Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook

Sukkot: Our protective fortress

Israel's first Chief Rabbi asks: Why should such a flimsy structure be a paradigm of protection and safety?

Light unto the Nations

Rabbi Kook on teshuva: To attain teshuva a person must rise above his focus on himself and forge an attachment with the Jewish Nation.

The call of the Great Shofar

Why did Israel's first Chief Rabbi burst into tears when describing the three kinds of shofars?

Nitzavim: Dances of Teshuvah in Poriah

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: "Guard your pinteleh Yid"- your spark of yiddishkeit.

Ki Tavo: Remembering to bless God

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What is the purpose of all of these blessings the rabbis told us to recite?

Cinematic Premier on Arutz Sheva: The Struggle, by Rabbi Kook

In honor of Rav Kook's yahrzeit, today, 3 Elul, a cinematic adaption of his poem "The Struggle".

Shoftim: The Wisdom in Civil Law

Israel's first Chieff Rabbi: Monetary law is intrinsically more complicated than criminal law because its goal is rectification.

The Caged Lion – A parable by Rabbi Kook

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.

Va'Etchanan: The Double Shema

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why isn't saying Shema once daily enough?

Devarim: The Book that Moses wrote

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What happened to the broken tablets?

Rabbi Kook and the workers' kitchen during the Nine Days

The administrators of the Jerusalem branch of the Poel Mizrachi needed to find nourishing meals, especially for the manual laborers.

PInchas: Purely for the sake of heaven

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why does the Torah point out Pinchas’ lineage twice?

Balak: An Eternal People

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.

Where is the Rabbi Kook of our time?

We need a Rabbi Kook today to reach out to the disillusioned, cynical left and shatter their stereotypes about the religious. Op-ed.

Chukat (Israel): The death of a Tzaddik

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: In what way does the death of tzaddikim atone for the people?

Endless blessing (Korach)

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The tribe of Levi was dedicated to fostering spiritual aspirations of the Jewish people, not only Temple tasks.

Shlach: Offering wine and flour

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The Temple service was meant to encompass all aspects of creation.

A short prayer for Miriam

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What determined the length of Moses’ prayers? Why did his own sister merit only a brief, one-line prayer?

Shavuot: Connecting to Torah Study

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:It is axiomatic that the Jewish soul and the Torah are a match made in heaven

Psalm 84: Better than a thousand

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:'The nation as a whole needs God’s house standing...every detail declaring awe and reverence for God.'

Rabbi Kook arrives in Jaffa

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.

The incredible wonder of Lag Ba'Omer in Israel

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.

Emor: Eating before Yom Kippur

Why is there a mitzvah to eat on the day before Yom Kippur? How does this eating count as a day of fasting?

Kedoshim: Holiness in physical pleasure

Israel's first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi: There is a joy that is far greater than the sensory pleasures experienced when consuming food.

Tazria: Shiloh and the Birth-Offerings

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: True morality cannot sanction a mechanical Temple service, disconnected from the people and their lives

Psalms 81: The strange god within us

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Strange gods “within you”? The Sages taught that this refers to evil impulses, particularly uncontrolled anger:

Shir HaShirim: The four-fold song

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.

Tzav: The Olah Offering and Prophecy

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: By examining the Olah service, we can gain insight into the prophetic experience.

Will there be animal sacrifices in the Third Temple?

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Compassion for animals should recognize the issue's fundamental morality.

Psalm 32: The joy of Tzaddikim

Israel's first Chief Rabbi explains the source of a righteous man's happy feelings.

Psalm 135: Deliverance from powerful enemies

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: It was never easy to be a Jew.

Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah

Israel's First Chief Rabbi: In general, does the Torah look favorably on the institution of slavery?

Yitro: Serving the Community

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: In what way is the work of a judge like creating the world?

Beshalach: Preparing for Sinai

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: How were the Mitzvot of Marah a prelude to receiving the Torah?

Bo: Donkey-Holiness?

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.

Psalm 84: Prepare Yourself for Prayer

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: We cannot make the sudden switch from our mundane activities to earnest prayer without a mental effort.

Uncovering the connection: Bread and the Exodus from Egypt

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?

Shemot: Moses' mistake

Why did Moses doubt God’s plan? How could the “master of all prophets” so gravely misjudge his own people?

Vayigash: The Shepherd-Philosopher

Israel's iconic first Chief Rabbi: Our imagination dominates our thought processes.

Hanukkah: The highest love

Is there something idealistic and holy in loving the Jewish people? Israel's first Chief Rabbi addresses that question.