Just as the mourning of the Three Weeks leads to the joyous holiday of Tu B’Av, so too the trialed-filled times of the “Footsteps of Mashiach” leads to the joy of complete Redemption. The Sages of the Talmud warned us long ago that nerves of steel would be needed to bear the birth pains leading to the Mashiach’s arrival, may it be soon. Certainly, the recent social unrest in Israel and seeming lack of unity has everyone worried on both sides of the political spectrum.
Though it may seem that today’s “anarchists” want to divorce themselves completely from Torah, Rabbi Kook teaches that their cultural rebellion is a passing infirmity caused by the trauma of our long exile in Gentile lands. Concerning the early Zionist pioneers who sacrificed to rebuilt the barren Land, he writes:
“Within the inner heart, in its pure and holy chambers, the Israeli flame increases, demanding the strong, brave, constant connection of life to all of the mitzvot of G-d; to pour the spirit of G-d, the full, all-encompassing spirit of Israel that fills all of the vaults of the soul, into all of its many unique vessels, to express the full Israeli expression in its complete practical and idealized form. The sparks flash more brightly in the hearts of the Tzaddikim, the burning of holy fire blazes and rises up; and in the heart of all of the Nation, it continues to burn from the days of yore – ‘A fire will constantly be burnt upon the altar - it shall not be extinguished.’
“And in the hearts of all of the empty ones, and in the hearts of all of the sinners of Israel, the fire burns and blazes in the most inward depths; and in the Nation in its entirety, all of the desire for freedom, and all of the yearning for life, all of the yearning for the life of the Clal and the individual, all of the hope for Redemption, only from the source of this inner spring of life do they flow in order to live Israeli life in its fullest, without contradiction or limitation.
“If it be a wonder in the eyes of all those who stand at a distance, `how is it possible that there will beat the spirit of life with its inner force in all of the spirits which are apparently even far from possessing faith – not only to a general closeness to G-d, but to the true life of Israel, to the framework of the mitzvot in form and idea, in song and in action?' – it will not be wondrous in the eyes of all those who are attached in the depths of their spirit to the depths of Knesset Yisrael and who know of its wondrous treasures” (Orot, Eretz Yisrael, 8).
Rabbi Kook, in his books, public proclamations, lectures, and the many poems which he penned, returned again and again to this theme of renewal and rebirth. Inspired by his teachings, we made a short video based on his powerful parable “The Caged Lion.” You can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbMW_jpVoyU
Enjoy.