Rav Kook

Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (1865–1935)

Rav Kook was one of the most visionary and influential Jewish thinkers of the modern era.

At a time when many religious leaders viewed secular Zionism with suspicion, Rav Kook saw in the return to the Land of Israel—even by non-observant Jews—the stirrings of a divine redemptive process.

Appointed the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel in 1921, Rav Kook continued to develop his far-reaching ideas. His legacy endures as a powerful and often provocative call to envision a Judaism capable of embracing both tradition and transformation.

  • Man against horizon

    Yom Kippur

    Are we Worthy

    In Rav Kook and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    This awesome thought is the focal point of Yom Kippur. Am I worthy to have a claim on life? Or, have I been born but lost my right to live? This is by far the most important question for man to ask. The trembling of the earlier generations on Erev Yom Kippur was indeed that of great pachad (fear) – not fear of punishment or death, but of not rising to the challenge of living in God’s presence and fulfilling one’s destiny!

  • The Rise and Fall of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate

    In Halacha and Rav Kook by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Our later chief rabbis, some of them very righteous and willing to make great personal sacrifices, have lacked theological and philosophical background. They have remained exclusively in the four cubits of Jewish law, and have seemingly never studied secular or general religious philosophy.

  • The Revolutionary Future of the Torah and Mitzvot

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Rav Kook and Parashat Mishpatim by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    All humans are fundamentally children of the time in which they live. It is hard, if not altogether impossible, for most people to think beyond their own limitations. It is the commonplace that stands out and holds sway over most of our thinking. To think outside the box requires courage, broad thinking and daring creativity.

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