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Haorot Blog Articles
Self
The Inner Spark
The inner essence of the soul, which reflects, which lives the true spiritual life, must have absolute inner freedom. It experiences its freedom, which is life, through its originality in thought, which is its inner spark that can be fanned to a flame through study and concentration.
Know Yourself
From his own inner tendencies,
a person must come to know what he content he must actualize [in the world].
And let him always be happy with his portion in life, and embrace it energetically.
Returning to Your True Self
When we forget our personal soul,
when we distract our mind away from looking into the inner life of the unique self,
everything becomes blurry and uncertain.
Nation
PARSHAT RE’EH: RAV KOOK ON ‘HOW TO BE HAPPY’
“We can thus fully actualize the exalted ideals of life.
The Torah of Israel is outstanding in crystallizing the idealism that will spread across all of the configurations of life.” (Rav Kook)
PARSHAT VAETCHANAN: RAV KOOK ON ‘UNITING EXISTENCE’
“All life endeavors must be directed to disclose the light of the higher general harmony.”
PARSHAT PINCHAS: RAV KOOK ON HOW TO BE A HOLY ZEALOT.
“Divine zealotry will become an active force that spreads love to the entire expanse of life.” -Rav Kook
PARSHAT CHUKAT: RAV KOOK ON MOSES’S FATAL ANGRY ERROR AT THE WATERS OF DISPUTATION AND WHAT WE MUST DO TO FIX IT
The Torah of Chesed/Kindness is the elevated Torah. The highest holiness can [only] come to the world in a peaceful way, with guidance that is full of calmness, tranquility and honor.
PARSHAT SHLACH: RAV KOOK ON “OVERCOMING SPYFULNESS”
“Often many obstacles can prevent one from fulfilling their own life path fully…One must overcome these with all one’s might…All the obstacles in the world cannot prevent one from living their lives fully.”
RAV KOOK ON JERUSALEM AS THE GATEWAY TO EDEN:
“Yerushalayim, and Zion in particular, is a teaching about the return of humankind to its highest status -to the point that all the nations who divided into many streams in the past will return to form one pure and good unit”. -Rav Kook, TZ”L
Humanity
HARAV KOOK ON REPAIRING TISHA BE’AV AND THE WORLD WITH THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
“If we [the second Temple] were destroyed, and the world with us, through needless hatred, we will be re-built and the world with us, through unconditional love.” (Rav Kook)
Rav Kook on The Jewish, Christian, Muslim Conflict and Resolution:
Rav Kook explains that the reconciliation and loving that occurs between Jacob and Esau after years of enmity is a foreshadowing of the loving meeting that will occur historically between all the children of Abraham in the latter days of history.
The World Soul
The individual and the collective soul, the world soul, the soul of all realms of being cries out like a fierce lioness in anguish for total perfection, for an ideal form of existence, and we feel the pain and it purges us.
Rav Kook on Unity and Life
A chaotic world stands before us as long as we have not attained that degree of higher perfection in which we unite all life-forces and all their diverse tendencies.
Rav Kook on Universal Love
Rav Kook was explicitly clear that “our ultimate purpose and destiny is to bring ‘shalom-peace’, happiness and blessing into the world, in line with the blessing to Avraham.
Universal Harmony
We must liberate ourselves from confinement within our private concerns…This reduces us to the worst kind of smallness, and brings upon us endless physical and spiritual distress.
Existence
Rav Kook on The Jewish, Christian, Muslim Conflict and Resolution:
Rav Kook explains that the reconciliation and loving that occurs between Jacob and Esau after years of enmity is a foreshadowing of the loving meeting that will occur historically between all the children of Abraham in the latter days of history.
The Power of Complete Fulfillment
The newest power that will be revealed in the world that will renew life with complete liberation is the great impact of the human will on the entire creation when it comes to its complete fulfillment.
Radiant is the World Soul
The higher expression of tshuva comes about as a flash of illumination of the all-good, the divine, the light of the One who abides in eternity. The universal soul, the spiritual essence is revealed to us in all its majesty and holiness, to the extent that the human heart can absorb it.
A Summons to Higher Contemplation
Contemplate the wonders of creation, the divine dimension of their being, not as a dim configuration that is presented to you from the distance but as the reality in which you live.
Teshuva Emerges From the Depths of Being
Teshuva Emerges From the Depths of Being “Teshuva emerges from the depths of being, from such great depths in which the individual stands not as a separate entity, but rather as a continuation of the vastness of universal existence
The 5 Foundations of Existence
Rav Kook’s primary student, HaRav David Cohen-HaRav HaNazir -after many years of deep immersion in Rav Kook’s writings- explained that Rav Kook’s understanding and presentation of existence is based on 5 foundational principles.
Parshat Hashavua – Weekly TOrah Portion
RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT VAYERA: PERFECTING THE WORLD DOING RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE
“We must bring humankind out of its physical and spiritual suffering to a life of freedom full of splendor and delight.”
RAV KOOK ON LECH LECHA: THE UNIVERSAL AVRAHAM AND ISRAEL
“The children of Avraham must give voice to the the vast realm of the divine calling to existence to become illuminated.” Rav Kook ZT’L
RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT NOACH: HOW TO BE A COMPLETE TZADIK IN OUR GENERATION
“Noach was the complete tzadik of his generation because he fully integrated his emotions and intellect and was thus able to walk with Elohim.”
RAV KOOK ON BREISHIT: BEGINNING NOW AND AGAIN AND BETTER THAN EVER
“The Torah of Israel clarifies how the existence of the state of the world and human ethics are dependent on each other. It is clear that the improvement of the world is dependent on ethical improvement. This is the essence of the Israelite understanding of the Creator. ”
RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT KI TAVO: CREATING A WORLD ‘FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY’
“Within the yearning for tshuva is a hidden life force for overcoming every factor that limits and weakens existence.”
PARSHAT SHOFTIM: RAV KOOK ON ‘CREATING A DIVINE SOCIETY’
“The true purpose of societal life is to enable human beings to fill life with light and good, with justice and knowledge of the Divine.”
Holy Days
THE LIGHTS OF RAV KOOK: SUKKOT JOY AND UNIVERSALITY
“The firmer our vision of universality- the greater the joy we will experience and the more we merit the grace of divine illumination.”
RAV KOOK ON YOM HA’KIPPURIM:THE DAY OF AT-ONE-MENT
“On the holy day of Yom HaKippurim- we can eat and drink from our holy inner voices of understanding.”
RAV KOOK ON ROSH HASHANAH: RENEWING THE POWER OF RENEWAL
“As the year is renewed the power of renewal elevates the human will and adds holiness to all.”
RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT KI TAVO: CREATING A WORLD ‘FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY’
“Within the yearning for tshuva is a hidden life force for overcoming every factor that limits and weakens existence.”
ELUL: RAV KOOK ON ‘TSHUVA/RETURN:THE LIMITLESS POWER OF THE WILL FOR GOOD
“Within our yearning for good is a hidden life-force for overcoming every factor that limits and weakens existence.”
ELUL-TORAT HARAV KOOK ON ‘TSHUVA/RETURN’
“Within our yearning for Tshuva is a hidden life-force for overcoming every factor that limits and weakens existence.”
