Q&A: Weren't Rav Kook's Positions Unique Among Rabbis?

 

Q. [Ed. note: The questioner posits several inaccurate premises] I learned that if a rabbi takes a position that opposes that of all the other rabbis in his generation, he is not to be listened to. Would this not apply to Rav Kook (1865-1935), who, though clearly a Torah giant, was a lone voice in his generation regarding the attitude towards secular Jews and the sanctity of the process of the national Jewish return to the Holy Land? Is his innovative thought not a problem, given that he did not rely clearly and stably on the previous generations?

Land of Israel: G-d-Given Right or Legal Right?

by Rav Netanel Yosifun, translated by Hillel Fendel

On the outskirts of the city of Jericho (about 25 kilometers east of Bet El), may it soon be rebuilt, stands the site of the Shalom al Yisrael synagogue. It is famous for its age – about 1,400 years old – and for its large, beautiful mosaic floor; the 1,400 square foot mosaic, featuring a menorah and other Jewish symbols, was uncovered in a 1936 archaeological dig.

Unfortunately, the Oslo Accords gave Jericho over to Palestinian Authority control, leaving Israel with only a minor measure of control over the synagogue. A yeshiva was allowed to function on the second floor of the building, while the ground floor – with the precious mosaic floor – was handed over to the responsibility of a local Arab. In 2001 Arabs vandalized and set the building on fire, although the Torah scroll had been locked in a safe and was not damaged. 

Of late, weekly prayers are permitted at the site, with special IDF-PA coordination. On one of these occasions, I stood outside in the courtyard, and my ears caught a lively conversation between two of the regular weekly worshipers. One said: "Our goal must be to restore Jewish control to the ground floor. The mosaic is like an imprint on the earth left behind by our ancestors, proof of our national rights to our hold land. The mosaic seal must be foremost in our goals!"

The Israeli Conquest of Hevron and the Machpelah Cave, 1967

by Oded Mizrahi, translated by Hillel Fendel

(based on a book by Avi Rath, based in turn on Rav Goren's taped memoirs)

In honor of Parashat Chaye Sarah, which recounts the story of the Patriarch Abraham's purchase of the Machpelah Cave in Hebron

Following the conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, where IDF Chief Rabbi famously blew the shofar and conducted the first prayer service at the Western Wall in 19 years, Maj.-Gen. Rabbi Goren traveled southward to Hebron. After passing Gush Etzion, which had fallen to Jordan the day the State of Israel was declared, he saw white flags of surrender on many of the houses – but just before Hebron, he saw a Jordanian flag on the 3^rd floor of a house. "They might still try to fight us," the driver warned. Rav Goren said, "Give me the Uzi [rifle] and cover me. I'm going up to take it down."

Emuna is Life

by Rav Yossi Badihi (long-time personal assistant to Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook), yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

"Who is the man who desires life, loves days in which to see [and do] good"

(Psalms 34,13)

How fortunate we are to be healthy seekers of life, "believers sons of believers," and the descendants of Avraham Avinu, about whom the Torah writes, "He had emuna in G-d" (Genesis 15,6).

All of Creation aspires to live life that is meaningful, grounded in a cleaving to the source of life. This is how the living G-d created mankind, imbuing it with this aspiration. As Moshe Rabbeinu made it very clear in his parting speech to the People of Israel: "And you who cleave to Hashem your G-d, you all live today" (Deut. 4,4) 

Why Such an Emphasis on the Land of Israel?

Q. Could the Rav please explain to me why the religious-Zionist camp took upon itself the commandment of the Land of Israel as such a primary and important project, while ignoring all the other commandments? Yes, this mitzvah is said to be equal to the entire Torah, but there are other mitzvot that are also equal to the whole Torah. For most (not all) of the religious-Zionists, it looks like their whole lives are just the Land of Israel! This question arose when I was sitting with some knitted-kippah youths, and when I told them that I did not enlist in the IDF but rather went to a yeshiva for baalei teshuvah, they said, "What?! Aren't you Jewish?! What about the Land of Israel?!" And when I asked them, "What about the importance of Torah study?" they shrugged me off.

When Faith is Tested

 by Rav Zalman Baruch Melamed, yeshiva,co, translated by Hillel Fendel

The late Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira, former Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav Kook, once said, "Ever since Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook passed away [in 1982], there has been a general weakening in emuna."

The loss of tzaddikim has an effect on the world. "Save, O Lord - for the pious are gone; for the faithful have vanished from among men" (Psalms 12,2). That is to say, when a righteous man passes away, the world suffers a loss of emuna and trust. Emuna diminishes because tzaddikim help ensure that it remains strong, and when they leave, it becomes weaker. Rav Tzvi Yehuda was a great man of emuna, and his loss left a great vacuum of emuna in the world. 

Q&A: Is the State of Israel the Beginning of Redemption?

 

 Q. [Ed. note: Not all of the claims in the question are well-founded.] A top student of Rav Kook, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Harlop, wrote that the establishment of the State of Israel was the "beginning of the Redemption," or what we call today, reishit tzmichat ge'ulateinu, "the beginning of the sprouting of our Redemption." Rav Kook's son, Rav Tzvi Yehuda, also felt that way. My question is: On what do they base this?

Clearly, the process of the State's formation was replete with Divine providence and miracles, meaning that G-d wants the People of Israel in the Land of Israel. But isn't it going a bit far to say that this is actually the beginning of our long-awaited Redemption? Many of the great rabbis in Europe actually felt the opposite, that the Redemption cannot come about via heresy and opposition to Torah and sanctity – and the State has certainly attempted to crush religious matters over the years, such as what it did with the Yemenite children, etc. It is also insufficient to say that many of the signs of the End of Days have already started, such as the blossoming of the Land of Israel after 2,000 years of near-desolation, or that the Gaon of Vilna wrote that Redemption will happen in the year 5708 (1948) – first of all, because in these matters it is known that we do not rely on various calculations, and secondly, these signs indicate only that we are in the period before the Redemption – known as the "footsteps of the Messiah" – but not in the actual Redemption. 

In addition, the Torah states that the nation must repent before the Ingathering of the Exiles! So how can we say that what we are seeing is the actual Ingathering? In addition, is it not true that we must also first experience the arrival of the Davidic Mashiah, the war of Gog u'Magog (Armaggedon), and more?

Noah: Technology Without Spirituality

by Rabbi Berel Wein, rabbiwein.com

The rabbis were not so much critical of Noach - after all the Torah itself pays to him the highest of compliments calling him a righteous person - as they were wary of him. I have often felt that this attitude is born of the idea that Rashi himself states in commenting upon the origin of Noach’s name. Rashi makes a point that the name Noach should not be construed as a derivative of the Hebrew word "nacheim" - meaning to comfort - but rather it is derived from the other Hebrew word "noach" - meaning, rest, leisure, comfortable but not comfort as in consolation.

Q&A: Do Hareidim and Religious-Zionists Observe Mitzvot Differently?

 Q. Do the hareidi public and religious-Zionist public truly observe the mitzvot differently, or is the perceived difference merely because of their differences regarding the State of Israel?