Gentiles and Jews in the Thought of Rav Kook

“The Beauty of Yefet in the Tents of Shem”

n matters of daily life, the State of Israel has largely fulfilled the famous Ibiblical depiction of the Jews as “a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:29). The world of many Israeli Jews is largely devoid of significant contact with non-Jews. Other than as workers at construction sites or in the kitchens of restaurants, non-Jews are mainly glimpsed through the prism of the local media. This is particularly true of the Palestinian population, which, despite its geographical proximity, remains behind a barrier of violence, fear and political deadlock. The problem is compounded in the case of religious Zionism, whose authoritative texts are rife with negative perceptions of non-Jews.

{By DAVID DISHON

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The foremost spiritual figure of religious The second conception sees no essential Zionism is undoubtedly Rabbi Abraham difference between Jews and non-Jews. All Isaac HaCohen Kook (1865–1935), the first men and women share the same human Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine, and one qualities and frailties. The Jews are unique of the most prolific, profound and influen- by virtue of having been chosen by God to tial Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. His receive the Torah and are thus required to legacy enjoys particular popularity among become “a kingdom of priests and a holy na- the youth and educators of the national-re- tion” (Exodus 19:6). Uniquely Jewish traits ligious public. Although Rabbi Kook devel- are perceived as arising from Torah learning oped a rich, complex and original body of and Jewish education. This “nonessentialist” thought on a wide variety of spiritual issues, approach has appealed to rationalist sages many of his followers have chosen to focus such as Sa’adia Gaon and Maimonides, and on his messianic Zionism and his mysti- became popular in modern Orthodox circles cal doctrines of Jewish uniqueness. Rabbi from the 19th century onward. Kook, however, expressed love for all human beings. His teachings regarding non-Jews combine a kabbalistic worldview with a mod- Rabbi Kook expressed ern, humanistic sensibility. When properly understood, these teachings can become an love for all human important source for educating Jews to ap- preciate their own uniqueness while inter- beings. His teachings acting positively with the non-Jewish world. regarding non-Jews combine a kabbalistic The Iron Furnace of Egypt worldview with a Contemporary scholars customarily identify two basic conceptions of non-Jews in modern, humanistic the halachic tradition. The first views the non-Jew as possessing a spiritual essence sensibility. that is different from, and inferior to, that of the Jew. Jewish spiritual superiority aris- For many modern Jewish liberal and hu- es from the Jews’ unique bond with God, as manist thinkers, Orthodox Jews included, the described in the Bible, which marks Israel’s essentialist approach is a source of embarrass- distinctiveness as “a people that dwells ment and concern. After centuries of combat- apart” not only religiously and as a commu- ing demonic portrayals of the Jew based on nity, but by virtue of their spiritual essence. racial theories, it is appalling to see one’s own Non-Jews who convert to Judaism are con- tradition portraying the Other as representa- sidered lost Jewish souls that have under- tive of the Sitra Ahra (literally, the other side): gone a miraculous transformation and have the ritually impure aspect of the universe returned to the fold; or else as individuals containing the forces of evil and destruction. possessing limited spiritual potential. This This image of the non-Jew is deeply ingrained “essentialist” approach characterizes the in Jewish mysticism and is dominant in the thought of the medieval sage Rabbi Yehuda thought of many a great Jewish sage. Halevi, as well as the major streams of Jew- With the founding of the State of Israel, ish mysticism and Hasidism, all of which this embarrassment evolved in the eyes of remain highly influential in most Orthodox many into a serious concern. For the first circles today. time in 2,000 years, Jews are sovereign over

HAVRUTA | 81 non-Jews and are able to wage war against Through a close reading of his works, we may non-Jewish enemies. Within this new re- reconstruct a fuller and more nuanced pic- ality, it is feared that religious ideologies ture of Rabbi Kook’s views on the relations holding non-Jews to be inferior by their that Jews should maintain with non-Jews. very essence could be invoked to condone Rabbi Kook makes his essentialist under- abuses of human rights, both in armed con- standing of Israel crystal clear. He claims flicts and within civic society. Since Israel that Israel’s uniqueness does not derive from has become in many ways the “public face” the mitzvot but that the mitzvot were giv- of Judaism worldwide, the attitudes of Is- en to Israel and not to the other nations in raelis towards non-Jews are of acute in- recognition of Israel’s unique “soul essence” terest and concern for Diaspora Jews who (etzem nishmati). Rabbi Kook maintains that identify with the Jewish state. at the dawn of human history. the whole of humanity shared an identical essence. When God decided to set apart a unique, chosen na- The attitudes of Israelis tion – the Jews – He supplemented the human essence of its people with a “majestic towards non-Jews are of spirit.” But with the onset of moral deprav- ity, the secular, universal humanity could no acute interest and con- longer serve as a basis for the sacred essence cern for Diaspora Jews of the Jews but rather corrupted it. Israelite receptivity to divine holiness was then made who identify with the possible only through the experience of exile and slavery in Egypt, which functioned as an Jewish state. “iron furnace,” reforging a totally new cre- ation of a unique spiritual entity, separate in The teachings of Rabbi Kook, a key spiri- its essence “from head to heel”: tual authority of the religious Zionist movement, are of particular importance in this The difference between the Israelite nesh- context. His essentialist perspective has ama [supernal soul], its essence, internal guided the thought of his followers, most longings, aspiration, character and posi- important, his son Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook tion – and the neshama of all the nations, (1891–1982), who served as head of Jerusa- in their various grades, is greater and lem’s Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva (named after deeper than the difference between the his father) and as an early leader of the set- nefesh [lower, biological part of the soul] tler movement. In many quarters of religious of man and the nefesh of animals. For be- Zionism, youths are growing up in an educa- tween the latter there is only a quantita- tional environment that takes for granted tive difference, while between the former the spiritual inferiority of non-Jews. There is there exists a qualitative, essential differ- a danger that this could justify, in their eyes, ence. (Orot Yisrael 5:10) a lack of concern for non-Jewish lives, prop- erty and dignity. If the non-Jewish world is perceived as “impure,” offering nothing of The Humane Impulse spiritual value, intellectual quests into oth- Yet Rabbi Kook’s belief in an inherent Jew- er human cultures and their histories could ish spiritual superiority did not prevent him then be dismissed as irrelevant to Jews. from preaching deep love and respect for ev- Many Jews are alarmed by this simplis- ery human being. “For only in a soul rich with tic interpretation of Rabbi Kook’s ideology. the love of creatures and the love of man,”

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he taught, “can love of the nation soar to the The following year, addressing a meeting of height of its nobility and its spiritual and prac- the Jewish National Fund, Rabbi Kook re- tical greatness” (Musar Avicha, p.58 ). minded the Jews that they must be, even This love of mankind is central to Israel’s in the face of violence, “a righteous na- spiritual role among the nations. For Rabbi tion keeping faithfulness,” in the words of Kook, a superficial reading of sacred Jewish the prophet Isaiah. Such righteousness, he texts could lead to hostility or apathy to- emphasized, must express itself by acting wards the non-Jew. He condemns such spiri- justly toward every nation and individual. tual “miserliness” (tzarut ayin) that holds all He praised the JNF for acquiring land only foreign elements to be categorically negative. through purchase, as a fulfillment of the Largesse of spirit must be accompanied by mitzvah to love one’s neighbor, which refers careful navigation through the traditions of not only to Jews, but to foreign nations as halacha and Torah study: well.* As he taught: [The love of all creatures] must withstand The love of Israel requires the love of all very demanding trials, to overcome many mankind, and when it instills hatred for contradictions strewn like obstructing any part of mankind, this is a sign that the boulders in [the form of] isolated state- neshama has not yet been purified from its ments, the superficial meaning of certain filth, and thus cannot be united with the halachot, and a vast many doctrines de- Eden of the highest love. (Orot Yisrael 4:5) rived from the tzimtzum [brevity] of the literal meaning of the Torah and national Indeed Rabbi Kook believed that the ulti- morality. (Orot Hakodesh, vol. 3, p. 318) mate purpose of Jewish spiritual activity is to perfect the role of the Jewish nation as Rabbi Kook certainly practiced what he the carrier of divine goodness to mankind. preached. In the aftermath of the 1929 ri- This process, he wrote, will culminate with ots in which more than a hundred Jews were the redemption of the whole world – the at- massacred by Arab mobs, Rav Kook dismissed tainment of a human society of perfect jus- Arab allegations that the violence was trig- tice and truth. This redemptive scheme is gered by Jewish provocations. But instead of anchored in an important concept of Jewish resorting to counter-accusations, he sounded mysticism: Knesset Yisrael (literally, the As- an empathetic note in an article published in sembly of Israel) – the metaphysical entity of the Hebrew newspaper Ha’Olam: the Jewish nation, expressed in the concrete People of Israel. Ultimately, I know full well that that the Arab people in general, and also the greater Knesset Yisrael is the microcosm of Being part of the Arabs of the Land of Israel, are as a whole, and in this world, this micro- filled with sorrow and shame for the despi- cosm is embodied in the concrete Israelite cable acts performed by a small minority in nation, in its corporeality and spirituality, their midst as the result of incitement. And in its history and faith . . . there is no move- we hope that the same tradition of ways ment in the world, in any of the nations, of peace and mutual support, of building for which you cannot find an example in together with all of the inhabitants of the Israel. (Orot Yisrael 1:1) Land of Israel, the beloved and forsaken country. . . will triumph over all conspiracies * This address, along with many of Rabbi Kook’s articles and of lies and deceit, of defilement and malice. speeches, may be found in their original Hebrew in Ma’amarei Hara’ayah (Mercaz HaRav Kook, Jerusalem, 1984.)

HAVRUTA | 83 Though not apparent on the surface, the his- all, and his mercies are over all his works” torical interaction of the Jews with other na- (Psalm 145). This goodness is the secret of tions is the vehicle of universal redemption: redemption, which must inevitably come. (Orot Yisrael 1:4) The essential desire to be “good to all” with no limitations whatsoever, not in the Rabbi Kook believed that Dignitaries on donkeys, number of the beneficiaries and not in the Palestine, ca.1915 quality of the goodness, is the inner core the ultimate purpose of of the essence of the neshama of Knesset Jewish spiritual activity is to Yisrael . . . At the depths of its desire Knes- set Yisrael is not at all separated from the perfect the role of the Jewish divinity; it “wears” the divinity that is re- nation as the carrier of divine vealed in the world and desires in its Being the divine desire of “The Lord is good to goodness to mankind.

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This commitment to universal goodness, fer him there for a burnt offering” (Genesis. however, comes at a price, as it places a heavy 22:2). Many exegetes, especially in the mod- moral duty on every Jewish individual: ern era, have seen Abraham’s willingness to comply as proof that divine command must Knesset Yisrael is founded entirely on the trump all human moral intuitions. But Rab- basis of the highest divine morality. There- bi Kook maintains that God complements fore any moral elevation found in any of its Abraham’s complete surrender to the divine individual members adds to her strength. command by stopping the sacrifice, thereby And vice versa: a moral failure, and any establishing the imperative that God’s com- malice [on the part of an individual], ac- mand must never contradict human feelings cording to its inherent degree of ugliness of love and justice. The latter, in fact, are also and evil, diminish her strength and weak- a revelation of divine will: “[T]he mercy of a en the relation its individuals maintain father and his love with a pure soul is itself with the collective. (Orot Yisrael 2:1) a flame of holy fire, emanating directly from the pure love of God, ‘whose mercies are over Rav Kook’s category of “highest divine all his works’ ” (Olat HaRa’ayah, p. 93). morality” does not imply that human morality is separated from God’s. On the con- trary, the morality of the Torah enhances Like Maimonides before the universal moral intuitions that come naturally to all people: him, Rabbi Kook sees nothing wrong with The fear of heaven must never quash the natural morality of man, because it then the use of “external” ceases to be a pure fear of heaven. . . A sign of pure fear of heaven is when natural mo- philosophical concepts rality, implanted in man’s upright nature, for the elucidation of ascends higher than where it would stand without it [the morality of the Torah]. spiritual questions. (Orot HaKodesh, vol.3, p.27)

Moreover, Rav Kook warned in Orot HaTo- Pathways of the Intellect rah against violations, in the name of Torah, of “the spirit of natural morality” and “the Rabbi Kook understands world history as gates of light of natural understanding.” a continuous process of striving for perfection (hishtalmut). This process involves the Torah that is “torn from all the light of life unification of different human elements that spread throughout the world,” he wrote, is possess special qualities, each making their Torah misunderstood.**1 unique contribution to the overall mosaic. The story of the Binding of Isaac (the Ake- dah) serves Rabbi Kook as a case in point. God The Holy One acted kindly towards his commands Abraham to “Take your son, your world by not putting all the talents in one favored one, Isaac, whom you love. . . and of- place – not in one person, nor in one peo-

**Orot HaTorah, along with Orot HaKodesh and other volumes, is ple, nor in one country, nor in one genera- a compendium of Rav Kook’s writings assembled after his death tion, nor in one world. Rather the talents by his principal disciple Rabbi David Cohen, known as the Nazir, and other followers. are spread around. . . . A rich eternal spiritual quality [segulat olamim] is ensconced

HAVRUTA | 85 in Israel. But in order to be united with the Zionist historian Ze’ev Yavetz (1847–1924), world in a general sense as well, aspects author of the monumental History of Israel, of unique faculties must be lacking in Is- criticized Maimonides for relying on Greek rael, for the world and all “the great of philosophical concepts in the Guide for the the peoples” (Psalm 47) to supplement. Perplexed, Rabbi Kook responded as follows, th Palestinian schoolgirls, (Orot Yisrael 5:2) in an essay appended to the 12 (and posthu- Gaza, 1969 mous) volume of Yavetz’s opus: /// Photograph by Rick/ Israel has been entrusted with the task of Israelsun leading the process of hishtalmut and must be These [concepts] are nothing but rational assisted by other nations as well. Yet Rabbi explanations that reach as far as human Kook is careful here to distinguish between capacity to delve into eternal mysteries Jewish openness to “external” non-Jewish goes, and these can be uttered in any lan- contributions (in aesthetics, science, technol- guage. And I cannot fathom such excessive ogy) and Israel’s complete self-reliance when zealotry: are indeed all the pathways of it comes to “internals” (the spiritual realm the human intellect forbidden unto Israel? of faith and morality). In his words: “[T]he Where is then “the beauty of Yefet in the internality of life is perfect in Israel without tents of Shem?” needing help from any foreign power.” Maimonides, the first sage to offer a com- prehensive halachic codification, is tradi- There is a delicate and tionally hailed as the foremost Jewish thinker throughout the generations. His Guide is difficult balance to be a theological tour de force that is informed by sensitivity to rational consistency, which maintained between derives from the philosophical legacy of Ar- self-confidence which istotle. Therefore, for Rabbi Kook, it is hard to see how Maimonides’ philosophical dis- empowers oneself and cussions in the treatise would lack spiritual significance, even if they are inspired to a self-righteousness which degree by a Greek thinker. The Talmudic abuses others, between reference to “the beauty of Yefet” (BT Me- gillah 9b) serves Rabbi Kook to expand the healthy self-criticism and notion of beauty to pertain to all forms of truth and wisdom. Yefet, one of Noah’s corruptive cynicism. three sons, whose offspring were the forefa- thers of great ancient kingdoms, may none- This receptivity to “externals” undoubtedly theless bring offerings of beauty (in Rabbi reflects Rabbi Kook’s own intellectual vorac- Kook’s expanded sense) to the tents of his ity, which extended well beyond the confines brother Shem, forefather of Abraham: of Jewish law and lore. However, in contrast to his distinction between “externals” and And where is the collective sharing in the “internals” in the spiritual life, Rabbi Kook in universal image of God that the Holy One fact freely and elaborately cited non-Jewish Blessed Be He had given? For that is why we thinkers in his writings and celebrated the respect any wise and righteous among the challenge to reach new understandings of whole of humanity, and we accept the truth Torah through the confrontation with mod- from all those who speak words of wisdom . . . ern science and ideas. After the religious

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HAVRUTA | 87 Like Maimonides before him, Rabbi Kook the whole of humanity. The moral, liber- sees nothing wrong with the use of “external” ated streams gradually come into being philosophical concepts for the elucidation of during the period of isolation to prepare spiritual questions, including the study of life for organic connection.” (Emphasis Scripture, since the purity of Jewish spiritu- in the original). al essence cannot be tarnished by their incor- poration, but may indeed gain substantially. Note that Rabbi Kook does not call for the Still, Rabbi Kook identifies a hierarchy abandonment of Jewish separatism, since among the different national cultures. He the path toward greater integration is long distinguishes “higher” from “lower” nations, and gradual. In fact, separation is a necessary although this distinction is fluid and may preparation for integration, and Rabbi Kook change in the course of time. Within this constantly warns against moving too fast be- hierarchical scheme, Israel is commanded fore the adequate conditions have been cre- to search out the positive contribution that ated. Clearly, however, he sees that the times inheres in each and every nation, and to ab- are changing and a shift in emphasis is in or- sorb it and use it in the formation of a super- der. Israel’s national renaissance, which will structure of the True and the Good. In Rabbi usher in a new era in relations between Israel Kook’s view, even the archenemies of Israel and non-Jewish cultures, is imminent. have a positive side, as hinted in the rabbinic saying: “The grandsons of Haman taught To- rah in Bnei Brak. . .” (BT Gittin 57b). Belief and Blemishes One should not, of course, interpret Rab- Lofty as Rabbi Kook’s thought may seem, bi Kook’s openness to other cultures as a li- for him it extended seamlessly to real life. cense to intermingle with them. He walks a His deep involvement in the public sphere, very fine line between multicultural aware- as both a religious leader and a representa- ness and the fundamental commitment of tive of the Jewish yishuv before the British Jews to social and spiritual isolation. In an Mandate, was fully entwined with his theol- article published in the journal Tachkemoni ogy. Therefore, the notion of Knesset Yisrael in 1910, Rabbi Kook explicates his unique constitutes a moral compass that enables the reading of the phrase “a nation that dwells betterment of the Jewish people. At a time apart.” Rabbi Kook understands Jewish when secular Jewish intellectuals leveled insularity as the expression of its being “a harsh criticisms against the spiritual, moral distilled nation” (am tamtzit) that absorbs, and physical state of the Jews, Rabbi Kook purifies and then disseminates the best of insisted that one must never lose sight of all human cultures. Over time, the neces- the ideal entity expressed by Knesset Yisrael, sity of remaining detached from other na- while acknowledging the enormous gap be- tions slowly dwindles, as history progresses tween the ideal and the real: toward the redemptive moment: When ideals reach the stage of practical The seal of the separation of Israel from implementation (ma’aseh) they gradually the [other] nations in the early days of Is- assume limitations, and many portions rael’s emergence is rooted in the memory of the “upper brilliance” are lost imme- of the Exodus and the rebirth of the na- diately. . .When it comes to practice, hu- tion [Israel] that is oriented to the future manity is clad in filthy clothing, its many turns with all its resources in an opposite lights fall into the harsh shells (klipot) movement, away from the Exodus. Israel with which it is wrapped, and he who loves is approaching organic unification with humanity as it is cannot soar. He becomes

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inclined to absorb all the filth it [concrete that Israel must never lose sight of its fun- humanity] has accumulated, much more damental greatness. The human sense of than the sparks of holiness hidden in its inadequacy, the feeling that the individual secret places . . . And the same applies to or Jewish nation is unworthy of divine love the status of individual nationality, where and revelation, is what prevents spiritual we find these same trends manifested also and moral perfection from developing. “The within our nation. (Orot, p. 130) upright person,” we read in Orot HaTorah, “must believe in his own life”. Rabbi Kook contrasts the ideal nationhood There is a delicate and difficult balance of Israel with its historical experience of cor- to be maintained between self-confidence David Dishon was a ruption and destruction. Alongside the opti- which empowers oneself and self-righteous- co-founder in 1985 of mism that Israel’s national renaissance will ness which abuses others, between healthy the Shalom Hartman lead to universal redemption, he warns of the self-criticism and enervating guilt or cor- Institute’s Charles E. dangers of secular nationalism and “national ruptive cynicism. In Orot Yisrael we find Rav Smith High School, wickedness.” To illustrate, Rabbi Kook turns Kook’s conclusion that human beings, and where he currently to the events that led to the destruction of Israel even more so, must believe in their teaches and serves the Second Temple. As he wrote in the jour- own greatness “without blinding our eyes so as Director of Jewish nal HaNeer in 1905: as not to criticize all her blemishes.” Studies. Fiery messianic visions tend to overshad- [At that time] nationalistic sects emerged ow calls for caution and discretion. Rabbi that adopted the superficial manifesta- Kook’s rich legacy contains much of both, but tions of nationalism. The hatred unique quite understandably its appeal has derived to the evil inclination which wreaks de- more from its redemptive promise than from struction in the name of nationalism its accompanying warnings. His writings intensified. Although this hatred is pur- lack systematization and, as he himself con- portedly directed only towards a foreign fessed, were composed in creative outbursts. nation [Rome] and does not concern the This is why a reconstruction of this broad ar- nation [of Israel] itself, over time it trans- ray of materials into a cohesive position is a forms into an internal curse and broth- formidable challenge. erly hatred intensifies, destroying any Our reading of a small selection of his national goodness. writings has attempted to show that Rabbi Kook’s synthesis of historical reality and Acutely sensitive to the danger inher- the grand metaphysical mission of the Jew- ent in the double-edged sword of hatred for ish people is multilayered and sophisticated. the Other, Rabbi Kook opposed Jewish na- Throughout, we are inspired by his message tionalism that sought to base itself on xe- that patience and tolerance are preconditions nophobia instead of “love for all creatures.” for drinking deeply from the fountain of To- Spiritual superiority also entails grave rah learning, and for exercising the potential moral responsibility; the eager anticipation of the human spirit to soar to the heights of of the nearing redemption should never de- divine goodness. sensitize Jews to the faults and dangers of Amid the turbulent currents of the Middle concrete reality. Rabbi Kook warns repeat- East in the 21st century, the words of Rabbi edly against the precipitous inclination to Kook resound more urgently than ever: “The act as though Israel’s immense potential love of Israel requires the love of the whole of were already fully realized, a tendency that mankind.” It remains for a new generation he identified as Christianity’s greatest mis- of idealistic and highly committed religious take. At the same time, Rav Kook insisted Jews to nurture this legacy.

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