Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Lech Lecha: Father of many nations

Abraham and his revolutionary faith kindled a nascent spark of faith among the nations.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Noach

The beauty of Greece

The Talmud states in Megillah 9b: “May the beauty of Yefeth reside in the tents of Shem.” How can that be?

“Like Father, Like Son”:

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen and Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook

On the book that presents intimate descriptions of two giants of Torah and their teachings, set against the dramatic rebirth of the Land of Israel and the Statehood of Israel in our times.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Breishit: The Torah of Eretz Yisrael

According to Rav Kook, the Torah of Eretz Yisrael is fundamentally different in its method and scope.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Succot: Completing the Days of Awe

Why does this holiday of rejoicing immediately follow the High Holidays?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Ki Tavo

Don't study alone!

To withdraw into solitude, imagining that this leads to closeness with God, is foreign to the Torah’s vision.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Teitze: Rationale for Mitzvot

Should we try to understand the true reasons for the Torah’s commandments?

For his yahrzeit:

The third of Elul: Rabbi Kook's final requests

On the 90th yahrzeit of the Torah luminary who was the great visionary of Religious Zionism and the first chief rabbi of Israel, read about his final moments.

Rav Kook on the Sabbath Amidah Prayer

Unlike the weekday Amidah, which contains nineteen blessings, the Amidah for Shabbat contains only seven. Why?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Eikev: What does G-d want of you?

Most of us know the famous verse asking that question and the answer that follows it. But what does it mean?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 144: No breach in our street

In times of turmoil, we turn to ancient words of hope, to visions of a world where peace is not just a fleeting wish but a lived reality.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vaetchanan: Introducing prayer with praise

How does prayer work?

Personal Growth series:

A timely message from Rabbi Kook

Rav Kook viewed Jewish infighting in Eretz Yisrael as a greater desecration than exile itself. “Let us come to know one another under the inclusive name Yisrael, not by factional or partisan titles,” he implored.

Tisha B'Av and anticipating Redemption

The question צָפִיתָ לַיְּשׁוּעָה? Did you anticipate Redemption? is an important measure of one’s life.

Rav Kook on Pinchas:

Our offerings of bread, fire and fragrance

The meaning of the words describing the korban tamid: offering, bread, fire, and fragrance.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 126: We Were Like Dreamers

By anticipating our national destiny — by dreaming of it, speaking of it, praying for it — we nurture the seed. with the power to help bring it to fruition.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Chukat

Beyond human logic

It is impossible to deduce what God truly wants simply by observing the ways of the world. Our service of God can only be guided by those directives which God explicitly transmitted through His Torah.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Korach: Holiness in the midst of the community

'Genuine holiness is an altruistic striving for good for its own sake, not out of self-interest.'

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Shlach: The sin of Tzelofchad

We should learn from Tzelofchad’s mistake, and stay focused on that which is enduring and eternal, and not confuse the way-station for the final destination.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Beha'alotcha: Great dreams

Dreams, Rav Kook wrote, perform a vital function in the world. Great dreams are the very foundation of the universe.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Naso

The benefits of the Sotah Waters

The Sages debate the exact nature of the positive effect of the Sotah waters.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bamidbar: Flags of love

The Jewish people sought to uncover and emphasize every individual’s personal strengths, and thus chose banners for each tribe, but no banners flew over the central Tent of Meeting.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Behar-Bechukotai: Jubilee - National reconciliation

Why was the formal proclamation of the Jubilee year postponed until Yom Kippur?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Emor: The Omer Controversy

What is the nature of the Jewish people? Is the nation merely the combined contribution of each individual Jew? Or are the Jewish people as a whole a national collective with its own special holiness?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Shmini: Immersion in water

When we immerse ourselves in water, we are forced to recognize our existential estrangement from the physical universe.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Destroy chametz, gain freedom

Why Clear Out Chametz?

Let us go to the Seder together!

Let us recognize that we are children of royalty, a nation whose eternal destiny is freedom, that Israel is neither a servant nor a home-born slave, nor an object of contempt.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayikra: The goal of Temple offerings

The offerings of the Jewish people aspire to a far greater objective that of Noah who also brought offerings to Hashem.

Shabbat Parshat Hachodesh:

The month of transformation and unity

Based on the teachings of Israel's first Chief Rabbi and Founder of Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rav Avraham Yitschak HaCohen Kook zts"l.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Vayakhel

Art and Creation

What is the difference between wisdom, insight, and knowledge? How do they apply both to the Creator of the universe and to the human artist?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Wisdom for the Wise

We need to expand all of the mind’s intellectual capabilities in order to fulfill the rule of “a healthy mind in a healthy body” on a spiritual level.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Tetzave: Raising a Constant Flame

The oil is a metaphor for the human intellect. The mind also needs guidance; not every intellectual pursuit leads to ethical and spiritual growth. And what about the spiritual growth of the nation?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Terumah: Tachash skins in the Tabernacle

Was the tachash, whose hides covered the Tabernacle, a kosher animal? Does it matter?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Mishpatim: Following the majority opinion

Jewish law offers two ways to resolve disputes. The first is through rigorous analysis — and if that fails, a rabbinic majority.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Yitro

Breaking bread with scholars

A scholar’s greatest influence takes place in those spheres where others can best relate to him.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bo: The Special Pesach Offering

Why may the korban pesach only be eaten at the nighttime? And why must it be roasted?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Vaera

Hamotzi - For all times

What is the difference between motzi and ha-motzi?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Shemot: The inner trait of goodness

God gave Moses a sign to prove his authenticity — but a sign which implied displeasure in Moses’ lack of faith in his people. 

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayechi: Fishy Blessings

What kind of blessing is it when Yaakov prays that his grandchildren increase like fish in the land?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayigash: The hazards of leadership

Working for the public good is certainly laudable. However, there are certain hazards inherent in such a path.

Rav Kook Torah:

Hanukkah: The sacred protects itself

Rabbi Kook explains how Knesset Yisrael knows how to join heaven and earth.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayeishev: The special teshuvah of Reuben

After repairing his soul, Reuben returned and looked at the pit.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayishlach: Pillars and sanctuaries

Why does it matter whether the worshippers gather around a pillar outside or pray inside a sanctuary? 

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayeitze: The rivalry between Rachel and Leah

Even in th. Messianic Era, the divide between Rachel and Leah will continue, with two Messianic leaders

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Toldot: Jacob rescued Abraham

There are two different paths of change available to us. f God provided us with two paths, then clearly both are needed, but what are they?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

The message of the scholars of Yavneh

A message of unity and mutual respect came forth from Yavneh at the dark hour of national crisis after the Second Temple's destruction.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Reverence for Sacred Vessels

What is the connection between honoring Torah scrolls and respect for human remains?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Simchat Torah: Israel's triumph of faith

How Rabbi Kook celebrated Simchat Torah.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

The Teshuva of Rosh Hashanah

When we examine the Rosh Hashanah prayers, there is no mention of sin or penitence. How can that be?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Tavo: How to serve G-d with joy

How do we cultivate a sense of joy in our service of God, when we observe mitzvot and study Torah?

In honor of Rav Kook's yahrzeit:

On 3rd of Elul, Rav Kook said: 'Stay in the Land!'

“About half an hour before his death,” Dr. Zondek recalled, “the rabbi took my hand in his...."

Smotrich:

'Rabbi Kook built a whole world around the Torah'

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was among the hundreds who marked 89 years since the passing of Rabbi Kook: "The Rabbi taught that placing the Torah at the center is the key to being leading partners in the state."

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 31: Like a lost vessel

Hunted by his enemies, David, too, felt betrayed and abandoned:

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

The waters of Ein Eitam

Rav Kook explained that there exists a special connection between Ein Eitam and the High Priest’s purification on Yom Kippur.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Eikev: Four blessings after eating

Birkat Hamazon bestows profound spiritual value to our private meals — a prayer that guides us, step by step, to a holier world.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vaetchanan: Prolonging 'Echad'

When saying Shema, why should the word echad be stretched out? And what is the significance of the letters Dalet and Chet?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Tisha B'Av: Seeing Jerusalem in its joy

“The people’s joy in sparks of redemption will rebuild what was destroyed by baseless weeping.” 

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Pinchas: Genuine zealotry

A prayer decrying slanderers and heretics touches upon powerful emotions of hostility and anger, while prayer is intended to be a medium of peace and love.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 19: Elevating life through prayer

“May the words of my mouth... be acceptable” are words of deep significance. Where is the best place to say them in the prayer service?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Chukat: Even in the Hour of Death

Why did the rabbis emphasize Torah study in every situation, even on one’s deathbed?