Rav Kook Analysis

My fascination with Rav Kook’s writings developed when I was assigned a project for my favorite class, Jewish History, in which I was required to study the Rabbi’s life, philosophical writings, and contributions to the Jewish people. Through War and Peace, I became drawn towards the Rabbi’s open-mind and his genuine love for all of mankind. I was intrigued by the common threads in his poems, essays, and leadership, and the more I explored them, the more my perspective on the world expanded. His philosophical essays, compiled and disseminated by Rabbi Samson and Tzvi Fishman, granted me extraordinary insight into the world.

Rabbi Kook knew that there existed a popular misconception in many Jewish communities that one must oppose anything that isn’t strictly Jewish: Outside cultures are to be rejected, gentiles are to be viewed as enemies, and Jews are to remain as insular. After centuries of persecution, it is logical that Jews would understand the teaching to love mankind as one that is limited to loving the Jewish nation. However, Rabbi Kook sought to correct this distortion. He wrote that we are commanded to love every human- not superficially, but rather, in a complete, inclusive fashion. We
A piece of me understood the world through a secular lens- I could explain how scientific advances or inter-cultural exchange shaped our modern civilizations. Years of religious education granted me a religious lens as well. I understood the special role of Jewish people in the world. However I was, and I still am, trying put the pieces together. Rabbi Kook was known for his open mind, and his power to bring Jews of all sorts of ideology together, and it was his ability to integrate ancient beliefs into a modern world that enabled him to do so. His essays and poetry, though written almost centuries ago, have taught me how using both lenses simultaneously provides a much clearer image of the