Rabbi David Samson

As Hanukkah approaches:

A vote for Judah the Maccabee

“Peace will prevail in the future,” Rabbi Kook concludes, “when people come to recognize clearly that all of the different, individual lights are truly one single light." And who would lead them?

Guess who's coming for [Thanksgiving] dinner?

Jews who are invited to the homes of non-Jewish acquaintances for a Thanksgiving meal should keep the Purim story in mind. Yes, it's your life, but the Torah includes the rules on how to live it.

Parents against aliya?

It's your life

Parents cannot prevent their child from performing a mitzvah, whether it be learning Torah, marrying, praying, or moving to Israel.

Tzvi Fishman interview:

Jewish Meditation

Rabbi David Samson: "Just as a person can’t pick up a scalpel and become a brain surgeon without years of preparation, a person cannot become a Jewish Meditator without first meeting all of the entrance requirements."

Parashat Lech Lecha:

Mashiach is waiting for you - where are you?

HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook told visiting students from the Diaspora that the command “Lech lecha” is as imperative today as when it was first spoken to Avraham:

Parashat Breishit:

Restart Nation

The point of a Jew's yearly restart is not to wallow in feelings of guilt but to convert inner accusation into constructive return and renewal.

Teshuva workshop:

A call to higher vision

May you ascend, step by step, from one level of Teshuva to the next.

Teshuva Workshop

Only in our connection to the light of the national soul can we begin to examine our own lives and our connection to Hashem.

For the month of Elul:

National teshuva

People who seek God without anchoring themselves to His people are lost at sea. The way home is through the nation, through its covenant, its language, its pain, and its resilience.

Rosh Chodesh Elul:

Happy Elul - Happy Teshuva!

A new way to approach Teshuva through Rabbi Kook's original teachings guiding us on the path to achieve it.

The good Land

This Sin of the Spies continues today on the part of people who spend their days criticizing Israel all over the media. “This is no good, and that’s no good, and this is immoral, and that is unjust, and this is like the Nazis, and that is Messianic, and this is leading the country to destruction…” ad infinitum.

On his yahrzeit:

The Holy Arizal

The teachings of the Arizal are considered on the same level as the Zohar. The great halakhic codifier, the “Magen Avraham,” takes the Arizal’s personal customs as legally binding precedents.

'Why is the Land lost?'

The question asked in Jeremiah is answered "Because they have forsaken my Torah" - what does that mean? Didn't they study Torah before the destruction of the Temples? Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda explains.

The pathway to Hashem and the chain of transmission

A talk with Rabbi David Samson about his new English series of commentaries on the meditative path of the Kabbalist Rabbi Avraham Abulafia. "It’s as if Rav Kook bequeathed to us the map of the territory, and Rabbi Abulafia handed me the compass and walking stick."

Our Rabbi on Yom Haatzmaut

A heartbroken cry in 1947 becomes a clarion call and prophecy in 1967, as HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook rejoices over the State of Israel even though it is not perfect. And on each Yom HaAtzmaut he danced with great joy.

The Song of the Sea in Jerusalem:

The 7th night of Pesach with Rabbi Charlap (1882-1951)

Rabbi Charlap: “If I had to name the worst disaster that could befall me it would be to leave the Land of Israel for Chutz L’Aretz."

Can Gedolim err?

The Sages of the Great Sanhedrin were the leading Rabbis of the time, yet the Torah defines a situation where even they can make an error of judgment.

Everyone must join in the battle

The Land of Israel belongs to all of the Jewish People. Not only all the Jews living in Israel must rise up to defend it.All of us are called upon to take part.

Educating youth today - A conversation with Rabbi David Samson

The infinite availability of information and the complexity of spiritual questions require deep and creative thinking from parents and educators.

Purim:

A time of brotherly love, no exceptions

The holiday of Purim encompassing the miracle, the salvation, happiness, the Diaspora, Eretz Yisrael, the Jerusalem Temple and more....

For Tu B'shvat:

Happy New Year of the trees!

About the holiday of Tu BiShvat and the special connection of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel.

Hanukkah this year has a very special meaning

Of course, Aliyah is the only answer, but while the Rabbis I met are aware of the instability of continued Diaspora existence, in my opinion, a lingering spirit of denial prevents them from seeing how immediate the danger is.

Rabbi Kook on Teshuva: The path to happiness

“There is another type of T’shuva, not the penitence over specific sins, but a T’shuva aroused by a vague inner anxiety."

Teshuva:

A powerful body and a powerful soul

In the generation of National Revival, as the revitalized Jewish Nation returns to its Homeland, a new type of religious Jew must appear to take up the challenge, wrote Rabbi Kook.

Can Gedolim err?

When the Rebbe of Belz came on aliyah, he said, ‘We realize now that we erred in our estrangement from Eretz Yisrael.’

The father of the "Settlement Movement"

To commemorate the yahrtzeit of HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook on Purim Katan, an interview with Rabbi David Samson, one of Rav Tzvi Yehuda’s longtime students.

Birthpangs of Mashiach

Where is the Redemption in all this?

The danger of living in Israel - a question to the Chofetz Chaim

“Is it permissible to travel to Israel, to stay in Israel in a time of danger?” The Chafetz Chaim, too, was asked.that question.

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.

May it come soon - an answer to a child's question

Why do we need a Holy Temple, asks a youngster. This short film provides an answer.

Rabbi Samson Says

A new video project and a dinner in his honor gives Arutz Sheva the opportunity to ask a visionary educator questions that concern parents.

Killing terrorists for a better world

Rabbi Kook loved man but hated evil. In his thought, the IDF's recent achievements against terror have significance far beyond Gaza..

In defense of the Rambam

People say there is no mitzvah to make Aliya today, since the Rambam did not include it on his list of mitzahs.They need to delve deeper.

Youth at risk: Bridge over troubled waters

If a young person fights with his or her parents and becomes estranged from them, it has a direct influence on happiness and success.Op-ed.

The Land of Prophecy

if we had a Geiger counter to measure the Divine Presence, in Israel it would crackle loudly, while outside Israel it would hardly be heard.

Prophecy and Divine Inspiration today: Visualization

The Talmud says a person should envision that the master of what he is learning stands before him. Rav Soloveitchik describes doing so.

Prophecy and Divine Inspiration today

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simply talk to God, ask God Himself why the sky is blue or why bad things happen to good people?

The goal of teshuva - Jerusalem

Rabbi Kook writes that the rebirth of the Jewish nation in Eretz Yisrael is the foundation for the ultimate t’shuva.

For Rabbi Kook's yahrzeit: “WAZE” to the Torah of Eretz Yisrael

Elul 3 is the yahrzeit of the Torah Luminary who is the source of the ethos of Religious Zionism. Who was he? Who was his son?

'Good education options for parents making aliyah with children'

Head of English-speaking high school in Jerusalem says parents have no need to fear making aliyah with older children.

Sukkot Means Aliyah

Shavuot: Sleepless Night

Sukkot Means Aliyah

<I>Tazria</I>: Mega-Tumah

Sukkot Means Aliyah

<I>Ki-Tetzei</I>: Don't Be Afraid

<I>Devarim</I>: "Come and Inherit the Land"

Holiness of the Jewish State

Independence - The Spirit of the Day