Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935) was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, statesman, diplomat, mediator and a renowned Torah scholar. He is known in Hebrew as הרב אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, and by the acronym HaRaAYaH or simply as "HaRav." He was one of the most celebrated and influential Rabbis of the 20th century. 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Language(s) Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English Religion(s) Judaism Related ethnic groups Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... Palestine and Transjordan were incorporated (under different legal and administrative arrangements) into the Mandate for Palestine issued by the League of Nations to Great Britain on 29 September, 1923. ... Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement, a branch of which is also called Mizrachi, is an ideology that claims to combine Zionism and Judaism, to base Zionism on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... This article is about the Jewish male educational system. ... The yeshiva in Jerusalem founded by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. ... The Thinker The Thinker ( French: Le Penseur) is one of Auguste Rodins famous bronze sculptures. ... Statesman is a respectful term used to refer to politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... Mediator may refer to: A neutral party who assists in negotiations and conflict resolution, the process being known as mediation By analogy, someone who channels contact between mortals and divinity; e. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Cohen (disambiguation) Position of the kohens hands and fingers during the Priestly Blessing A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן, priest, pl. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ...

Popular common picture of a smiling Rabbi A.Y. Kook. ...

Biography

Kook was born in Grīva, Latvia (now part of Daugavpils, then town in Courland, governorate of Imperial Russia) in 1865, the oldest of eight children. His father, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Ha-Cohen Kook, was a student of the Volozhin Yeshiva, the "mother of the Lithuanian yeshivas", whereas his maternal grandfather was a member of the Kapust dynasty of the Hassidic movement. Daugavpils ( ) is the second largest city in Latvia. ... Daugavpils (Belarusian Дзьвінск Dźvinsk, Russian Двинcк Dvinsk, Lithuanian Daugpilis, German Dünaburg, Polish Dźwinów, DźwiÅ„sk or Dyneburg, Yiddish דענענבורג Denenburg), population 115,265 in 2000 census) is the second largest city in Latvia. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as the Eitz Chaim yeshiva, was a yeshiva situated in Volozhin, present-day Belarus in the 19th century. ... This article is about the Jewish male educational system. ... Kapuster Rebbe, Kapust Chassidic Dynasty The Chabad-Kapust Dynasty was based on the Chabad school of thought. ... This article is about the Hasidic movement originating in Poland and Russia. ...

As a child he gained a reputation of being an ilui (prodigy). He entered the Volozhin yeshiva in 1884 at the age of 18, where he became close to the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netziv). Although he stayed at the yeshiva for only a year and a half, the Netziv has been quoted as saying that if the Volozhin Yeshiva had been founded just to educate Rav Kook, it would have been worthwhile. During his time in the yeshiva, he studied about 18 hours a day. Wunderkind redirects here. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (pl. ... Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, 1817- 10 August 1893) was a rosh yeshiva (dean [of a] yeshiva) of the Volozhin yeshiva and author if several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania. ...

In 1886, he married Batsheva, the daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim, (also known as the Aderet), the rabbi of Ponevezh (today's Panevėžys, Lithuania) and later Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. In 1887, at the age of 23, Kook entered his first rabbinical position as rabbi of Zaumel, Lithuania. In 1888, his wife died, and his father-in-law convinced him to marry her cousin, Raize-Rivka, the daughter of the Aderet's twin brother. In 1895 Kook became the rabbi of Bausk (now Bauska). Between 1901 and 1904, he published three articles which anticipate the fully-developed philosophy which he developed in the Land of Israel. During these years he wrote a number of works, most published posthumously, most notably a lengthy commentary on the Aggadot of Tractates Berakhot and Shabbat, titled 'Eyn Ayah' and a brief but powerful book on morality and spirituality, titled 'Mussar Avikhah'. Year 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Ponevezh yeshiva (ישיבת פוניבז) (or Pononvezh) is one of the most famous Haredi Talmudical yeshivas with roots among the Lithuanian Jews. ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Panevėžys County Municipality Panevėžys city municipality Coordinates General Information Capital of Panevėžys County Panevėžys city municipality Panevėžys district municipality Panevėžys rural elderate Population 115,604 in 2005 (5th) First mentioned 1503 Granted city rights 1837 Panevėžys ( (help... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... For the toll-free telephone number see Toll-free telephone number Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Bauska- town in Zemgale- southern Latvia, 70km from capital- Riga and 20km from border with Lithuania, between rivers Musa and Memele in a place where they join and form Lielupe river. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1904, Kook moved to Ottoman Palestine to assume the rabbinical post in Jaffa, which also included responsibility for the new secular Zionist agricultural settlements nearby. His influence on people in different walks of life was already noticeable, as he engaged in kiruv ("Jewish outreach"), thereby creating a greater role for Torah and Halakha into the life of the city and the settlements. 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... A 2003 satellite image of the region. ... For other uses, see Jaffa (disambiguation). ... Baal teshuva (or baal teshuvah) (Hebrew: master of repentance) or chozer bi-teshuva (one who returns in repentance) refers to a Jew (often secular) who has adopted strict observance of Judaism, or a more Jewishly observant lifestyle than previously practiced. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ...

The outbreak of the First World War caught him in Europe, and he was forced to remain in London and Switzerland for the remainder of the war. In 1916, he became rabbi of the Spitalfields Great Synagogue (Machzike Hadath, "upholders of the law"), an immigrant Orthodox community located in Brick Lane, Whitechapel. While there, he was involved in the activities which led to the Balfour Declaration, 1917. Upon returning, he was appointed the Rabbi of Jerusalem, and soon after, as first Chief Rabbi in 1921. Kook founded a yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav Kook (popularly known as "Mercaz haRav"), in Jerusalem in 1924. He was a master of Halakha in the strictest sense, while at the same time possessing an unusual openness to new ideas. This drew many religious and non­religious people to him, but also led to widespread misunderstanding of his ideas. He wrote prolifically on both Halakha and Jewish thought, and his books and personality continued to influence many even after his death in Jerusalem in 1935. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Machzike Hadath community, also known as the Spitalfields Great Synagogue, was founded in 1891 in the East End of London, England. ... Whitechapel is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, United Kingdom. ... The Balfour Declaration was a letter dated November 2, 1917 from the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... Yeshivat Mercaz haRav is a religious Zionist yeshiva situated in Jerusalem. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ...

Kook built bridges of communication and political alliances between the various Jewish sectors, including the secular Jewish Zionist leadership, the Religious Zionists, and more traditional non-Zionist Orthodox Jews. He believed that the modern movement to re-establish Israel as a state had profound theological significance. Per this ideology, the youthful, secular and even anti-religious Labor Zionist pioneers halutzim were a part of a grand divine scheme whereby the land and people of Israel were finally being redeemed from the 2,000 year exile (galut) by all manner of Jews who sacrificed themselves for the cause of building up the physical land, as laying the groundwork for the ultimate spiritual messianic redemption of world Jewry. He once commented that the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate was the first step towards the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin. This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonised in the Talmudic texts (Oral Torah) and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... Labor Zionism (or Socialist Zionism, Labour Zionism) is the traditional left wing of the Zionist ideology and was historically oriented towards the Jewish workers movement. ... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut גלות, exile, Yiddish: tfutses), the Jewish presence outside of the Land of Israel is a result of the expulsion of the Jewish people out of their land, during the destruction of the First Temple, Second Temple and after the Bar Kokhba revolt. ... In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) is a term traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ...

His empathy towards the anti-religious elements aroused the suspicions of his more traditionalist haredi opponents, particularly that of the traditional rabbinical establishment that had functioned from the time of Turkey's control of greater Palestine, whose paramount leader was Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Kook's greatest rabbinical rival. Kook once quoted a rabbinic axiom that "one should embrace with the right hand and rebuff with the left". He remarked that he was fully capable of rejecting, but since there were enough rejecters, he was fulfilling the role of embracer. However, Kook far from embraced all of the elements of modern Zionism. He was critical of the secularists when they went "too far" in desecrating the Torah, for instance, by not observing the Sabbath or kosher laws. Kook also opposed the secular spirit of the Hatikvah anthem, and penned another anthem with a more religious theme entitled haEmunah. Haredi Judaism, also called ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Judaism. ... Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (1849 - 1932) was the Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Haredi Jewish community of Jerusalem during the years of the British mandate and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis. ... For other uses, see Sabbath. ... The circled U indicates that this product is certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU). ... Hatikvah (Hebrew: הַתִּקְוָה, “The Hope”, Arabic transliteration هاتكفا), sometimes styled HaTikva(h), is the national anthem of Israel. ... Haemunah (Hebrew: הַאמונה, “The Faith”) is an alternate national anthem for the State of Israel written in the late 19th century by Rav Kook. ...

Kook fathered three children through his two wives: two daughters and a son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. His nephew was Hillel Kook. Prophet of Greater Israel, his teachings inspired the modern religious settlement movement in the territories. ... Hillel Kook (Hebrew: , born 24 July 1915, died 18 August 2001), also known as Peter Bergson (Hebrew: פיטר ברגסון), was a Revisionist Zionist activist, politician, and prominent member of the Irgun. ...

Legacy

Relationship with Religious Zionism

While Kook has been exalted as one of the most important thinkers in Religious Zionism, there is substantial evidence that he never saw himself or his ideas in these terms. Indeed, there are several prominent quotes in which Kook is quite critical of the Religious Zionists (Mizrachi), whom he saw as naive and perhaps hypocritical in attempting to synthesize traditional Judaism with a modern and largely secular ideology. In one letter, he said: The Mizrachi (acronym for Merkaz Ruchani or religious centre) is the name of the religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilna at a world conference of religious Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. ...

This gave rise not long ago to the Mizrachi association. But this is not a complete remedy, since in the end we are still strengthening secular Zionism… We can never guard ourselves from the influence of the secularists… How then are the Mizrachim protected from the evil influence of lawless Zionism on their children!

Rather than being seen as a Religious Zionist leader or proponent, Kook should be properly understood as a pragmatic consensus-builder. Kook never shied away from criticizing his peers, including the Zionists (religious and secular), as well as the increasingly cloistered traditionalists living in the Holy Land, whose way of life he characterized as being similarly affected by the negative and abnormal conditions of the Jewish exile, and therefore just as "inauthentic" as that of their Zionist counterparts. Kook was interested in outreach and cooperation between different groups and types of Jews, and saw both the good and bad in each of them. His sympathy for them as fellow Jews should not be misinterpreted as any inherent endorsement of their ideas, Zionists or otherwise. That said, Kook's willingness to engage in joint-projects (for instance, his participation in the Chief Rabbinate) with the secular Zionist leadership must be seen as differentiating him from many of his traditionalist peers. In terms of practical results, it would not be incorrect to characterize Kook as being, at the least, a proto-Zionist. Rightly or wrongly, his perceived openness to the Zionist movement can be seen as a major stepping-stone to the Religious Zionist movement gaining momentum and legitimacy after his death.

The Israeli moshav Kfar Haroe, founded in 1934, was named after Kook, "Haroe" being the Hebrew acronym הרא"ה — "HaRav Avraham HaCohen". His son Zvi Yehuda Kook, who was substantially more explicit in his Zionism, took over teaching duties at Merkaz Harav after his death, and dedicated his life to interpreting and disseminating his father's philosophy. Kook's popular image as a Religious Zionist can be partially attributed to his son's wide influence in the Religious Zionist community, and substantial success in combining his father's teachings with his own beliefs. Moshav (Hebrew: מושב Translit. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Prophet of Greater Israel, his teachings inspired the modern religious settlement movement in the territories. ...

See also

• Religious Zionism
• Volozhin Yeshiva

Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement, a branch of which is also called Mizrachi, is an ideology that claims to combine Zionism and Judaism, to base Zionism on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as the Eitz Chaim yeshiva, was a yeshiva situated in Volozhin, present-day Belarus in the 19th century. ...

External links

• Selected Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (and others), orot.com
• Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kook, vbm-torah.org
• Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, ou.org
• Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935), Prof. Eliezer Segal
• Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
• Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook (1865–1935), zionist.org.uk
• Life and Priciples, mizrachi.org
• Lectures on Rav Kook's writings, machonmeir.org.il
• Time-line of Rav Kook's life
• The Yeshiva he founded, today
• Rav Kook and Rav Shlomo Elyashev zt'l ("Leshem")
• Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, from Ou.org
• Kook Family Tree
• Chapters from Orot, from zehut.net (Hebrew)
• KOOK (Kuk), AVRAHAM YIZHAQ (1865–1935), Encyclopaedia Judaica

Resources

Writings

• Ayin Aiyah, Commentary on Ayin Yaakov the Aggadic sections of the Talmud.
• Igorot HaRaiyah, The Collected Letters of Rav Kook.
• Olat Raiyah, Commentary on the Siddur.
• Orot - translation Bezalel Naor, Jason Aronson 1993. ISBN 1-56821-017-5
• Orot HaKodesh
• Orot ha-teshuvah - translation Ben-Zion Metzger, Bloch Pub. Co., 1968. ASIN B0006DXU94

Translation and Commentary

• (translation), Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems, Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X
• Samson, David; Tzvi Fishman (1996). Lights Of Orot. Jerusalem: Torat Eretz Yisrael Publications. ISBN 965-90114-0-7. 
• Samson, David; Tzvi Fishman (1997). War and Peace. Jerusalem: Torat Eretz Yisrael Publications. ISBN 965-90114-2-3. 
• Samson, David; Tzvi Fishman (1999). The Art of T'Shuva. Jerusalem: Beit Orot Publications. ISBN 965-90114-3-1. 
• (translation), The Essential Writings of Abraham Isaac Kook, Ben Yehuda Press 2006 (reprint). ISBN 0-9769862-3-X
• Rabbi Chanan Morrison, Gold from the Land of Israel: A New Light on the Weekly Torah Portion From the Writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, Urim Publications 2006. ISBN 965-7108-92-6

Rabbi David Samson (born 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the leading English-speaking Torah scholars in the Religious Zionist movement in Israel. ... Rabbi David Samson (born 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the leading English-speaking Torah scholars in the Religious Zionist movement in Israel. ... Rabbi David Samson (born 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the leading English-speaking Torah scholars in the Religious Zionist movement in Israel. ...

Analysis

• The Philosophy of Rabbi Kook, Zvi Yaron, Eliner Library, 1992.
• Essays on the Thought and Philosophy of Rabbi Kook, ed. Ezra Gellman, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8386-3452-4
• The World of Rav Kook's Thought, Shalom Carmy, Avi-Chai Publishers, 1991. ISBN 0-9623723-2-3
• Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook: Between Rationalism and Mysticism, Benjamin Ish-Shalom, translation Ora Wiskind Elper, SUNY Press, 1993. ISBN 0-7914-1369-1

Rabbi Shalom Carmy is a tenured professor of Jewish Studies and Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University. ...

Biography

• Simcha Raz, Angel Among Men: Impressions from the Life of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook Zt""L, translated (from Hebrew) Moshe D. Lichtman, Urim Publications 2003. ISBN-10: 9657108535 ISBN-13: 978-9657108536
• Yehudah Mirsky, "An Intellectual and Spiritual Biography of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhaq Ha-Cohen Kook from 1865 to 1904," Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2007.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, also known as Isaac Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Ireland and, later, of the British mandate in Palestine and Israel, once formed. ... Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (pl. ... This article is about the Jewish male educational system. ... Yeshivat Mercaz haRav is a religious Zionist yeshiva situated in Jerusalem. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Prophet of Greater Israel, his teachings inspired the modern religious settlement movement in the territories. ...