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Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook
HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zt"l
5625-5695 (1865-1935) First Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael
HaRav Kook was a brilliant scholar and one of the most profound thinkers in our time. His religious philosophy revealed new aspects of the importance of the works of the Jewish people. He revealed the sources and the roots of one of the greatest visions in our times - the revival of the Jewish people. He, more than anyone else, spoke of the essence of Zionism. And he was the first to coin a phrase that at then seemed to be but a far fetched dream - The state of Israel.
HaRav Kook was the great soul of religious Zionism. He saw in it the process of redemption and the anticipation of the Mashiach. Thirteen years after his death, the State of Israel was established, and it is his teachings which give content to the moral and Zionist mode of thought of the Jewish State.
HaRav Kook built bridges of understanding between all Jews and all streams of Judaism. His own life was an inspiration and an example of love for his fellow Jew, no matter what differences of belief or practice separated them.
Under his leadership, a unique generation of Torah scholars grew up. They were men not only devout and learned, but also active in the national revival of their land and people, closely involved in the daily life of the fledging Jewish State, and in the survival of their nation. They shared HaRav Kook’s intense love for every Jewish soul - an optimistic and creative love which HaRav Kook likened to the spinal cord of the nation, inexorably linked with every part of the body.
The teachings of HaRav Kook have influenced an entire generation, and continue, through the Yeshiva which bears his name, to educate each generation in Israel, to the love of Torah, the love of G-d, the love of Israel, and to a burning love for Zion.
HaRav Kook’s Three Principles
Before us lie the end of the exile, and the onset of our people and our land.
The Torah can and must solve every problem and answer every question, for it is wider and deeper than the ocean.
The soul of every Jew possesses rights - full and inalienable rights to live in his own way, for he belongs to Klal Yisrael (Universal People of Israel).From the sayings of HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook:
"The righteous and pure of heart do not cry out against wickedness, They add justice. They do not cry out against denial, They add faith. They do not cry out against ignorance, They add wisdom."
"If we were to be utterly destroyed and if the world were to be destroyed with us by the hatred that is without reason, we would return to be built up again, and the world would be built up again with us, by the undiscerning love that has no cause."
"Better by far to err by the love that cannot see, than the hatred that is blind".
"The State of Israel - the foundation upon which rests the Throne of G-d in this world".
First Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael