Teachings (3)

The land of Israel is not some external entity. It is not merely an external acquisition for the Jewish people. It is not merely a means of uniting the populace. It is not merely a means of strengthening our physical existence. It is not even merely a means of strengthening our spiritual existence. Rather, the land of Israel has an intrinsic meaning. It is connected to the Jewish people with the knot of life. Its very being is suffused with extraordinary qualities. The extraordinary qualities of the land of Israel and the extraordinary qualities of the Jewish people are two halves of a whole.

Eretz Cheifetz I

In the land of Israel, Grow the letters of our soul. There, They reveal illumination. They draw down mighty life From the blaze of life Of the Congregation of Israel.

Eretz Cheifetz, p. 24

We have a great obligation to awaken the ancient love of Zion: a love that is eternal and burns in a flame of holy fire within the hearts of the Jewish people wherever they may be. We must fight with all our strength against any hatred of our holy land—which has begun to affect some of us. With a mighty arm of the spirit and with the eternal holiness of the beloved land, we must destroy the contamination of the spies, a contamination which began to spread at the very point of the possible redemption.

Moadei Harayah, pp. 419-20

Someone once told Rav Kook, "God willing, we will move to the land of Israel." Rav Kook replied, "God is certainly willing. What counts is that you be willing."

Shivchei Harayah, p. 208

We must make it easy for our children to explicitly find in all areas of life the exalted ideals that come from keeping the Torah and its commandments. The Torah should not be "the word of the Lord, law by law, line by line, a little here, a little there" (Isaiah 28:13). The Torah should be a commandment that is all-inclusive and living, established and faithful—that brings the light of life and the halo of glory to each of our children and to the whole of our people.

Ikvei Hatzoan, p. 140

I was a child when I came to the land of Israel in 5683 (1902). At that time, my father brought me before Rav Kook. After speaking with me on Torah topics, Rav Kook told me to visit him a few times a week. On those occasions, he would test me and discuss Torah subjects that he was dealing with. His warm attitude toward me encouraged me greatly and inspired me to learn with great diligence.

In 5685 (1904), Rav Kook returned from his trip to the United States. The street was bustling with the throngs who had come to meet him. I pushed my way through the crowd and came close to his carriage. When Rav Kook noticed me in the crowd, he called to me, "Yishayale, come here!" When I approached the carriage, he pulled me up next to him. He asked how I was doing and how my family was, and he took interest in my learning with every sign of affection and attention.

Rabbi Yishaya Chalamish, Likutei Harayah, p. 398

The Torah is given to Israel as the brightest, broadest, holiest gateway of light—more than the other gateways, which shine with a natural understanding and the spirit of humanity's natural morality. The gateway of Torah will be opened for us; and, through us, for the entire world.

Orot Hatorah 12:5

"Learn Torah for its own sake." Learn for the sake of the Torah. God desires that wisdom be made actual. This wisdom is more desirable and uplifted than we can ever understand. Any lack comes from us. Because we are immersed in a physical body, we cannot recognize [wisdom's] greatness, its strength and uplifted nature. The wisdom of the Torah is the divine revelation that, in accordance with God's will, results from our worship and learning. When we learn Torah, we bring its wisdom from potential to actual—as it relates to our spirit. So when we learn Torah, we literally make it greater.

Orot Hatorah 2:1

The connection of the Torah with the Holy One, blessed be He, is the foundation of the holy service of the unique few. We concern ourselves with Jewish law, with its analysis and details. We know—generally—that all the words of Torah are the paths of God, flowing from the source of supernal life. But still, doesn't a divine longing live within our soul? Doesn't the pleasantness of God pulse within it? Closeness to God is more pleasing to our soul than all pleasures. This is a delicate longing that is felt as well in the heart of life: "My heart and my flesh sing for the living God."

Orot Hatorah, 3:1

A profound recognition of the divine purpose within the Torah, as well as within prophecy and holy inspiration in general, brings our thought to observe their unity. We realize that the Pentateuch encompasses the other writings of the Bible, and that the Pentateuch in its supernal holiness is enveloped within the voice of the living God. As long as our soul lives, we heed and hear this great voice, which penetrates all of the Torah.

Orot Hatorah 4:1

The true tzaddikim, who are supernal, holy beings, in their essence rise beyond all toil and fatigue. They would be satisfied to endure toil and trouble, suffering and difficulty, sacrifice and backbreaking labor, in order to do the will of the living God and King of the world, the Creator of their souls, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Master of all creatures and God of all spirits. But despite their readiness to do so, they are filled with tranquility and peace.

The stream of delights flows constantly in their holy souls. A breath of richness and abundance suffuses their breath, spirit and body, their entire inner being, their bones and flesh. From the midst of the delight of this supernal glory, they take pleasure in a supernal fear and love as they serve God in their spirits' every breath and in the entirety of their lives and movements.

Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 168-69

A person who is connected with love to the totality of existence, desiring its rectification and goodness, is also connected to the wicked and wrongdoers within it. This creates the possibility of damaging the holiness of his pure soul, which desires only holiness and true goodness. Still, the spirit of the tzaddik, who loves all of existence, grows so strongly with love of all creatures, love of humanity, and, in particular, the love of Israel, that nothing repels him—not even the fear that he himself will become spiritually flawed.

Orot Hakodesh III, pp. 319-20

People speak and write without end about what Rav Kook was. But no matter how much they write and speak, no one can reveal what he was, because he transcended anything that one could say of him.

Rabbi Dovid Hacohen (the Nazir), Likutei Harayah, p. 17

Usually, a person who has become famous is treated with awe and respect by those who are far from him and have an exaggerated idea about him. But when they come to know him better, their impression diminishes. They see many things that are understandable and not so wondrous. Everyone has weaknesses and failings. But Rav Kook was different. The more you stood in his presence, the more you saw how he conducted himself, the more you heard him speak, the more did he rise beyond your comprehension. You came to honor and respect him, to roll in the dust of his feet. Before you, you saw the immense phenomenon of a giant, a man with a mind that was encompassing and penetrating, a "good Jew" [a tzaddik] in the full meaning of the word, and a man in his full stature.

Likutei Harayah, p. 17

Rav Kook once wrote, "I write not because I have the strength to write, but because I do not have the strength to remain silent."

Likutei Harayah, p. 43

When Rav Kook became chief rabbi of Jerusalem, members of the extremist circles rose against him and harassed him. But Rav Kook was, in the words of the sages, like those "who are insulted but do not insult, who hear themselves reviled but do not respond." Once, his enemies were especially provocative and insulted him publicly. The city was in an uproar. But Rav Kook, as usual, overlooked the insult and remained silent.

"Rabbi," those close to him asked, "to such a degree?" Rav Kook responded, "I will tell you that in my heart, I know that I am not fit for the rabbinate of Jerusalem. Who am I to sit upon the rabbinical chair in the holy city, most of whose inhabitants are wise men and scholars, the masters of the generation and the pious of the world? I am like a man who puts on shoes that are too big. What does he do? He stuffs them with straw. And thank God, here in Jerusalem we have a good deal of straw. And by its nature, straw is prickly...."

Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 201-02

The succah is a very great joy: to such a degree that it cannot be permanent, but a temporary dwelling. But it stands in one place, because waves of light expressing that joy pour forth. One wave rises and with no interruption descends, and a second, new wave flows, one which is brighter and more joyful. It appears as if it is all one succah. But in truth, at every moment and fraction of a moment, there is literally a new succah. And since the joy is new and the newness is constant, this is "the time of our joy."

Arpelei Torah, quoted in Moadei Harayah, p. 95

Chanukah contains the influence of the most supernal future days. For this reason, the word Chanukah is in the passive form: it is receiving. Chanukah expresses the form of all the lights that must shine within the nation: the light of Torah, the light of prophecy, the light of wisdom, the light of justice, the light of strength, the light of joy, the light of kindness, the light of love, and so forth.

Before we are able to recognize the supernal essence of life, these many lights appear to us separately, as though they are fragmented. But these separations will not last forever. As long as there are such differences in viewpoint, holiness will not gain a basis in the world. The essential blessing is that of peace. And that will exist in the future when everyone has the clear awareness that all the lights, with all their particulars, are really one light.

Olat Harayah, p. 435

We find wondrous abilities in animals that at times astonish us. We can reproduce these only after great and long study. Even then, however, we can only approximate those achievements. What gives these animals their abilities? The lights of the life-force of all species are fragments of a great, supernal soul filled with wisdom and ability, which has been divided into many branches. The glow of this great soul, which contains wondrous wisdom and ability, shines upon each branch in a minute amount—like a drop of water from the sea. Still, because the point comes from the all-encompassing basis of wisdom and an ability that is mighty and exalted, its essential impression can never be eradicated.

Orot Hakodesh I:358

Our Sages have commented on the relationship between the nation of Israel and the other nations: their wisdom, customs and manners. They pointed out two contradictory verses by the prophet Ezekiel. In one verse, he accuses the Jews: "you have acted in accordance with the laws of the nations in your midst." Yet elsewhere he accuses them: "you did not act in accordance with the laws of the nations in your midst." The Sages reconciled these two verses: you did not act like the best but like the most degraded of the gentiles.

The faithful basis of such action is that we carefully guard our spirit and heart. If at times we see something good, an honest way of action, a decree that promulgates civilization amongst the nations, and we take this and bring it into our border, we should remain careful not to allow the spirit of the nations in its entirety enter the content of our inner life. Once the spirit of the nations enters the life of Israel, there is no stopping or withstanding it.

The spirit of Israel must be strong and set in our heart. The Torah, mitzvos and all the holy attributes connected to [the Torah] must be our treasure and strength. In regard to an external and secondary aspect of life, in regard to a present need and a current civilization, we may at times take from every good thing that we find amidst the nations surrounding us. But our spirit within must remain strong and faithful to the God of Israel and His Torah.

Ein Ayah

Hasidism came to celebrate the holiness of character traits, the holiness of faith, a general awareness of the holiness of Israel and its high rank. It came to increase feelings of holiness, which had been slumbering in the heart of nature, by means of increasing appreciation for prayer. It was contested by an opposition deeply concerned that the practical foundation might totter as a result of an intensification of a tendency toward feeling; that the details, which support the totality, not grow blurred by a tendency toward holism; and that the power of imagination—which arouses by means of good, holy and true feelings—not overstep its bounds.

These two forces engaged one another, each one intending to foster the goodness that it saw in the other, but according to its own unique character.

Eder Hayakar, p. 25

There is a love that matures refined souls and prepares them to perceive a most refined and elevated ethics. This is a noble feeling that contains holiness, beauty and glory. Although humanity yearns for this, it cannot yet know it in its essential purity, freshness and natural state. This exalted song and holiness can be expressed only when accompanied in a complete and perfected manner by all aspects of life: physical, ethical and intellectual.

Eder Hayakar, p. 28

The letter Alef awakens within us the thought of beginning, of the primal genesis. We gaze on its greatness and we are astounded at the preciousness of its vision. It speaks to us, speaking forever: to pay heed, to learn, to instruct. The Aramaic for "learning" is "ulpan"—a word built from "alef." The soul knows that whatever comes through learning is not original. What is original is the inner thought that is not expressed. That will surely be the inheritance of the world on the day "when a man will no longer teach his brother nor his comrade to know God, for all shall know Him, from the smallest to the greatest."

Rosh Milin

The letter beit means "house." Once there is an existence of content, of initial form, it is "the glory of a man to sit in the house." For the forms coming into being, for the multitude of strength streaming forth, we must prepare a container: a beit kibul. This [comprises] a roof and seal that ensure that the light will not appear in its abstract form. These are antecedents of the material that will be built, the container that will be established, which will have character and utility.

Rosh Milin

All holy thoughts and elevated knowledges sprout on the breadth of the field that God has blessed. And behold there rise constantly at every time and every hour, at every minute and at all intervals of a minute: new and wondrous plants, shoots and blossoms, as there rises constantly the influence of life to our eyes, and the influence of existence in general—all from the flow of the supernal intelligence.

It is impossible for Jewish literature to succeed without the sanctification of the souls of the authors. You must toil to purify your character, your acts and ideas—until your inner world is filled with light and you feel within a intimate completion, while still concerned to perfect all that is wanting, so that you may be filled with humility blended with power, with a tranquil spirit blended with a strong arousal for imparting goodness and wisdom to yourself, and to be filled with an exalted desire to stand at the heights of purity and supernal holiness.

If we desire Jewish literature to live, we must go on that holy path, proceeding from holiness to literature. "There shall be a level path, and it will be called the path of holiness...and they will proceed, redeemed" (Isaiah 35).

Orot Hatechiyah, 36

If the new science will boast that it has been liberated from theology, it must know that theology has been correspondingly liberated from science, which had bound it in human chains. Indeed, a new name shall be given to the supernal state: not a name that human beings will fashion but a new name that the mouth of God shall designate. The theology that is liberated from the chains of science is prophecy, the unique property of Israel, which will speedily be revealed to us.

Arpelei Torah, p. 40

When we learn in holiness, our will and wisdom together grow more refined. A divine glow emerges from our soul's intrinsic source, filling all its being. Spiritual life courses to our soul's extremities, like blood coursing to the extremities of the body. On the other hand, all secular learning, in whatever discipline it may be, merely enlivens the particular topic it is dealing with. From a quantitative point of view, this is the elemental difference between the holy and the secular. In addition, there is a qualitative difference between the two, which is on a much more elevated, indeed, an incomparable, plane.

Orot Hatorah 6:1