by Rabbi Elisha Paul There has rarely been a more maligned figure of such lofty stature as Rav Kook. He was vilified during his lifetime by a small vocal minority of scholars who didn’t appreciate his uniqueness. These individuals cast aspersions on his spiritual insights and hounded him mercilessly. The great rabbi refused to retaliate […]
Pinchas Peli (aka Hacohen) (1930-1989), a fourth-generation Jerusalemite, was born in Batei Mahseh in the Old City. He received a traditional yeshiva education and was ordained as a rabbi. Later, in the United States, Peli received a doctorate and went on to become a professor of Jewish thought in various universities in Israel and abroad. […]
Rabbi Bezalel Naor Discussing When God Becomes History at the Yeshiva University SOY Seforim Sale, February 13th 2017
by Ben Rothke The Myers–Briggs type indicator is extremely popular, in part that it effortlessly categorizes human personality into 16 categories. Yet as an effective tool for psychological analysis, it’s utterly worthless. Given that the human personality is far too complex to be pigeonholed into its 16 categories. Those with complex and multifaceted personalities are […]
Below is a review of my recent book, When God Becomes History by Rabbi Pesach Sommer: As I have noted in a previous review, Rav Kook, despite being somewhat well known, is the victim of all sorts of assumptions. This is particularly true in the English speaking world where he is primarily known for his […]
Rav Kook wrote that there is a level of divine inspiration referred to in the kabbalistic literature as “Giluy Eliyahu be-Orah Sekhel” (“The Revelation of Elijah by Way of Intellect”). In a letter to Rabbi Nahman Greenspan of London, Rav Kook writes: “The content of the Revelation of Elijah occurs in several forms: by way […]
Now that the dust has begun to settle on the freshly dug grave of Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), and we are hopefully past the hullabaloo, past the media circus which witnessed (in Leonard’s own words) “all the lousy little poets coming round,” we may begin to examine with some sobriety the literary legacy of this celebrated […]
Facsimile of the last letter of endorsement (Haskamah) written by Rav Kook from his deathbed in Kiryat Moshe, Erev Rosh Hodesh Menahem Av 5695 [i.e. 1935]. The Rav would pass to his eternal reward roughly a month later on the 3rd of Ellul. The letter is addressed to his beloved disciple, Rabbi Moshe Ephraim Efrati […]
Hallel from Heaven and Hallel from Hell – “Just as the praise of the Holy One ascends to Him from Heaven, so it ascends from Hell.” – (Midrash) What do poet Paul Celan, novelist Aharon Appelfeld, and religious legalist Meshulam Rath share in common? Two things. First, they all emerged from Tchernowitz (today Chernivtsi, Ukraine), capital of […]
Friends, We bring you a recently discovered photo of Rav Kook, of blessed memory. (Thanks to Noah Lubin and to Mosheh Vineberg.) We wish you all a good, blessed year 5777. Orot לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו! אורות