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Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook

News and updates about 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? 

Sukkot: Our protective fortress

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.

Light unto the Nations

The call of the Great Shofar

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

The call of the Great Shofar

Nitzavim: Dances of Teshuvah in Poriah

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

Nitzavim: Dances of Teshuvah in Poriah

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? 

Ki Tavo: Remembering to bless God

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".

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

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.

Shoftim: The Wisdom in Civil Law

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.

The Caged Lion – A parable by Rabbi Kook

Va'Etchanan: The Double Shema

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

Va'Etchanan: The Double Shema

Devarim: The Book that Moses wrote

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

Devarim: The Book that Moses wrote

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.

Rabbi Kook and the workers' kitchen during the Nine Days

PInchas: Purely for the sake of heaven

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

PInchas: Purely for the sake of heaven

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.

 Balak: An Eternal People

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.

Where is the Rabbi Kook of our time?

Chukat (Israel): The death of a Tzaddik

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

Chukat (Israel): The death of a Tzaddik

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.

Endless blessing (Korach)

Shlach: Offering wine and flour

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

Shlach: Offering wine and flour

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?

A short prayer for Miriam

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

Shavuot: Connecting to Torah Study

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.'

Psalm 84: Better than a thousand

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.

Rabbi Kook arrives in Jaffa

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.

The incredible wonder of Lag Ba'Omer in Israel

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? 

Emor: Eating before Yom Kippur

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.

Kedoshim: Holiness in physical pleasure

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

Tazria: Shiloh and the Birth-Offerings

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:

Psalms 81: The strange god within us 

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.

Shir HaShirim: The four-fold song

Tzav: The Olah Offering and Prophecy

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

Tzav: The Olah Offering and Prophecy

Will there be animal sacrifices in the Third Temple?

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

Will there be animal sacrifices in the Third Temple?

Psalm 32: The joy of Tzaddikim

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

Psalm 32: The joy of Tzaddikim

Psalm 135: Deliverance from powerful enemies

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

Psalm 135: Deliverance from powerful enemies

Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah

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

Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah 

Yitro: Serving the Community

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

Yitro: Serving the Community

Beshalach: Preparing for Sinai

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

Beshalach: Preparing for Sinai

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.

Bo: Donkey-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.

Psalm 84: Prepare Yourself for Prayer

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?

Uncovering the connection: Bread and 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?

Shemot: Moses' mistake

Vayigash: The Shepherd-Philosopher

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

Vayigash: The Shepherd-Philosopher

Hanukkah: The highest love

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

Hanukkah: The highest love