabbi David Kimchi noted that the text supports this

idea. Immediately following David’s coronation in Hebron by the elders of Israel, it

emphasizes: “Then David and all of Israel went to Jerusalem” (I Chronicles 11:4).

In a footnote, Rabbi Neriah added a second, political explanation for delaying the liberation

of the Old City until 1967. According to the UN partition plan, Jerusalem was meant to be an

international city under UN auspices. Had Jerusalem been captured in 1948, the newly

formed state would have been forced to bow to pressure from the UN. (During the nineteen

years that the Old City was under Jordanian occupation, for some reason no such pressure

was placed on Jordan.)

In 1967, the situation had changed significantly. The State of Israel was much stronger and

less susceptible to international pressure. The UN was a weaker institution, and it was

difficult to suddenly initiate a diplomatic effort for the internationalization of Jerusalem

after the issue had lain dormant for nineteen years.

(Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe’iyah, pp. 480-482)

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Theme #5: Ahavat Yisrael @ the Core

“Listen to me, my people! I speak to you from my soul, from within my innermost soul. I call out to you from the living connection by which I am bound to all of you, and by which all of you are bound to me. I feel this more deeply than any other feeling: that only you — all of you, all of your souls, throughout all of your generations — you alone are the meaning of my life. In you I live. In the aggregation of all of you, my life has that content that is called ‘life.’ Without you, I have nothing. All hopes, all aspirations, all purpose in life, all that I find inside myself — these are only when I am with you. I need to connect with all of your souls. I must love you with a boundless love....

“Each one of you, each individual soul from the aggregation of all of you, is a great spark, part of the torch of the Light of the universe which enlightens my life. You give meaning to life and work, to Torah and prayer, to song and hope. It is through the conduit of your being that I sense everything and love everything.” (Shemonah Kevatzim 1:163)

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“Do not take revenge nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love

your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Lev. 19:18) Is this mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael realistic?

Is it possible to truly love another person as much as we love ourselves? Rav Kook stressed

the importance of loving the Jewish people. From his teachings we can also glean practical

advice on how to achieve this love. Ahavat Yisrael does not start from the heart, but from the head. In order to truly love the Jewish people and understand their actions — each individual Jew and the nation as a whole — one needs a wisdom that is both insightful and multifaceted. This intellectual inquiry is an important discipline of Torah study (Orot HaKodesh vol. III p. 325). If we call attention to the positive traits of our fellow Jews, we will come to love them with an inner affection. This is not a form of insincere flattery, nor does it mean ‘white-washing’ faults and foibles. But by concentrating on the positive characteristics — and every person has a good side — the negative aspects become insignificant. There is an additional advantage of this method. The Sages cautioned against joining up with wicked people and exposing oneself to their negative influence. But if one is bound to others through their good attributes, then this connection will not damage the purity of one’s soul (Orot HaKodesh vol. III pp. 324, 333). The path of attaining a high level of Ahavat Yisrael is by increasing one’s awareness of the inner connection that binds together all the souls of the Jewish people, throughout all the generations.