Shabbat Sukkot 5784

Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: The Importance of Torah Education – #170

Date and Place: 14 Cheshvan 5689, Yafo

Recipient: The editor of Chavatzelet, at that time, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, requesting that he put this letter in the paper.

Body: The goal of education is to prepare man for his proper form, especially his being good and straight. Since Avraham Avinu began to call out in Hashem’s Name, it has been our legacy that the more a man has engraved in his soul the desire to call out in Hashem’s Name, the greater his goodness and rectitude, making him more beneficial for himself and society.

The Jewish Nation is unique among the nations in proudly raising the flag of the approach that man’s goodness and rectitude is the loftiest goal. Calling out in Hashem’s Name and entrenching this belief is the best preparation to reach this goal until the goal and the means of reaching it are inseparable. In order to engrain calling out in Hashem’s Name in the heart and soul of the individual and the nation, it is required to learn on a regular basis from a young age. For that reason, Torah study holds the highest priority in a Jew’s education. Other areas of knowledge prepare a person for the “battle of life,” as opposed to making him good and straight in the eyes of Hashem and of man.

Focus on Torah study is the ancient path, traveled by our forefathers from all generations, enabling Israel to survive, succeed, and “give fruit.” It has produced the greatest leaders and distinguished luminaries of each generation, who have enriched the nation and the whole world.

Preparing people for the battle of life has always been considered a secondary concern of education, not its goal itself. Over history, the “waves of the time” have hit us. We have lived among foreign nations, for whom education’s main focus is only to prepare people for the battle of life; the ideas of being good and straight, and certainly calling out in Hashem’s Name, have been minor pursuits even after they somewhat absorbed these ideas, through our influence. The influence of our host countries has infiltrated our spirit. To our great disappointment, a great many in our nation have forgotten our essential form of education and have purged from their schools the elements of goodness and rectitude and calling out in the Name of Hashem. They have stamped their education with the seal of preparation for temporary life, with its battles and lusts alone. Our nation and leaders sense the danger expected from this forgery of the seal of education.

In order to raise a banner for battle against [these perversions of education], we submit in the most forceful way, against the waves of the time, that the proper approach to education is the traditional one, focusing only on the Jewish spirit and its goals. The secondary matters of the battle of life can be achieved on the side, making the difference between sacred and mundane clear. We have clear knowledge that the Eternal King of Israel will not deceive, and that despite the changing needs of the time, the greatest value remains: The Kingdom of Hashem and His dominion, and preparing man and the Nation to follow His paths. This can occur when basic education, done in a unique way of Torah study alone, is employed. This has eternal value, as it says: “Your Kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and Your dominion is in every generation.” These old-type schools still exist in the Jewish diaspora; they are led by the shepherds of Israel, the most scholarly and righteous Jews. We are proud that we have them in the Holy Land, the eternal fortress of the nation’s spirit.

Even those whose lives make them feel the pressure of the load and are concerned about their family’s livelihood and receive permission to study secular subjects in addition to holy ones, should be aware of the need to be very careful, so that this joining together of educational systems not create a “counterfeit coin.” This must be done clearly, especially in the Holy Land, where it is especially important to maintain our unique form, which differs from all nations. Foreign languages and subjects that aid in obtaining a good livelihood are not what emerges from Zion, but Torah is (see Yeshayahu 2:3).

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