Rav Kook on Pesach and Redemption

I know I have not been blogging lately. I have been busy and have not found myself motivated to lately. I know I still have several series which I need to wrap up – God willing, I will soon continue those posts. Meanwhile, I hope everyone enjoys the following ideas by Rav Kook which are very relevant for Pesach.

Rav Kook writes in Orot (translated by R’ Bezalel Naor):

The redemption continues. The redemption from Egypt and the complete redemption of the future are one unending action: the action of the strong hand and outstretched arm, which began in Egypt and works though all eventualities. Moses and Elijah are redeemers in a single redemption; the beginner and the ender, the opener and closer together fill the unit. The spirit of Israel hears the sound of the movements, the redemptive actions, brought about through all eventualities until the sprouting of redemption will be complete, in all its plentitude and goodness.

Also, in Moadei HaRayah (also translated by R’ Naor):

The exodus from Egypt only appears to be a past event. But in truth, the exodus never ceases. The arm of God that was revealed in Egypt to redeem the Jews is constantly outstretched, constantly active. The revelation of the hand of God is the breaking through of the light of God, shining great lights for all generations.

I can not begin to stress how important these ideas are. The difference between the view which sees the exodus as a particular event and the view which sees it as a continuing process is spectacular. God willing, I will one day write a post on the significance of these passages. Just as a hint, keep in mind that Rav Kook saw the spirit of Moses (Torah) and the spirit of Eliyahu (Redemption) as being paradoxically at odds with each other. Each employs forces which strain the other. The Final redemption, in the view of Rav Kook, is the reconciliation of these two forces. Also keep in mind that during the seder night, we do not mention Moshe but do leave a central role for Eliyahu.

נקמה לאומית

Wow.

Can't say I feel sorry for the guy.

VeLamalshinim Al ....

רב צבי יהודה הכהן קוק זצ"ל

Rabbi Zvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook Zt"l passed away 25 years ago during Purim.

Rabbi Hannan Porat has an interesting article about Rav Zvi Yehuda here.

What I found interesting (and never new before) was that Rav Zvi Yehuda was the inspiration behind Yossi Gamzu's famous Hebrew song הכותל.

Apparently, when Rav Zvi Yehuda reached the Kotel only hours after it was liberated, he said "יש לבבות אבנים, ויש אבנים לבבות" (There are hearts of stone and there are stones with heart). This was formulated into the refrain of the song as follows:

הכותל – איזוב ועצבת
הכותל – עופרת ודם
יש אנשים עם לב של אבן
יש אבנים עם לב אדם.

What I never knew before was that there is actually an extra stanza to the song which was never recorded and which is specifically about Rav Zvi Yehuda at the Kotel.

The extra stanza is:

עמד מול הכתל עמנו
הרב הישיש בתפילה.
אמר לי: אשרי שזכינו כולנו,
ושב ונזכר: לא כולם …

עמד בדמעה מתנוצצת
יחיד בין עשרות חיילים
אמר לי: מתחת לחאקי, בעצם,
כולכם כהנים ולווים …

I find this a beautiful and appropriate addition to a beautiful song.

In case you don't know it, here are the lyrics for the song as it is commonly recorded:

הכותל - אזוב ועצבת,
הכותל - עופרת ודם.
יש אנשים עם לב של אבן,
יש אבנים עם לב אדם.

עמדה נערה מול הכותל
שפתיים קרבה וסנטר.
אמרה לי: "תקיעות השופר חזקות הן,
אבל השתיקה עוד יותר..."

אמרה לי: "ציון הר הבית"
שתקה לי: "הגמול והזכות",
ומה שזהר על מצחה בין ערביים
היה ארגמן של מלכות.

הכותל - אזוב ועצבת,
הכותל - עופרת ודם.
יש אנשים עם לב של אבן,
יש אבנים עם לב אדם.

עמד הצנחן מול הכותל,
מכל מחלקתו רק אחד
אמר לי: "למוות אין דמות אך יש קוטר -
תשעה מילימטר בלבד..."

אמר לי: "אינני דומע",
ושב להשפיל מבטים,
"אך סבא שלי, אלוהים היודע,
קבור כאן בהר הזיתים".

הכותל - אזוב ועצבת...

עמדה בשחורים מול הכותל
אמו של אחד מן החי"ר.
אמרה לי: "עיני נערי הדולקות הן
ולא הנרות שבקיר".

אמרה לי: "אינני רושמת
שום פתק לטמון בין סדקיו.
כי מה שנתתי לכותל רק אמש,
גדול ממילים ומכתב".

הכותל - אזוב ועצבת...

Promising new blog

I just found a promising new blog, Tsmicha.

The author, Dan Illouz, has a great post on a famous statement of Rav Kook:

"המזכירים כרכים ומוקפים מימות יהושע בן נון לא יוכלו להישאר עבדי אחשוורוש"

“They who mention towns and walled cities from the days of Yehoshu’a bin Nun are unable to remain servants of Ahashverosh”

May he succeed in spreading the redemptive Torah of Rav Kook to all the corners of cyberspace.

Jerusalem on my mind

"... There are places in Jerusalem with which I am familiar and know about, and yet when I happen upon them it seems to me that I have never seen them before. Yet, in contrast, there are places where I have never been, and when I come there it seems to me that I am familiar with and know them.

And because I have always wandered the streets of Jerusalem by day and by night, I never had the time to learn any craft. Worse than that, I was not occupied with the study of the Torah, and a Jew who does not study the Torah is admonished by his heart: What will you say on the Day of Judgment when they ask you "Did you study Torah?" And what will I say? I will say that I studied Jerusalem, and I am certain that they will say to me - "You have done well." And it seems to me that the words that I have prepared as an answer for the Day of Judgment were acceptable to my heart as well, and it no longer chides me.

Sometimes my heart even wandered about with me from place to place and rejoiced with me - until I left Jerusalem and went to a foreign land and spent there all the days of the Great War and some years after, not by my own volition, until the Almighty brought me back to my place, to Jerusalem.

And because my soul overflowed that the Almighty had brought me back to my place and I could walk about Jerusalem as in the days of old, I broke forth with praise of the Lord and of Jerusalem, the city that the Almighty had selected of all His creation. Even though He exiled Himself, as it were, from her, He did not take away her uniqueness."

S.Y. Agnon, Lifnim Min HaHomah

A New BAN!!! (Just in time for Purim)

(Hattip: Jameel)

Naveh's crimes

AddeRabbi posts a congratulatory post to R' Bina for coming to the defense of the Thug Yair Naveh.

I thought the Lev Yehudi's response to R' Bina was far more appropriate (hat tip: Ya'aqov Ben-Yehudah):



Regarding the four Crimes of Naveh

1. Expulsion

Yair Naveh, as general of the central command, was the commander over the expulsion of Jews and the destruction of Jewish towns in the Northern Shomron, a year and a half ago.

2. Pogrom

Exactly one year ago, Yair Naveh was the commander over all of the Yasam (riot police) and regular police forces which implemented the intentional pogrom in Amona.

3. Incitement

Yair Naveh incites additional expulsion and uprooting
the uprooting of hilltop [communities] in Judea and Samaria, in his own words, calling them "rebellious strongholds."

4. Silent Expulsion

Yair Naveh has signed over 20 restraining and keep-away orders against town and hilltop residents, expelling them from their homes and families, for many months, without any due process, nor any compensation.

Are the kippah on Naveh's head or his positive, past acts able to cover up his crimes?

"Be strong and courageous" to Ya'ir Naveh?!

In an ad supporting Naveh, Rabbi Bina praises "the man strong in spirit, your correctness in sacrificing up soul and body for the sake of the Land of Israel, Torath Yisrael, and the Jewish People, in every place at all times and in every hour."

Rabbi Binah: Where have you been the few years?

Rabbi Binah: Whose "soul and body" does Ya'ir Navah sacrifice?

"Justifying evil...is an abomination of HaShem"

Protest helps: Join the public protest against Ya'ir Naveh

Lev Yehudi

Keter Malkhut

Here is R' Bezalel Naor's translation of a poem by R' Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 1021-1058):

You are God,
And all the creatures are Your servants and worshipers.
Your glory is not lessened on account of those who worship other gods,
Because the intention of all is to reach You.
But they are as blind men.
Their goal is the way of the King,
And they have strayed from the way.
One has drowned in a bottomless well.
Another has fallen in a ditch.
All thought they arrived at their destination,
And they strove for nought.
But Your servants are seeing;
They go in a straight way.
They deviate from the path neither right nor left,
Until they reach the courtyard of the King.

What strikes me is the identification of failure in the search for God with a static PLACE. Those that understand that the search for God is of necessity a PATH and not a place (which can never be arrived at) are the ones who truly see. The religious paradox is that once you consider yourself to have found this, you are by definition "off the path" and as long as you are on "on the path", then you are "closer” to that which you seek. I find this to be a highly mystical idea but, amazingly, I have only found it hinted at in two rishonim, both of whom have a decidedly rationalistic tendency. The first is ibn Gabirol and the second is the Meiri in this book on teshuva which I will leave for another post.

Rav Kook on mystical thought, freedom, and the self

Orot HaKodesh I, pg. 86:

"Knowledge of the highest secret matters is not meant to spread through the world in a great expansion, that many may know of them, for it is impossible. And if many know of them in their external aspect, they will know nothing of their internal content, and all this will do more harm than good. Indeed, this knowledge must penetrate to all secrets that contain a divine element of supreme contemplation. And those individuals unique in their spiritual height, raise the world from its degredation by their very existence and not by their tangible influence."

Perakim be-Mishnato ha-Iyunit shel ha-Rav Kook, II, pp. 55-56:

"My thoughts are wider than the seas; to express them in prosaic words I cannot, for I am unwillingly forced to be a poet, yet one who is free. I could not be bound in the fetters of meter and rhyme. I flee from simple prose, from its heaviness, its constriction, and I could not put myself in other confines, perhaps even bigger and more depressing than the weight of the prose from which I flee."

Arpelei Tohar, pg. 59:

"Mystical knowledge is unique in every individual. It is bound up with his selfhood, is unrepeatable and transmitted by no sound or explanation. "They shall be yours only" (Mishlei 5:17). A righteous man shall live by his own, his very own faith. And from this luminous faith, which forms a seperate Eden-paradise for him, he goes forth to walk in the gardens of the Lord, bounded as public domain, where his mind intermingles with that of his fellows."

Arpelei Tohar, pg. 40:

"We feel this 'spiritual muteness,' alas, how much we have to say, how great is the light of justice and wisdom illuminating us in the depth of our souls, but how shall we discover it, how clarify it, how will we utter and bring forth even the tiniest edge of that sublime brightness, for that, the gates are shut before us. In prayer we approach them, with supplication we knock, in joy and praise we raise our voices, offering allegory and thoughts, keeping watch by the doors, perhaps they will open a crack, only a needle's breadth before us, and words will stream from our mouths, and our tongues will be as flowing streams, rivers of honey and butter."

Yep, that pretty much describes how I feel. And as I start to imagine the sweet smell of the air of the land of Israel, to which I am, b"H returning this comming summer, I start to long for that clarity which can only exist in the land. At shul friday night, I saw a friend carying Rav Charlop's Mei Marom. I commented that I have never seen that sublime book outside of the land. My friend commented that this is because all who can appreciate this book have made their way back home already. Hashiveinu Hashem veNashuva, Hadesh Yameinu keKedem!

The early Zionists

In the holy book Kol HaTor by the Gaon and Mekubal R’ Hillel Shklover, student of the Gra, there are brought some important and fundamental teachings of the Gra regarding the mitzvah of Yeshuv HaAretz and the process of redemption. In the fifth chapter, R’ Hillel explains the sin of the Spies who despised the beloved land and caused crying for generations, the destruction of the temple and the exile of the Jewish people:

בעוונותינו הרבים, רבים הם החוטאים חטא גדול של 'וימאסו בארץ חמדה'. גם רבים מתופשי התורה לא ידעו ולא יבינו שנתפשו בחטא המרגלים. נסחפו בקליפת חטא המרגלים בכל מיני סברות כוזבות ותואנות שווא ומדוחים, גם מכסים את סברותיהם בדעה המופרכת שאין מצוות יישוב ארץ ישראל נוהגת בזמן הזה... המרגלים האלה רוצים להיות יותר גדולים מרבותינו תנאים ואמוראים שקבעו שישיבת ארץ ישראל שקולה כנגד כל המצוות שבתורה. וכדברי הרמב"ן והתוספות יום טוב, והשל"ה. ומי לנו גדול בכל הדורות האחרונים כרבנו הגר"א, קדוש ישראל, אשר בדברים חוצבים להבות אש האיץ בתלמידיו לעלות לארץ ישראל ולעסוק בקיבוץ גלויות, והרבה לזרז את תלמידיו להחיש את קץ המגולה, לקרב קץ הגאולה על ידי יישוב ארץ ישראל. כמעט בכל יום דיבר אלינו רבנו ברתת והתרגשות, כי 'בציון ובירושלים תהיה פלטה'.

In our great sins, many are committing the grave sin of 'And they despised the beloved land.' Also many of the knowledgeable in Torah do not know and do not understand that they are caught up in the sin of the spies. They have been swept up by the kelipa of the sin of the spies and all sorts of false rationalizations and weak argumentations – they also cover up their rationalizations in the ridiculous idea that the Mitzva of Settling the land does not apply at this time … These spies want to be greater than our rabbis, the Tannaim and the Amoraim who established that settling the land of Israel is as significant as all the mitzvoth of the Torah – as is also written in the words of the Ramban, the Tosephot Yom Tov, and the Shela. And who is as great in all the recent generations as the Gra, Holy of Israel, who with fiery words pushed his students to ascend to the land of Israel and to engage in the ingathering of the exiles, and he often motivated his students to quicken the final end – to bring close the final redemption through settlement of the land of Israel. And almost every day our teacher would speak to us with great emotion, that 'In Zion and Jerusalem there will be a remnant.'

Gedolim Stories in Israeli Supreme Court decisions

Sometimes you find gedolim stories in the most unlikely places. For example, someone who is researching the history of the Israeli draft exemption for religious women (and the exemption from Sherut Leumi as well) will eventually come across an Israeli supreme court decision (בג"צ 456/71 שרה ברזני נ' שר הבטחון ואח', פ"ד כו 2, 543.).

In this decision, the halachic opinion of Rav Zvi Pesach Frank Zt"l is brought as evidence of the strength of religious opposition to the drafting of women. Now, the court has to show that Rav Frank's opposition is not motivated by a basic ideological opposition to the state so it lists some biographical facts to establish Rav Frank as a moderate religious leader. Among these facts, I found the following:

בדירתו שהיתה מקודם בעיר העתיקה ואחר-כך ברחוב מלאכי בירושלים היה מחסן נשק של ההגנה, הטלפון שלו עמד לרשות ההגנה, במרתף ביתו ברחוב מלאכי היה בית- חרושת לפצצות של ההגנה ושם ערכו גם אימונים. לא נמנע מלשתף פעולה עם ההגנה בשל משרתו הציבורית בתקופת המנדט, וכן לא נמנע מהשתתפות בפעולות אחרות להקמת המדינה.

In his apartment which used to be in the old city and later on Malachi Street in Jerusalem there was storage room for the Hagana's weapons. [In his apartment,] the phone was also made available for the Hagana. In his basement of his house on Malachi Street there was a bomb factory for the Hagana and they used to hold training sessions there. He did not stop cooperating with the Hagana even during his public role [as chief rabbi of Jerusalem who was paid by the British -ed.] during the mandate period and also did not refrain from cooperating with other activities towards the establishment of the state.

Somehow, I don't think that this will make it into the Artscroll biography.

A Contemporary Commentary to Bava Metzia 84a, Part III

Continued from here.

Let us look at the next passage in this aggadata:

One day [Reish Lakish and R. Yochanan] had a dispute in the beit midrash [about a Mishnah in Keilim that says: A sword, a knife, a dagger, a spear, a handsaw, and a scythe, at what point can they become tamei [impure]? When their manufacturing process is completed, [and they are finished utensils]. And at what point are they considered finished utensils? R. Yochanan said: When they are hardened in the furnace. Reish Lakish said: When they have been made to shine by dipping them in water. [Referring to Reish Lakish’s past,] R. Yochanan said to Reish Lakish, “A robber knows his trade. [As a former bandit you are an expert on weapons’ production.]” [Deeply hurt,] Reish Lakish retorted, “What good have you done me? [When I was the head of a gang of bandits] they called me Master, and here they call me Master!” R. Yochanan shot back, “I did you a lot of good, for I brought you under the wings of the Shechinah!” R. Yochanan’s sister [Reish Lakish’s wife] came and cried to him, “[Please pray for my husband!] Do it for the sake of my children!” He replied, “Leave your orphans; I will sustain them!” (Jeremiah 49:11). “Don’t let me become a widow!” she cried. “Your widows can depend on me” (ibid.), R. Yochanan replied. Subsequently Reish Lakish died.

This is the climax of the entire passage. As we discussed regarding the previous passage, R. Yochanan taught Reish Lakish a completely new mode of leadership and influence. Their relationship grows and they become close and intimate study partners. Reish Lakish has now left his previous world where the only type of power known was the power of the sword. Torah, by its very nature, supplies the world with a different type of strength, a spiritual strength which, as we discussed before, is intimately related to the aesthetic side of life. However, Torah does not exist in a vacuum and its influence inevitably relates and overlaps with areas of life that we do not commonly associate with the realm of the aestetic. The Mishna in Keilim which was discussed in the academy is a case in point, the halachic parameters of weapons of war must be discussed and brought within the purview of the Torah. We can say that the ‘Kol Yaakov’ – the Torah – must make itself relevant to the ‘Kli Eisav’ – to the sword.

The Mishna poses us with a question of how to define the completed form of a weapon. Rav Yochanan suggests that the answer is when a weapon can be used for its intended purpose – when it is hardened in the furnace and thus can be used. Rav Yohanan sees weapons only in their functional role. They are something which, unfortunately, we must sometimes use, but which has nothing to contribute towards our spiritual understanding of the world. Weapons to Rav Yohanan lack any aesthetic qualities. Reish Lakish, on the other hand, suggests that the final stage of the weapon is not the point at which it becomes functional but rather when is when it is made to shine using water. To Reish Lakish, there is an aesthetic aspect even to something as coarse as a weapon. Reish Lakish can see the weapon from the point of view of the aesthetic.

Could the difference in outlook be a function of the respective backgrounds of these two giants of Torah? There is a famous saying in the Gemara (Berachot 34b) where chazal inform us that in the place where Baalei Teshuva stand, even the completely righteous can not stand. Many explanations have been given for this gemara. One such explanation is that baalei teshuva raise the negative experiences of their past towards the holy and thus can accomplish things spiritually which the completely righteous can not. Could it be that Reish Lakish’s past life allowed him to access a spiritual level inaccessible to Rav Yohanan? I would suggest so. It could be that his life as a bandit exposed him to elements of life which would have been completely inaccessable to someone like Rav Yohanan and thus he could see an aspect of the Kli Eisav which Rav Yohanan could not.

We have only now analyzed the first half of our passage. In the next installment, we will try to analyze Rav Yohanan’s reaction to Reish Lakish’s argument and the subsequent events.

Scary

Some people find this funny. I find it pretty scary:

Rav Kook on Mystical learning, secular education, and the Ramchal

Great insights into Maran HaRav's educational philosophy can be gleaned from the following letter he wrote in 1906 (Iggeret 43, Translation by Rav Bezalel Naor):

By the grace of God, the holy city of Jaffa, may it be built and established, 12 Kislev 5666.

Peace and blessing to the venerable great Rav, our teacher Yeshayahu Orenstein, may his light shine. Your precious letter reached me, and I had some doubt whether or not to reply, because I feared that you, heaven forbid, would suffer anguish from my letter, and why should I cause a venerable Torah scholar such as yourself, long life to you, any suffering? In any case, I decided to answer briefly, [and] perhaps the Lord, blessed be he, will grant that you heed my words, so that you may suffer less pain from the [issues dealt with in my] articles, and this will be my reward — saving a precious soul like yours from pain and worry.

You should know, your honor, that my main intention In my articles, and with anything I write, is simply to awaken the hearts of Torah scholars, old and young, to diligence in the careful study of the inner Torah [in all the following ways]: in mussar in all the ways we have received from our most holy teachers; in the [philosophical] investigation of all the holy books left to us as a legacy by our great Rabbis, masters of inquiry; in kabbala in accordance with all the ways which are an inheritance from our fathers, may their memory protect us: in the way of the Rishonim; of the Achronim; [The Rishonim and Achronim are the early and later generations of Torah scholars in medieval Europe. Rav Kook is referring specifically to the early mystics, such as Nachmanides and Roke’ach, and the later ones, the Ari and his disciples.] of Chassidism; and of the Gaon Rav Eliahu from Vilna and Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato, of blessed memory. And [also] to study all the commentaries on the holy Zohar, and Sifra Detzinuta, Sefer Habahir, and the Book of Creation, and all the midrashim of our sages, [with the purpose of gaining] both familiarity and expertise. This demands great diligence, just like the diligence needed for the study of the Talmud and legal rulings.

True, not everyone's nature is fit for this, so anyone who is unable, but who is of keen mind, is obligated to study at length the intricacies of the Talmud, the commentaries of Rashi and the Tosefot on it, and the legal rulings [of great rabbis]. One, however, who has talent for the in-depth study of wisdom and kabbala should shorten his lengthy periods [of legalistic study of the Talmud], even though the intricacies and innovation [of Talmudic and legal studies] require them. In any case, he must not neglect the study of the intricacies of the Torah, because God finds joy in it.
The major part of his study, however, should be to know his creator. This is written in the introduction to Etz Chaim, and see also Or Ne’erav. In these times, when because of our many transgressions, many young people are becoming more and more enticed by the smooth [cosmopolitan] speech of the nonbelievers in our nation, we must also show the world that Torah scholars occupied in the holiness of the true Torah not lack power of rhetoric and eloquence of language.

This was the intention of the pious Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato of blessed memory, in his poetry and [drama]] and I, in humility, also want to grasp the hem of their cloaks and follow their example inasmuch as I am able. And because the full [comprehension] of the Holy Torah also requires the knowledge of the wisdom of the world in some matters, and in particular so as to be able to reply to a nonbeliever, an imperative in our day.

For this reason I mention the words of our Rabbis, the Gaon Of Vilna and the Maharal of Prague in his book Netivot Olam, [section] Netiv Hatorah, chapter 14.8 [It must, however, come only after] diligent study of the Torah and the purification of virtues and deeds, especially from anger, arrogance, and sadness, which are the major causes of evil, and the diligent, fixed, and daily study of the inner Torah, each person according to his capabilities.

From examination and experience [we know], after all these preliminaries, that one can not be harmed, heaven forbid, from the knowledge of [secular] wisdom, if taken in measure and with the [earnest goal] of honoring God; on the contrary, it will add to one's strength great happiness and broadness of mind in the service of the Lord, blessed be he.

And if, heaven forbid, there are people who misunderstand my words, and see in them meanings I did not intend, this is not [sufficient reason] to keep the benefit [of my words] from those worthy of it, as Maimonides, of blessed memory, wrote in his letters, that the ways of the Lord are trustworthy, etc.

Through diligent regular study in the pleasure of the inner Holy Torah, the soul which occupies itself with this without seeking any personal benefit will be lit in the light of happiness and most sublime love, spiritual pleasures like those of the world to come, and there will be no need to fear the evil lash, or only to a minimal extent, and with this one's soul will find strength and courage, and fear no adversity, not in this world and not in the next, for even if sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.

This is, approximately, the intention of the words of mine on which you commented. How good and pleasurable it is to judge one another favorably, and by this the heavens are praised and the honor of heaven magnified, as is the honor of the Holy Land and the Torah scholars in it.

As for myself, I take no great delight at being praised, nor offense at being insulted. Praise the Lord's blessed name, that diligent occupation with the study of mussar and the inner Holy Torah granted me this characteristic. For this reason, I see no need on my part to explain myself. I do so simply to calm your heart so that you will not suffer, because all my will and desire is to bring happiness to people and fulfill, as much as I can, "those who fear you will see me and rejoice.’’ For this reason I said that I hope that these words may pacify your heart. And may the Lord blessed be he, bless you and your family with long life, and may we be privileged to see the joy of Zion and the building of Jerusalem with the revelation of the majesty of his blessed kingdom, a name for us, praise in all the nations of the Land, and may the entire Land be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. As is becoming your pleasant soul, and the humble young soul on your doorstep, looking to light and salvation.

Avraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook

Rav Kook on Nationalism and Olam Haba

In a letter to Samuel Aleksandrov of Bobroisk, dated 29th of Shevat 5668 (1908), Rav Kook writes (Igrot HaRaaya I, pg. 134, translation by Rav Bezalel Naor):

Regarding his honor's comment concerning the difference between the collective and the individual. Certainly, our nationalists are wont to theorize that through the weakening of the national spirit in the later periods there arose the study of individuality. There is some truth in this, but not as they formulate it. They are of the opinion that personal immortality is a new doctrine engendered by attenuated nationalism. The truth is that in most ancient times, when the national spirit flourished, it was already said, 'The soul of my master will be bound in the bond of life.' (I Samuel 25:29) The woman of Teko'a's words were, 'God does not lift away the soul but devises thoughts so that the banished one may not remain banished from Him.' (II Samuel 14:14) Finally, a recurrent phrase was 'being gathered to the fathers.' (Genesis 15:15, Judges 2:10, II Kings 22:20, II Chronicles 34:28) The medieval authorities who dealt with these matters already commented on these expressions. (Maimonides, MT, Hil. Teshuvah 8:3; Crescas, 'Or Adonai 3:2:2. Menasseh ben Israel, Nishmat Hayyim I, 7) These are eternal truths. The principle of individuality can never be totally elided from the mighty collective spirit. Rather [an accurate description is] when collectivism is strong, the individual principle is not discernible or pronounced, because it serves as a centerpoint to the great circle. When [on the other hand] collectivism is weakened, the centerpoint becomes discernible. [This point of individuality] fills with many maxims and sermons, and assumes a prominent place in the lives of individuals oblivious to the life of the collective. So when the sun of the national spirit set, there were established studies concerning the individual unit, the individual personality. These studies were expanded and publicized; this in turn forced the disclosure of several inner mysteries from the spiritual past concerning absolute existence [i.e. the afterlife]. Out of the darkness of this decline issued a great light: the worldwide dissemination of spiritual information, which greatly refined personal character.

Translation/Explication please

כשהנשמה מאירה גם שמים עוטי ערפל מפיקים אור נעים (הראי"ה קוק זצ"ל)

I would like to hear the readers' take on this famous saying of Rav Kook. (and yes, this is a shameless and lazy attempt to generate comments)

The dilemma of the anti-Zionist

The recent visit of the Neturei Karta to Iran and the swaths of condemnations by Hareidi publications of this act illustrate to me the impossible situation the mainstream Hareidim have arrived at.

If they root for the Arabs, Jews die.
If they root for the Jews, they are basically rooting for the success of the state which they despise so much since the state is doing most of the fighting.

So what do they do? I would assume that most are davening for some sort of open miracle that would somehow quietly and peacefully dissolve the state. However, any ideology that relies on Nisim Geluim leKatchila is an impoverished one which has no real plan for the future and nothing more to offer than depressing passivity.

Oh well, what am I complaining about? Every community has their problems - its just that this ones looks like a really big one to me.

Faith

Translated by R. Bezalel Naor:

Not with depression, not with fearfulness, not with sentimental weakness must we turn to the divine light, but with a clear knowledge that what flows from the depths of our heart to approach G-d is a natural, complete and healthy faculty. It is more than just a natural faculty — it is the basic, natural faculty of our soul. It emerges in us from the soul of the Life of all worlds, from the soul of all existence, of all being.

The more we increase knowledge, increasing spiritual illumination and a healthy physicality, so will this wondrous light shine in us, a lamp on the path of our life.
Orot Ha’emunah, p. 80

We must pity those who are so plagued by self-doubt that they know not what they live for. The irony of life is that those skeptics who most fervently yell against religious fundamentalism and the danger it poses to the world in the form of Islamic fascism are also the ones who are in the final analysis too weak and unsure to do anything about it. The only thing which can supply the strength to fight evil done in the name of faith is an opposing faith of greater confidence.

Europe, which has abandoned faith in favor of rational secularism, is being crushed under the weight of Islam. America is conflicted and has still not decided what her true nature is. For us Jews who believe in the mission with which we were entrusted by G-d, the path is clear. We must respond to evil by increasing good. We must respond to darkness by increasing light. We must show the world a new way - a way which is founded in a faith which informs every aspect of existence and makes it purposeful. A way which grabs all that we know and establishes it on the foundations of Holiness.

A Contemporary Commentary to Bava Metzia 84a, Part II

Continued from here.

To continue our discussion of this aggadata, lets analyze the gemara one section at a time:

One day R. Yochanan was bathing in the Jordan. Reish Lakish saw him and gracefully jumped into the Jordan after him. Said R. Yochanan to him, “Your strength should be used for Torah.” Retorted Reish Lakish, “Your beauty should be for women.” R. Yochanan said to him, “If you will abandon your ways, I will give you my sister [in marriage] who is even more beautiful than I am.” Reish Lakish agreed; he then wanted to turn around to collect his weapons but suddenly he could not jump as far as he did before [for as soon as he committed himself to live by the spiritual values of the Torah his physical strength waned (Rashi)]. R. Yochanan taught him Chumash and Mishnah, and Reish Lakish became a Torah scholar [and the study partner of R. Yochanan].

I would like to suggest that this is a direct continuation of the behavior R. Yochanan exhibits in the previous section of aggadata. Just like R. Yochanan uses his incredible beauty to help increase kavod shamaim in the previous section, he does the same here, utilizing his physical beauty (and the physical beauty of his sister) in order to build another sage in Yisrael. We know from the previous section that R. Yochanan did not fear the potential negative effects of Ayin Hara that others may fear as a result of similar behavior. R. Yochanan, a descendant of Yoseph, is impervious to the ill will of others. R. Yochanan, a leader himself, recognizes a quality of leadership in Reish Lakish and tries to make an appeal to the value system of power which Reish Lakish appreciates: ‘Your strength should be used for Torah’

Reish Lakish is affected by the words of R. Yohanan. He recognizes a great power which is inaccessible to him. However, this new power is of a different nature than the type of power that he is familiar with. The power of R. Yohanan is in the realm of the aesthetic, something which Reish Lakish has up till now associated with femininity and weakness in life (“Your beauty should be for women.”) However, Reish Lakish sees something deeper in the external beauty of R. Yochanan – something reflective of great inner strength that can only be accessed through the aesthetic. When we talk of the power of the aesthetic, we are referring to the ability of humanity to appreciate the beauty of abstract ideas. This ability to appreciate the aesthetic in life can move societies and shift centers of power. The pen is mightier than the sword but in order to wield its power, it must take an aesthetic form that will be appreciated by others. This is key, the power of the aesthetic must exercise itself through the medium of man’s social life. Thus it becomes a double edged sword – in proper hands, it can move society towards greatness. In the wrong hands, the power of the Ayin Hara as explained in the previous installment can reach disastrous proportions.

The fact that Reish Lakish perceives the potential of such a mode of leadership is of great note. Reish Lakish, as we know him at this point in the story, is a leader of a gang of robbers. He knows only the power of the sword and thus immediately appreciates the physical strength of R. Yochanan. R. Yochanan shows him a different kind of strength. The strength of the aesthetic in life. That which up until now he associated with weakness and femininity is now expressive of great strength of a mysterious kind. This is a key lesson that this portion of the aggadata is coming to teach. The power of the aesthetic is identified with the power of Torah. (everyone can think to a particular moment in the development of their learning where a concept became clear to them in all its beauty. The pleasure derived from such moments can best be described as aesthetic pleasure. It is not the utility or power of the teaching which transforms us but rather our appreciation of its internal and uniquely beautiful structure).

Reish Lakish thus perceived the power in beauty. He sees in R. Yochanan that brute force is not the only type of influence that exists in the world. There is a loftier and more human dimension which can be a source of tremendous strength – but not of the physical kind. Expecting to acquire another source of power and strength, Reish Lakish takes upon himself the pursuit of the wisdom of Torah. However, when Reish Lakish focuses his attention on the spiritual dimension through involvement in Torah, his physical strength wanes without him even noticing. What he probably hoped – an additional source of power to add to his list of abilities – ends up coming at the expense of his previous achievements. The power of the word, however, has already ensnared Reish Lakish. There is no going back. Through involvement in Torah NOT for the sake of heaven, he arrives at true love of Torah and the spiritual dimension of life.

Thus, we see that that R. Yohanan has success using his beauty for the purpose of the spiritual good. Behaviors which would cause others to fail were used by him with great success. He was able to navigate the power of the aesthetic without disrupting the social balance. However, there is a potential flaw hidden in this segment of our story. The good that was brought through the behavior of R. Yochanan was contingent upon Reish Lakish having an appreciation for that which R. Yochanan has to offer to the world, even if that appreciation is of the most physical type. What if Reish Lakish lacked such sensitivities? In the next segment of the aggadata, we see for the first time a crisis caused by R. Yohanan’s behavior. In the next installment, we will try to learn the rest of the aggadata in light of the ideas we have so far constructed.

Important letter by Rav Kook

Rael has posted an important letter by Rav Kook:

By the grace of God, the holy city of Jaffa, may it be rebuilt and established 8 Adar 5670 [1910]

Peace and blessing my friend, the renowned rabbi, who is wise and learned, a treasure of Torah and fear of God, our master Rabbi Barukh Meirs, may he live to a long and good life, the head of hte rabbinic tribunal of the holy city of Haifa, may it be rebuilt and established.

Your precious letter reached me. Rabbi Joshua Burak has undoubtedly informed you of our conversation concerning the general condition, and that I wrote him an encouraging letter. May it be God's will to prosper his efforts to strengthen the knowledge of God and his laws among the people of Israel in the Holy land.

My dear friend, you called my attention to the station of religion at the present time. What can I say to you, my friend? My heart suffers grievously because of the general situation. There is no one left who represents with dignity the cause of God's name and his Torah in the Holy Land. The more I brood on this though, the more troubled I feel in my heart and I cannot see an effective way to begin some corrective action. For it is very difficult for me to come to a meeting of minds with most of the leading religious figures of our time, may God watch over them they desire follow the old path solely, to keep themselves at a distance from every creative talent and from all current trends in life. In my opinion, this is the altogether against the way of God. By their attitude they strengthen the hands of the rebels and support the wrongdoers. Alas for the sins of these people, though they are well-intentioned.

I have no alternative but to support the educational efforts which leave room for the knowledge of the world and of life, and that trains the children to find joy in life, to be strong and brave, to cultivate hygiene and personal dignity. When this training will be combined with training in the Torah and the true fear of God, it will become their adornment and enhance their vitality. In the end even the nonreligious forces will have acknowledge the validity of our position.

But what can I do when this approach, which I have no doubt we must follow, has embroiled me in the entanglements of a war from the right and the left? However, I place my hope in God, may his name be praised, that he will strengthen me to hold on high the banner of truth, that the holy cause be vindicated. And you know, my friend, that these important issues are all interrelated. Most of the scholars of our generation, even the greatest among them, pay no attention cultivating the principles of the fear of God, in a spirit of broadmindedness, as would befit the leaders of the generation. They cannot pursue new paths appropriate for the needs of the time, to direct them toward holiness. In their opinion, they must not veer from the old pattern, refusing to draw on any good element in the new ways, thereby to mend the condition of the generation.

They will not acknowledge, under any circumstances, that they have neglected a basic principle which embraces the whole Torah and all religion.

It is for this reason and that we stumble in the daytime as the blind man stumbles in the dark, and the multitude are led astray, they are increasingly alienated from their faith. But they are in sense at fault. Since there is no one to show them the right course, to join the holiness of the Torah and religious faith with life, they are losing their faith. But there are many good elements in them and much sensitivity of spirit, and many among them desire with a full heart the salvation of the people of Israel and of this, their basic goal is rooted in holiness, for the salvation of Israel truly embraces all aspects of holiness. It is for us to judge charitably even the most offending among them, if only he is not willing to defect from our people and join our adversaries.

The more we add positive elements to our education program and teach our children the subjects which help a person earn a livelihood and gain self-respect, together with the study of the Torah, the foundation of the Torah will be strengthened and gain in vitality.

But with whom shall I speak, who will agree with me, who is prepared to jeopardize his own honor for the Honor of God, praised be He, and of His Torah, and for the holiness of His beloved land?

Let us hope that God will act for his own sake, and inspire the hearts of all the Torah scholars to comprehend the pure way of God and that Israel and Judah will soon find deliverance. And this will be my reward.

My greetings to you as so befits your precious self, and with much love, and in anticipation of God's help.