Shabbat Parashat Vayeishev 5783

Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: How to Develop New Approaches in Eretz Yisrael’s Rabbinate – #137 – part I

Date and Place: 12 Iyar 5668 (1908), Yafo

Recipient: Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Halevi. We have already seen letters between the two on the topic of Rav Kook’s planned yeshiva, but this presentation deserves to be seen.

Body: I feel a personal obligation to give you, blessed, honorable giant, a correct perspective about the truth of what we are toiling to achieve for the good of the Holy Land.

I see that in your letter, you call on the rabbis of the Holy Land to not hold back the smallest iota of their opinions, as if they are used to conceding their beliefs because of external influence. My master should know that this is not the case. If we search the whole land, we will not find people who stand by their opinions, regularly and precisely, like the rabbis of the Holy Land in regard to preserving proper religious outlook. Therefore, they do not need any encouragement.

Our need now is actually in the other direction. We need to see the future and take steps to deal with the situation of Judaism in Eretz Yisrael, which is to a great degree the general Judaism of all of the Jewish People, and give it a strong basis for future generations. This is possible only by drawing new forces into the camp of those who hold on to the “tree of life” of Torah and belief. This requires a correct standing in life, by having people who are fit to function in society, which includes crucial knowledge about the world and important languages, while still holding on to the lofty light of knowledge of Torah on its highest levels, reaching knowledge of Hashem by broadening all elements of Jewish disciplines.

For this, we need to renew the way yeshivot operate. There is no way we will be able to make this change if we work with the existing institutions. Any attempt to do so would just be deception on both sides and would not bring the benefits and the spreading of the light of Hashem on Israel that we look forward to. That is why we must found a new yeshiva, specifically in the center of the New Yishuv, which is more in need of spiritual reawakening. Here we can get people to agree [on a plan of action].

The chief goal is that the elite students of the yeshiva can become rabbis for the new agricultural settlements, for they will know well the world and life, and they will be able to give over a spirit of knowledge, love of Torah, and true fear of Heaven for the settlements. The rest of the students will also be people who will possess charm and grandeur as befits those who are connected to Torah and interact naturally with others. The most talented can write books on topics of Torah and scholarship, which is needed for service of Hashem in our generation, in order to return to the Name of Hashem, Eretz Yisrael, and the Jewish People their proper honor. Those with a talent for pedagogy can become good teachers, who are respected in society, full of the light of healthy life and a strong spirit of Judaism and full belief in Hashem. In that way, they will be able to stand in the great breach caused by the new educational system, which is in the midst of swallowing up all that is holy.

Along with that, we must found workshops and schools for agriculture, which are full in the spirit of Torah and belief in Hashem, with knowledge and good reason, with a pure desire to make the soul and the Jewish body in Eretz Yisrael healthy. This must wait to be put into action until after the main yeshiva is founded.

We will continue next week.

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