Abraham Isaac Kook facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Abraham Isaac Kook אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק‎
Abraham Isaac Kook in 1924
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Orthodox
Personal
Born	(1865-09-07)7 September 1865 Griva, Russian Empire (today Daugavpils, Latvia)
Died	1 September 1935(1935-09-01) (aged 69) Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine
Senior posting
Title	First Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine

Buried	Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, Israel

Abraham Isaac Kook (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק הַכֹּהֵן קוּק; September 7, 1865 – September 1, 1935), often called Rav Kook, was a very important Orthodox rabbi. He became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. Many people see him as one of the main thinkers behind religious Zionism. He is also known for starting the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, a famous religious school.

Biography
Thought
- Hebrew University and Herzl
- Views on Zionism
Legacy
- Support and Criticism from Rabbis
Resources
Images for kids
Gallery
See also

Biography

Early Life and Education

Rav Kook was born in 1865 in a place called Griva, which is now part of Daugavpils, Latvia. He was the oldest of eight children. His father was a rabbi who studied at a famous Jewish school called the Volozhin yeshiva. His mother's family followed a different Jewish movement called Hasidism.

When he was 18, in 1884, Rav Kook also joined the Volozhin Yeshiva. There, he became close with the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. He also studied with Rabbi Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim, who later became the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem. In 1886, Rav Kook married Rabbi Rabinowitz-Teomim's daughter, Batsheva. Sadly, she passed away in 1888. He later married her cousin, Raize-Rivka, and they had a son named Zvi Yehuda Kook in 1891.

Becoming a Rabbi

In 1887, at age 23, Rav Kook became a rabbi in a town called Zaumel, in Lithuania. Later, in 1895, he became the rabbi of Bauska.

During these years, he started writing about his ideas, which he would later develop more fully. Rav Kook himself usually avoided eating meat, except on special holidays. He believed that Jewish law could guide society towards a more peaceful world where people might choose to be vegetarian.

Moving to the Land of Israel

In 1904, Rav Kook was invited to be the Rabbi in Jaffa, which was then part of Ottoman Palestine. He arrived there in 1905. While in Jaffa, he wrote many important books about Jewish law and spirituality.

He also connected with Jewish communities from different places, like Yemen. He worked to help people connect more with Torah and Halakha (Jewish law). In 1913, Rav Kook led a group of rabbis on a special trip to new Jewish settlements. Their goal was to encourage people to keep the Shabbat (Sabbath), study Torah, and follow other religious practices, especially those related to farming and giving tithes.

World War I and London

When First World War started, Rav Kook was in Germany and couldn't leave. He managed to get to London through Switzerland. He stayed in the UK for the rest of the war. In 1916, he became the rabbi of a synagogue in London called the Spitalfields Great Synagogue.

Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and Palestine

After the war, in 1919, Rav Kook returned to the Land of Israel. He was appointed the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Soon after, in 1921, he became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of all of Palestine.

Many of the new Jewish settlers in Palestine were not religious. Rav Kook tried to understand their actions from a religious point of view. However, some traditional religious leaders disagreed strongly with his approach. They felt his ideas were too new or different. In 1921, some critics even tried to stop his book Orot from being read. There were strong disagreements among rabbis about his views and his way of connecting with all types of Jews. Despite this, other important rabbis supported Rav Kook.

In March 1924, Rav Kook traveled to America to raise money for Jewish schools in Palestine and Europe. In the same year, he founded the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Rav Kook passed away in Jerusalem in 1935. About 20,000 people attended his funeral.

Thought

Rav Kook wrote a lot about both Halakha (Jewish law) and Jewish thought.

He believed it was important for different Jewish groups to work together. He kept in touch with many Jewish leaders, including those who were not religious, religious Zionists, and traditional Orthodox Jews.

Hebrew University and Herzl

In 1928, Rav Kook wrote a letter to Rabbi Joseph Messas about a speech he gave at the opening of Hebrew University.

Rav Kook had a lot of understanding for non-religious people. He said that while he could criticize, he preferred to be someone who brings people together. However, he did speak out when secular people broke Jewish laws, like not observing the Shabbat or kashrut (kosher) laws.

He also strongly believed that Jews should not go up to the Temple Mount because of Jewish laws about purity. He felt that Jews should wait for the coming of the Messiah before entering that holy area. But he also made it clear that the Western Wall and the Temple Mount are very holy places for the Jewish people.

Rav Kook also had some concerns about the secular words of the Hatikvah anthem (the Israeli national anthem). He wrote another anthem with a more religious message called haEmunah.

Views on Zionism

Rav Kook is seen as one of the most important thinkers in modern Religious Zionism. However, his views on the Zionism of his time were quite detailed.

He strongly supported the Jewish people settling the Land of Israel, which Zionists were doing. His ideas helped create a religious reason for combining Torah study with Zionism. He also respected secular Zionists and worked with them, for example, by being part of the Chief Rabbinate.

At the same time, he also had some criticisms. He felt that the religious-Zionist Mizrachi movement sometimes put religious passion aside. In 1917, he wrote a statement called Degel Yerushalayim. In it, he explained the difference between "Zion" (which meant political independence) and "Jerusalem" (which meant holiness). He believed that Zionism should work with, but eventually serve, the goal of holiness represented by Jerusalem. He even tried to start a "Degel Yerushalayim" movement separate from the main Zionist movement, but it didn't become very big.

Legacy

The Israeli moshav (a type of settlement) called Kfar Haroeh, founded in 1933, was named after Rav Kook. "Haroah" is a Hebrew acronym for "HaRav Avraham HaCohen." His son, Zvi Yehuda Kook, was his most important student. After his father's death, he continued teaching at Mercaz HaRav and worked to spread his father's writings. Many students of Rav Kook's ideas later formed the Hardal Religious Zionist movement.

In 1937, Yehuda Leib Maimon started Mossad Harav Kook, which is a religious research group and a well-known publishing house in Jerusalem. It is named after Rav Kook.

Support and Criticism from Rabbis

Many important Jewish scholars supported Rav Kook. They saw him as a great leader and scholar. Rav Kook himself said he wasn't part of any specific group. He just wanted to serve God and follow the Torah. He believed that all Jews should work together. Many Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) leaders wrote letters showing their support for him. Rav Kook accepted any insults without anger, saying he was just a "servant of G-d."

Some examples of how important rabbis greeted Rav Kook in their letters:

Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski called him "Our friend, the gaon, our master and teacher, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook."
Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz called him "The true gaon, the beauty, and glory of the generation, the tzaddik."
Rav Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn of Lubavitch called him "The Gaon who is renowned with splendor."
Rav Chatzkel Abramsky called him "The honored man, beloved of Hashem and his nation, the rabbi, the gaon, great and well-known."
Rav Yitzchak Hutner called him "The glorious honor of our master, our teacher and rabbi, the great gaon."

However, some other rabbis disagreed with Rav Kook's views, especially his approach to Zionism and his willingness to work with secular groups. They felt his ideas were outside traditional rabbinic teachings. For example, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman expressed concerns about working with the Chief Rabbinate led by Kook, fearing it might support groups that were not religious enough. Rabbi Yitzchak Zelig Morgenstern felt that Rav Kook was too connected to the modern spirit of his time and focused too much on national rebirth. These disagreements show that even great religious leaders can have different ideas about how to lead and connect with the Jewish people.

Resources

Writings

Orot – a collection of his ideas, published by his son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook.
Orot HaTeshuvah – about returning to God.
Orot HaEmuna – about faith.
Orot HaKodesh – four volumes about holiness.
Orot HaTorah – about the Torah.
Chavosh Pe'er – about the mitzvah of tefillin.
Eder HaYakar and Ikvei HaTzon - essays about new generations and understanding God.
Ein Ayah – a commentary on the stories and lessons in the Talmud.
Ma'amarei HaRe'iyah (two volumes) – a collection of his articles and lectures.
Midbar Shur – sermons he wrote as a rabbi.
Reish Millin – a Kabbalistic discussion of the Hebrew alphabet.
Be'er Eliyahu – on Jewish judges.
Orach Mishpat – questions and answers on Jewish law.
Ezrat Cohen – questions and answers on Jewish family law.
Mishpat Kohen – questions and answers on issues related to the Land of Israel.
Zivchei R'Iyah- questions and answers on sacrifices.
Shabbat Haaretz – laws about the Sabbatical year for farming.
Olat Raiyah – a commentary on the Siddur (prayer book).
Igrot HaRaiyah – a collection of his letters.

Biography

Simcha Raz, Angel Among Men: Impressions from the Life of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook Zt""L
Dov Peretz Elkins, Shepherd of Jerusalem: A Biography of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Yehudah Mirsky, "An Intellectual and Spiritual Biography of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhaq Ha-Cohen Kook from 1865 to 1904," Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2007.
Yehudah Mirsky, "Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution (Jewish Lives)"

Quotes

Therefore, the pure righteous do not complain of the dark, but increase the light; they do not complain of evil, but increase justice; they do not complain of heresy, but increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, but increase wisdom.
There could be a freeman with the spirit of the slave, and there could be a slave with a spirit full of freedom; whoever is faithful to himself – he is a freeman, and whoever fills his life only with what is good and beautiful in the eyes of others – he is a slave.

Images for kids

Proclamation by 80 rabbis in support of Kook after the printing of Kol Ha-Shofar in 1921
Kook with Mayor of New York John F. Hylan (1924)
Proclamation against Kook by rabbis Rosin, Brach and Greenwald (1926)
Students of Mercaz Harav Yeshiva
Rav Kook's handwriting
Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein writing in support and defense of Rav Kook
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Rav Kook with Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Rav Avraham Dov Ber Kahana

Gallery

Funeral of Rav Kook, Jerusalem 1935
Rav Kook and Rav Sonnenfeld
Rav Kook and Rav Frank
Letter of Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz About Rav Kook
Letter of Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky About Rav Kook
Badatz Eidah Chareidis writing In support and Defense of Rav Kook
Main entrance of Beit HaRav (Rav Kook's House) in Jerusalem, Israel
Stone carving above door where Rav Kook lived when he was the Chief Rabbi in the 1920s and 30s.
Interior view of the part of Beit HaRav used for Yeshiva Mercaz HaRav as well as synagogue.
Rabbi Kook in 1920