1. Monday night of Parshat Shelach 5627 [1866], R. Yitzchak, the Neschiz rebbe and author of Toldot Yitzchak, said that when he was young it was easier for him to serve God fully, because he had more strength and because he felt the impression made upon him of the tzaddikim who were alive in those days. But now in his old age, serving God is more difficult.
2. It was in the year 5623 [1862], I believe, when he was in the town of Ratna after the Sabbath but before the evening prayers, that he complained that the generation is terribly orphaned.
He said that his brother, the Kavler rebbe, of blessed memory, had told how their father had told him, “My son, if a person does not literally feel the pangs of a woman giving birth within fifty miles circumference, in order to pray for her sake, how is he worthy of being called a tzaddik?”
R. Yitzchak said, “I paid great heed to that story.”
And he said, in his humility, “I am not one of those who can feel this. Nor do I know if the tzaddikim of our generation can.”
One of the people listening, from his household, said, “And if a person that knows and feels, does he tell others that he feels?” meaning to say that the rebbe did know and feel, but was concealing it.
The rebbe replied, “Perhaps in my youth, when I was stronger.” And he cut his talk short and directed that they begin the evening prayers, so as not to speak of these matters at length.
And once I heard the rebbe say—and I believe that at that time I was particularly careful to hear the story, and perhaps the first time I didn’t hear it properly—as follows. His father, the brilliant Moharam, told his brother, the Kavler, “My son, my son, in order to be a leader of the generation—a guter yid—one needs a great test: if within a fifty mile circumference there is a woman having trouble giving birth and that tzaddik does not feel her sufferings and birth pangs exactly as she does in order to empathize with her and help her, how can such a person be called a guter yid?” And the rebbe concluded, “When my father said this, I paid very careful attention, to understand why he is saying this before me, that I should hear this. And I understood why he said this.”
And the master hid the rest of the story, but implied that his father had told this for his sake. And it is known that at the time his father was alive, the rebbe was no more than ten years old.
3. The rebbe told as follows: “In my youth, when I recited a chapter of Psalms, I would help a woman having trouble in childbirth in the entire local area. And that much more when Hashem helped me recite five chapters of Psalms.”
The writer states: this implies that this includes even those women having difficult childbirths in the area who did not come to inform the rebbe.
And he suppressed the rest of the story, as was his holy way.
The writer states: Usually, when he could not sleep he would say that this is because of a woman having trouble giving birth in some town. And one time we saw him having a restless sleep and saying, “There must be a good package arriving somewhere—iss muz shoyn zayn ergetz ein gut pekele,” and the next day a messenger came on behalf of a woman who had had a very difficult childbirth at that time in a nearby town.
Zichron Tov
Friday, April 3, 2009
Vignettes of Rav Kook
1. One time, Rav Kook was sitting together with his student R. Shimon Strelitz in his small room. Their Gemaras were open before them, and they were learning. There was a knock at the door, the mailman entered and brought a letter to the Rav. They looked at the letter—it was a check for a million dollars.
The Rav looked at the check with complete indifference. And with a dismissive expression he turned to his student and asked, “What can be done with this?”
The student gathered his courage and told the rav, “Allow me, rabbi, and I will say what can be done with this.”
Rav Kook gave him permission, and R. Shimon began to explain about checks: “If I had a check for a million dollars, I would first of all devote a sizable part of the sum to building the land.”
When Rav Kook heard “building the land,” his eyes shone. His indifference ceased. If so, this money is not completely meaningless, if it can be used to build the land of Israel! And he listened attentively to what his student might add.
“And second,” continued R. Shimon, “I would set aside a significant part of that money on behalf of our Central Yeshiva.”
Now Rav Kook’s brightness was doubled: this money could be used for the sake of the holy renewal, for the establishment of Torah—if so, it is certainly not meaningless.
And R. Shimon didn’t cease, but he added a detailed list all sorts of good things that could be done with this million dollars, as Rav Kook sat and listened.
However, after the student had mapped out a complete plan of what could be done with this money, it turned out this was not a real check, but an American New Year’s greeting card, in the form of a million dollar check.
Shivchei Harayah (told by R. Shimon Strelitz), pp. 221-222
2. One time the Nazir, R. Dovid Hacohen, came to Rav Kook to ask for a match. Rav Kook answered, “If this is what you want, I must certainly be sure to give it to you” (because in general R. Dovid would not ask anyone for favors). And Rav Kook added, “Do you know what? Nothing in this house is mine. The watch isn’t mine [see Rav Kook’s will in Nefesh Harayah]; the chairs are a gift from Williams [one time a man named Williams came to Rav Kook’s house and saw that he was lacking chairs and he sent about twenty chairs to Rav Kook’s house]; the fur coat [for traveling to America] is form the general council.”
Shivchei Harayah (told by Rav Dovid Hacohen), pp. 222-223
3. Rav Kook told his bother’s son, R. Rafael, who was planning to travel out of the country, “Do we have permission to allow you to leave us? But what can I do? You are traveling among people. Tell them our situation. I have to send out letters on the topic of agunos [grass widows], and I don’t have stamps.”
Shivchei Harayah (told by R. Rafael Hacohen Kook), p. 223
4. When R. Chaim Dovid Sobol, Rav Kook’s student, had his first-born child, a boy, he asked Rav Kook to redeem his son in the pidyon haben ceremony, since Rav Kook was a cohen.
The father at that time asked Rav Kook if he wanted silver coins or a silver object.
It was the custom in the land of Israel to give the cohen for the pidyon haben Turkish majidos, which contained an amount of silver in the necessary weight according to the halachah. But Rav Kook told his student that he preferred a silver object, on condition that it contained enough silver as necessitated by the halachah.
The father of the boy bought a silver goblet in the correct weight, carved on it the words “for pidyon haben”, and gave it to Rav Kook during the ceremony.
After that, this goblet replaced his regular kiddush cup on the Sabbath, since this goblet, Rav Kook explained, was certainly his, since the Torah made it his, unlike all of the other goblets, which were given to him out of respect.
Shivchei Harayah, from R. Ch. Sobol, p. 223
The Rav looked at the check with complete indifference. And with a dismissive expression he turned to his student and asked, “What can be done with this?”
The student gathered his courage and told the rav, “Allow me, rabbi, and I will say what can be done with this.”
Rav Kook gave him permission, and R. Shimon began to explain about checks: “If I had a check for a million dollars, I would first of all devote a sizable part of the sum to building the land.”
When Rav Kook heard “building the land,” his eyes shone. His indifference ceased. If so, this money is not completely meaningless, if it can be used to build the land of Israel! And he listened attentively to what his student might add.
“And second,” continued R. Shimon, “I would set aside a significant part of that money on behalf of our Central Yeshiva.”
Now Rav Kook’s brightness was doubled: this money could be used for the sake of the holy renewal, for the establishment of Torah—if so, it is certainly not meaningless.
And R. Shimon didn’t cease, but he added a detailed list all sorts of good things that could be done with this million dollars, as Rav Kook sat and listened.
However, after the student had mapped out a complete plan of what could be done with this money, it turned out this was not a real check, but an American New Year’s greeting card, in the form of a million dollar check.
Shivchei Harayah (told by R. Shimon Strelitz), pp. 221-222
2. One time the Nazir, R. Dovid Hacohen, came to Rav Kook to ask for a match. Rav Kook answered, “If this is what you want, I must certainly be sure to give it to you” (because in general R. Dovid would not ask anyone for favors). And Rav Kook added, “Do you know what? Nothing in this house is mine. The watch isn’t mine [see Rav Kook’s will in Nefesh Harayah]; the chairs are a gift from Williams [one time a man named Williams came to Rav Kook’s house and saw that he was lacking chairs and he sent about twenty chairs to Rav Kook’s house]; the fur coat [for traveling to America] is form the general council.”
Shivchei Harayah (told by Rav Dovid Hacohen), pp. 222-223
3. Rav Kook told his bother’s son, R. Rafael, who was planning to travel out of the country, “Do we have permission to allow you to leave us? But what can I do? You are traveling among people. Tell them our situation. I have to send out letters on the topic of agunos [grass widows], and I don’t have stamps.”
Shivchei Harayah (told by R. Rafael Hacohen Kook), p. 223
4. When R. Chaim Dovid Sobol, Rav Kook’s student, had his first-born child, a boy, he asked Rav Kook to redeem his son in the pidyon haben ceremony, since Rav Kook was a cohen.
The father at that time asked Rav Kook if he wanted silver coins or a silver object.
It was the custom in the land of Israel to give the cohen for the pidyon haben Turkish majidos, which contained an amount of silver in the necessary weight according to the halachah. But Rav Kook told his student that he preferred a silver object, on condition that it contained enough silver as necessitated by the halachah.
The father of the boy bought a silver goblet in the correct weight, carved on it the words “for pidyon haben”, and gave it to Rav Kook during the ceremony.
After that, this goblet replaced his regular kiddush cup on the Sabbath, since this goblet, Rav Kook explained, was certainly his, since the Torah made it his, unlike all of the other goblets, which were given to him out of respect.
Shivchei Harayah, from R. Ch. Sobol, p. 223
"Taking Out" is Higher Than "Raising"
by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook
The descents in human history are for the purpose of ascent. If man were not destined to blossom on a very exalted level, he would not descend. [He would have] accepted and integrated the natural state of the seven Noahide commandments.
However, [because man’s] powers are great, he does not accept a situation with brief guidelines, but must expand his physical and spiritual life.
Therefore, the world has descended even below [the minimal requirements of] Noahide law. [Instead,] the abominations of the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan have increased.
The Holy One, blessed be He, raised us from Egypt, if for no other reason that [we] did not pollute ourselves with crawling creatures. This concept of being raised is sufficient to return to a level of rectified humanity.
However, that is not enough. In [addition, the verse states,] “I took you out of the land of Eygpt.” In the Torah, “taking out” is more central than “raising.” Even if the nations had not descended so drastically but had maintained their natural state of being, it still would have been necessary for [the Jews to] be “taken out” [of Egypt] in order that [the people of] Israel alone be uplifted.
But in truth, it is all connected, because it is altogether impossible for a lowly state of being to last. Therefore, a great state of being is necessary--and the greatest state of being comes only by means of Israel.
At the incident of the golden calf, [the Jews] said, “These are your gods, Israel, which raised you from the land of Eygpt”—[meaning,] to be no more than a natural nation. But that was an error. The hand of Hashem had no need whatsoever to be revealed for this (nor would there be a need for humanity to descend if it were not destined for an honored and elevated position).
The letter vov in the word “that raised you up” saved [the Jews], for [it indicates that] they did acknowledge an advantage to the holiness of Israel—however, they thought that they would be able to make use of natural humanity and be educated by it, with an additional element of the guidance of supernal holiness that might find a place with an elite—and for that, they had an example amidst the nations of special priests of the supernal God, elevated men.
But not like these is the portion of Jacob, for [the nation of Israel] is all a seed of truth. “Hashem leads it alone and there is no foreign god with it.”
Kevatzim Miktav Yad Kasho
The descents in human history are for the purpose of ascent. If man were not destined to blossom on a very exalted level, he would not descend. [He would have] accepted and integrated the natural state of the seven Noahide commandments.
However, [because man’s] powers are great, he does not accept a situation with brief guidelines, but must expand his physical and spiritual life.
Therefore, the world has descended even below [the minimal requirements of] Noahide law. [Instead,] the abominations of the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan have increased.
The Holy One, blessed be He, raised us from Egypt, if for no other reason that [we] did not pollute ourselves with crawling creatures. This concept of being raised is sufficient to return to a level of rectified humanity.
However, that is not enough. In [addition, the verse states,] “I took you out of the land of Eygpt.” In the Torah, “taking out” is more central than “raising.” Even if the nations had not descended so drastically but had maintained their natural state of being, it still would have been necessary for [the Jews to] be “taken out” [of Egypt] in order that [the people of] Israel alone be uplifted.
But in truth, it is all connected, because it is altogether impossible for a lowly state of being to last. Therefore, a great state of being is necessary--and the greatest state of being comes only by means of Israel.
At the incident of the golden calf, [the Jews] said, “These are your gods, Israel, which raised you from the land of Eygpt”—[meaning,] to be no more than a natural nation. But that was an error. The hand of Hashem had no need whatsoever to be revealed for this (nor would there be a need for humanity to descend if it were not destined for an honored and elevated position).
The letter vov in the word “that raised you up” saved [the Jews], for [it indicates that] they did acknowledge an advantage to the holiness of Israel—however, they thought that they would be able to make use of natural humanity and be educated by it, with an additional element of the guidance of supernal holiness that might find a place with an elite—and for that, they had an example amidst the nations of special priests of the supernal God, elevated men.
But not like these is the portion of Jacob, for [the nation of Israel] is all a seed of truth. “Hashem leads it alone and there is no foreign god with it.”
Kevatzim Miktav Yad Kasho
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