Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook: between rationalism and mysticism PDF
Preview Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook: between rationalism and mysticism
9{av !4.vraham Itzfzak... JiaCofien 'l(pok.._ 9781438407630.pdf 2 2/26/2011 4:09:10 AM SU:J{y Series in Judaica: J{ermeneutics, Mysticism, and 1?.g[igion Michael Fishbane, Robert Goldenberg, and Arthur Green, Editors 9781438407630.pdf 3 2/26/2011 4:09:10 AM j(av YLvrafzam Itzfzaf( 5-{aCofzen fj(pol( fJ3etween j(ationa!ism aruf M!Jsticism Benjamin Ish-Shalom Translated from Hebrew by Ora Wiskind-Elper STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS 9781438407630.pdf 4 2/26/2011 4:09:10 AM Production by Ruth Fisher Marketing by Theresa A. Swierzowski Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1993 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address the State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ish Shalom, Binyamin. [Rav Ku~. English] Rav Avraham Itzhak Hacohen Kook : between rationalism and mysticism I Benjamin Ish-Shalom. p. em. -(SUNY series in Judaica) Translation of: ha-Rav ~u~. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-1369-1 (cloth). - ISBN 0-7914-1370-5 (pbk.) 1. Kook, Abraham Isaac, 1865-1935- Teachings. 2. Orthodox Judaism. 3. Mysticism-Judaism. 4. Philosophy, Jewish. I. Title. II. Series. BM755.K66I8513 1993 296.8'32'092-dc20 92-8087 CIP 9781438407630.pdf 5 2/26/2011 4:09:11 AM In memory of my mother Pnina Maika, :1"37 Whose soul ever strove for freedom 9781438407630.pdf 6 2/26/2011 4:09:13 AM 9781438407630.pdf 7 2/26/2011 4:09:13 AM Preface ix Part One: Introduction 1 In the Grip of Contradiction 3 • Formative Influences and Sources • The "Old Yishuv" and the "New Yishuv" -Unbridgeable Distance • The Problem of Education-Tradition versus Innovation • From "Zion" to "Jerusalem" Part Two: Elements of Reality and Perception 2 Reality and Truth-Epistemology and Ontology 31 • Certainty and Doubt • The Ontological Status and Epistemological Value of Metaphysical Speculations • Types and Stages of Perception • Will and Wisdom-Elements of Reality and Perception 3 Revelation as a Principle 79 • Will and the Concept of Revelation • Relativity of Views and Deeds • The Jewish People as a Revelation of Divine Will • The Perception of Torah and Status of the Commandments Part Three: Religion and Freedom 4 The Concept of "Freedom" and the Category of "Self" 99 • Freedom of Thought, Free Choice, and the Concept of "Self" vii 9781438407630.pdf 8 2/26/2011 4:09:13 AM Vlll Contents • "Self-Awareness" and Intensification of Will • Individualism and Moral Relation to Society • The Concept of "Sin" and Idea of Repentance 5 Man and the Origin of the Religious Phenomenon 127 6 The Purpose of Man and Existence 139 7 The Way of the Holy 151 Part Four: Between Rationalism and Mysticism 8 The Dynamic of Rationalism and Mysticism in Rav Kook's Thought 175 • Rationalism and Mysticism-A Definition of Terms • Domains of Rationalism and Mysticism • Mysticism and Reason-Experience and Interpretation 9 Mystical Language, Myth, and Symbol 193 • Expression and Concealment • Myth and Symbol • Conclusion 10 Before the Secret of Existence 207 • The Experience of Encompassing Unity • The Experience of Metaphysical Ability • Mystical Striving Afterward 229 Notes 241 Glossary of Selected Names and Terms 331 Bibliography 335 Indexes 349 9781438407630.pdf 9 2/26/2011 4:09:15 AM The spiritual-social processes and the problems confronting the State of Israel today are rooted in the events of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the Zionist movement came into be ing and the major ideological camps crystallized within Jewish society in Eretz Israel. Many of the difficult questions that have troubled Israeli society for years-such as relations between the "religious" and the "secular," the problem of state versus religion, issues be tween ultraorthodoxy and religious Zionism, the phenomenon of be coming observant, the question of peace and greater Israel, problems of "mysticism" and political rationalism, the nature of Jewish identity in Israel-are linked to the figure, works, and thought of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (1865- 1935), the first chief rabbi of Eretz Israel, and one of the most prominent leaders of the Jewish community in the period of the Second Aliyah. Rav Kook was the spiritual and halachic authority who laid the foundation of religious Zionism. Discontent with the "Mizrakhi" po litical pragmatism, he envisioned Zionism as a movement of return and all-encompassing Jewish renaissance. The contention voiced by Dr. Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl that Zionism had nothing to do with reli gion served to reassure the ultraorthodox apprehensive about the influence of the Zionist leadership and ideology in the domains of culture and education and paved the way to cooperation between the "haredim" and the "free ones" in the Zionist Organization. Rav Kook, however, adamantly opposed this policy. In writing and in speech, he did his utmost to convince the leftist and rightist camps their way was wrong, that Zionism would reach no glory by alienating itself from tradition. It seems that Rav Kook's influence was greater after his death than during his life. With his novel approach and fearless indepen- ix 9781438407630.pdf 10 2/26/2011 4:09:16 AM
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