Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook

A Torah of fire

As we begin reading the Torah from Bereishit, we pause to contemplate what the Torah is rooted in.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Yom Kippur: The Holy King

What is the significance of the changes at the end of two blessings in the Silent Prayer during the 10 Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Teshuva and Shalom

Teshuva comes to us through manifestations that can be divided into four eternal, absolute values which appear in a cognizant step-by-step fashion. These values are honor, love, knowledge, and life.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Tavo: Tithing in the proper order

When we rush to address problems before their time, even good intentions can produce harmful results and prevent much good.

Personal and national teshuva

While Rabbi Kook emphasizes that the teshuva of the Jewish People and a return to the Torah go hand-in-hand, he indicates that a preliminary stage of national revival will begin this spiritual awakening.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Teitzei: Drafting Yeshiva students

My father, the Rav HaNazir, and Rav Tzvi Yehudah were of the opinion that everyone is obligated to go out and fight. This was a milhemet mitzvah, a compulsory war, in which all are expected to participate.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Food for thought

Why are we allowed to kill animals for food?

For 3rd of Elul yahrzeit:

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook ZT"L and the Balfour Declaration

Excerpted from the biography “Above the Stream" by Tzvi Fishman,

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Eikev: Two Loves for Eretz Yisrael

One who is closer to the Land of Israel, and demonstrates a greater connection to it, comes first for blessing.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Va'etchanan: Loving God with all your might

What does it mean to love God וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ - "with all your might"?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi on The 3 Weeks:

The three watches of the night

The Sages knew at what hour one could hear heavenly cries: "Woe to My children! On account of their sins, I have destroyed My House and set fire to My sanctuary and exiled them among the nations of the world." (Berakhot 3a)

The Three Weeks:

The call for sacred splendor

The nation may not be ready for the actual rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, we still feel the soul’s yearning for this lofty spiritual splendor.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Pinchas: Atonement for the New Moon

There is a very peculiar Talmudic tradition about the purpose of the new moon sin-offering. For whom does this offering atone?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 145: To Pray "in Truth"

When we pray be'emet, 'in Truth' we aspire to uncover the inner meaning of our existence, the very essence of our lives.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Chukat (Israel)

Total Dedication to Torah

The breadth and depth of knowledge required for true Torah scholarship must come at the expense of pleasures and leisure activities that are acceptable for the general population.

Your letter in the Torah

Tzvi Fishman interviews Rabbi David Samson on the idea that everyone can connect to his letter in the Torah as brought in the thought of Rabbi Kook.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Korach: The corruption of a Judge

Not every leader or judge maintains the standards of integrity that his public office demands.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Shlach: The Third Passage of Shema

Why did the Sages decide to add this particular paragraph about Tzitzit, out of the entire Torah, to the central prayer of Judaism?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Shavuot: Revealing our inner essence

The deeper meaning of "we will do and we will obey.".

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bechukotai: Prophetic Letters

Letters are more than just elements of speech. They are the building blocks of creation.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Pirkei Avot: The crown of a good name

A “good name" is not a record of one’s spiritual and moral achievements.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Kedoshim: Lessons in Tzedakah

The Hebrew word for charity, tzedakah, derives from tzedek, meaning “justice."

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Pirkei Avot: Torah and creative labor

The labor demanded of us is the labor of creation: to give voice to Torah, so that its light may spread and uplift the life of the nation.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 119: King David's nightly schedule

How did King David spend his nights?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Passover

Who is free?

What makes a person truly free?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Tzav: The prohibition of Cheilev

Why does the Torah not require covering the blood after slaughter for cattle, sheep, and goats?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayikra: Maimonides and Korbanot

Why did God command that we bring korbanot (Temple offerings)? What is the purpose of this form of serving God?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Psalm 9: Nations who forget God

The Talmudic Sages' views on Persia.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Tisa: The Luchot's miraculous letters

What did our Sages mean when they said that the Mem and the Samekh in the Luchot stood miraculously?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Tetzaveh: Moses and the priestly garments

These special clothes indicate that the kohanim suffer from a fundamental dissonance.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Teruma: The Tachash and the Erev Rav

What is the significance of this unique animal, the Tachash? How are they like the Erev Rav?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Yitro: Reward and Punishment

How did Moses first present the Torah and its laws to Israel?

Book Review:

Rabbi Kook’s “Shemonah Kevatzim" - now in English

In the book “Eight Journals" Yaacov David Shulman has succeeded in remaining faithful to the Hebrew text while capturing the poetic style of Rabbi Kook’s often intricate prose.

A story about Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Tu B'shvat: Planting a tree in the Land of Israel

“Rabbi," Rabbi Gold asked of Rav Kook, “why were you so deeply moved by the planting of a single tree?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bo: Training for Greatness

It is not enough to free slaves. They must be trained for independence, courage, and aspiration.

Rare footage of one of Jerusalem's most mysterious rabbis

Rare documentary footage from 1971 shows Rabbi David Cohen, the Nazirite Rabbi, one of Rabbi Kook's greatest disciples.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Va'eira: Priceless jewels on tattered clothes

Two special jewels symbolize two special traits of the Jewish people.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Shemot

"I Will Be Who I Will Be"

What do these enigmatic names - ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ and ‘I Will Be’ - mean?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayechi: When great souls err

Much good can result from recalling the punishment for wrongdoing, even if this motivation may appear beneath one’s spiritual stature.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

VaYigash: The reunion of Joseph and Judah

"The Jewish people are crowned with two qualities, Eidut (testimony) and Torah, one seen in Joseph and the other in Judah."

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Mikeitz: Interpreting dreams

The interpreter has a key function in the realization of a dream: his analysis can determine how the dream will come to pass.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

The single light of Hanukkah

Why does the blessing mention one light when we light an ascending number of candles on the holiday?

Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook:

Rallying Call to Eretz Yisrael

My Jewish brethren, come to Eretz Yisrael - here you will know that you are alive, living a life that is worthy of its name, in the land of life.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

VaYishlach: The prohibition of Gid HaNasheh

The prohibition of gid ha-nasheh is meant to project a broad ethical aspiration, beyond the issue of how we should treat animals.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

VaYetzei: The Prayers of the Avot

Each of the three daily prayers has its own special nature.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Toldot: Jacob's hand on Esau's heel

Isaac appreciated Esau’s ability to hunt and dominate the beasts, the trait needed to dominate bestial peoples. Could Yaakov do the same?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Chayei Sarah: The Torah of the Patriarchs

It is the “Patriarchs’ acts of kindness” and their vibrant, natural Torah that will redeem their descendants in the final generation

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi's prescience:

Returning from the Akeidah

Israel's first Chief Rabbi presciently writes about how a return from almost certain death, similar to the return of the living hostages a short while ago, affects a person and the nation.

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?