— About Us
Haorot
The Lights of Rav Kook
HaOrot:The Lights of Rav Kook is dedicated to bringing the illuminated teachings and vision of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook ZT”L to the largest possible audience. The underlying principle of our activities is that the multi-dimensional content of Rav Kook’s Torah understanding will be meaningful and relevant to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences of all ages.
HaOrot is operating within and as part of Beit HaRav Kook in central Jerusalem-the capital of Israel. Beit HaRav is in many ways the ‘spiritual home of Medinat/State of Israel’.
It was here that Rav Kook developed and taught the spiritual and religious foundations of Zionism and the State of Israel. Beit HaRav Kook is maintained as it was during Rav Kook’s lifetime (1923-1935) and enables visitors to learn and be inspired through direct contact with his life, teachings and vision.
Foundation
— Foundation
The FourFold Song
The foundation of our activities is based on ‘The FourFold Song’ in which Rav Kook presents the multi-dimensional nature of human life:
“The Song of the Self, the Song of the Nation, the Song of Humankind, the Song of Existence”
Rav Kook wrote extensively about each of these unique and connected aspects of life and illuminated their significance. It is important to us to present these important teachings in a way that is highly engaging and meaningfully relevant.
This requires careful and creative translation, preparation and presentation of the wide variety of appropriate material.
— Activities
HaOrot Activities Include:
HAOROT BEIT MIDRASH-LEARNING CENTRE: Learning the teachings of Rav Kook on a variety of subjects through digital classes and workshops.
Production of educational, theatrical and musical presentations of the “Lights of Rav Kook” at Beit HaRav Kook and other locations in Israel and abroad.
Preparation of a variety of exhibits and workshops to educate and inspire Jewish and non-Jewish groups at Beit HaRav Kook.
Preparation of creative educational content about the teachings of Rav Kook that will be digitally distributed all over the world.
Publication of teachings drawn from the thought and poetry of Rav Kook into a variety of languages.
Musical composition and arrangement of Rav Kook’s wide-reaching poetry.
Workshops for intellectuals and artists of all backgrounds to develop deeply creative presentations of the multi-dimensional teachings and poetry of Rav Kook.
Translation of the thought and poetry of Rav Kook to English and other languages.
HaOrot has been established to produce these materials and presentations using a wide variety of tools. Our deeply held belief is that Rav Kook’s illuminated Torah teachings can contribute significantly to the intellectual, spiritual, human and ethical repair of the entire world.
As Rav Kook explains in ‘The FourFold Song’:
Our work is “to rise with all these songs in one ensemble, joining all our voices.
Together we sing these songs with beauty, each one lending vitality and life to the other. Songs of joy and gladness, jubilation and celebration, ecstasy and holiness…
This full comprehensiveness rises to become the song of holiness,
the song of G-d, the song of Israel in its full strength and beauty, in its full authenticity and greatness.”
