The Project of Hasidism and the Possibility of Prophecy Rabbi Steven Gotlib Dec 25, 2025 The Project of Hasidism (Kodesh Press, 2025) is R. Bezalel Naor’s latest gift to the Jewish people. Naor is best-known for his work on Rav Kook so it should come as no surprise that his interpretation of the subject matter is […]
Book Review by Rabbi Reuven Boshnack Title: The Project of Hasidism By: Rabbi Betzalel Naor Kodesh Press R. Betzalel Naor’s latest offering, The Project of Hasidism, is a compilation of essays accompanied by his characteristically rich footnotes. It delves into the question: What is the contribution of chassidus to Yiddishkeit? More than merely a popular movement, chassidus has attracted […]
Marc B. Shapiro. Renewing the Old, Sanctifying the New: The Unique Vision of Rav Kook. London: Littman, 2025. xvi, 212 pp. REVIEWED BY BEZALEL NAOR The title of the book comes from a line in one of Rav Kook’s letters that has become emblematic: “The old will be renewed, and the new will be sanctified.” […]
INDIVIDUAL SPIRITUALITY AND COLLECTIVE SPIRITUALITY Ari Ze’ev Schwartz. The Spiritual Wisdom of Rav Kook. Urim, 2025. pp. 313, (5). Reviewed by Bezalel Naor This is the author’s second collection of Rav Kook’s writings. (The first was entitled, The Spiritual Revolution of Rav Kook [2018].) The book is divided into two parts: Individual Spirituality […]
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook. Orot ha-Torah. Translated and annotated by Rabbi Chanan Morrison. Whirlwind Press, 2024. Bilingual edition. xxvii, 204 pp. REVIEWED BY BEZALEL NAOR The indefatigable Rabbi Chanan Morrison has now published his translation of Rav Kook’s gem, Orot ha-Torah (Lights of Torah). The book is available in English-only and bilingual editions. Rabbi […]
Review Essay by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer The Souls of the World of Chaos by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook Translation, Introduction and Notes by Bezalel Naor Orot/Kodesh 5783/2023 Today is an appropriate day to write this review. It is 3 Elul, Rav Kook’s 88th Yahrzeit. It is also shortly after the end […]
There’s a story that mathematician and physicist John von Neumann was told that besides him, there were only five people in the world that truly understood quantum mechanics. He replied incredulously, “Really, who are they?” I don’t know how many people truly understand the esoteric works of Rav Avraham Kook, but I know Rabbi Bezalel […]
What the Straus Center Is Reading — Souls in the World of Chaos Souls in the World of Chaos features a translation, introduction and notes by Bezalel Naor of one of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s lesser-known essays, included in the 1950 edition of Orot. The essay first appeared in 1913 and described the Second Aliyah in spiritual […]
From the Politics of Tohu to the Politics of Tikkun by Rav Netanel Elyashiv מפוליטיקה של תוהו לפוליטיקה של תיקון רב נתנאל אלישיב ** במהלך השבת הספקתי להתקדם סוף סוף בספרו החדש של הרב בצלאל נאור – ‘הנשמות של עולם התוהו‘. מפעל חייו של הרב נאור הוא עריכת תרגומים מעולים של כתבי הרב קוק לאנגלית, […]
A Soulful Journey Through Jewish Thought By Rabbi Reuven Boshnack – 22 Tammuz 5781 – July 2, 2021 Navigating Worlds By: Betzalel Naor Orot/Kodesh Press 2021, New York NY When opening Rabbi Betzalel Naor’s newest offering titled Navigating Worlds, one is met by a formidable tome of over 600 pages. If you aren’t familiar with […]