Israel's first Chief Rabbi had a unique tradition for Purim festivities and his students took part. In the middle of his speech, Rav Kook suddenly stood up and began to sing with great elation, “Do not fear, My servant Jacob! Do not fear, do not fear!”
Rabbi Kook sought to explain how an enlightened, industrialized, and cultured Europe could unleash such destructive barbaric forces that brought the world to a cataclysmic and death-filled war. Nothing has changed.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The structure of the Tabernacle corresponded to the entire universe.
hy should the phrase “Holy to God” be split into two lines?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Walls of iron are different from walls of stone, and each suits a different period of Jewish history.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The Jewish people received two Torahs at Sinai.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The Torah given to Moses by Hashem at Sinai is exactly what he gave the Jewish people.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Not too early, not too late - and why.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why was it necessary to completely drain Egypt of its wealth?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: 'Proceed towards your destination, but do not expect that the path itself will be peaceful and easy.'
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The sword and bow mentioned by Jacob are symbols of much deeper issues.
Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: If a follower should err about a tzaddik and cling to his inner essence, he will also be adhering to his faults.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:The strife among Jacob’s sons centered on two conflicting viewpoints regarding the sanctity of the Jewish people.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Ultimately, how much of our lives and pursuits truly matter?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The struggle between Esau and Jacob is not just a family feud.
Israel's first chief rabbi: Why should fear and apprehension be a sign of sin?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: At times, the soul grows weary of the confines of exact sciences, the limited aspirations of narrow disciplines.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: From Sarah, we inherited the sanctity of deed that develops the unique holiness of the Jewish people.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The depravity of the inhabitants of Sodom was so monstrous that it was beyond all hope of reformation.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:True, our hearts ache, and our pain is immense...but in the end, we will heal...triumph...and defeat our enemies.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: How do persecutions protect the people of Israel?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi asks: Why should such a flimsy structure be a paradigm of protection and safety?
Rabbi Kook on teshuva: To attain teshuva a person must rise above his focus on himself and forge an attachment with the Jewish Nation.
Why did Israel's first Chief Rabbi burst into tears when describing the three kinds of shofars?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: "Guard your pinteleh Yid"- your spark of yiddishkeit.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What is the purpose of all of these blessings the rabbis told us to recite?
In honor of Rav Kook's yahrzeit, today, 3 Elul, a cinematic adaption of his poem "The Struggle".
Israel's first Chieff Rabbi: Monetary law is intrinsically more complicated than criminal law because its goal is rectification.
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.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why isn't saying Shema once daily enough?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What happened to the broken tablets?
The administrators of the Jerusalem branch of the Poel Mizrachi needed to find nourishing meals, especially for the manual laborers.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why does the Torah point out Pinchas’ lineage twice?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The Torah does not extol nationalism for its own sake. When the Jews became a people, they were given a mission.
We need a Rabbi Kook today to reach out to the disillusioned, cynical left and shatter their stereotypes about the religious. Op-ed.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: In what way does the death of tzaddikim atone for the people?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The tribe of Levi was dedicated to fostering spiritual aspirations of the Jewish people, not only Temple tasks.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The Temple service was meant to encompass all aspects of creation.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What determined the length of Moses’ prayers? Why did his own sister merit only a brief, one-line prayer?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:It is axiomatic that the Jewish soul and the Torah are a match made in heaven
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:'The nation as a whole needs God’s house standing...every detail declaring awe and reverence for God.'
Iyar 28, this past Friday, is the date Rabbi Kook arrived in the Land of Israel. Jerusalem was liberated 63 years later on that very date.
Lag Ba’Omer bonfires show us that the inner light of the Torah can never be extinguished in the depths of our Nation’s soul. Op-ed.
Why is there a mitzvah to eat on the day before Yom Kippur? How does this eating count as a day of fasting?
Israel's first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi: There is a joy that is far greater than the sensory pleasures experienced when consuming food.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: True morality cannot sanction a mechanical Temple service, disconnected from the people and their lives
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Strange gods “within you”? The Sages taught that this refers to evil impulses, particularly uncontrolled anger:
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: David’s harp symbolizes the soul’s encounter with God. But there are four different levels of song it played.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: By examining the Olah service, we can gain insight into the prophetic experience.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Compassion for animals should recognize the issue's fundamental morality.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi explains the source of a righteous man's happy feelings.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: It was never easy to be a Jew.
Israel's First Chief Rabbi: In general, does the Torah look favorably on the institution of slavery?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: In what way is the work of a judge like creating the world?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: How were the Mitzvot of Marah a prelude to receiving the Torah?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The impurity of the Jewish people, as with the donkey, was only on the surface, hiding a great inner holiness.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: We cannot make the sudden switch from our mundane activities to earnest prayer without a mental effort.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why do we say "God who brings forth" only on the blessing for bread, as G-d says about the Exodus from Egypt?
Why did Moses doubt God’s plan? How could the “master of all prophets” so gravely misjudge his own people?
Israel's iconic first Chief Rabbi: Our imagination dominates our thought processes.
