Orot, Inc. was founded in 1990 by Rabbi Bezalel Naor to disseminate the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook (1865-1935), first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Erets Israel. Rav Kook is considered one of the greatest Jewish thinkers and mystics of all time.
Discussion based on the research that went into the chapter by that name in Bezalel Naor’s latest book, “Navigating Worlds” (Kodesh, 2021).
In the aftermath of World War One, Rav Kook created a new movement, Degel Yerushalayim, a third way between Mizrachi and Agudah. In the literature promoting the movement, Rav Kook interpreted “Zion” as the cachet for the secular aspect (hence “Zionism”) and “Jerusalem” as the cachet for the sacred aspect.
He was challenged on Kabbalistic grounds by the irascible Rabbi Shemariah Menashe Adler of London. There ensued a lively exchange between Rabbis Kook and Adler.
The Kulturkampf between Zion and Jerusalem continues to this day.
