|
| [Letter
11] In this letter, Rav Kook argues that the Divine Essence (God) and Divine Ideals (sefirot) can not be separated from one another. In the same way, true ethics can not and should not be separated from the divine source of all true spiritual values. In this connection he also explains that the apparent cruelty of wars described in the Bible was necessary to eliminate forces which were blocking the divine light for all of mankind. He also deals with Christianity's concept of "love, " proven false by history. Our sages said, "Those who have mercy on the cruel will in the end be cruel to the merciful. " He also discusses the sins committed by the biblical leaders of Israel. By the grace of God, the holy city of Jaffa, may it be built and established, 18 Adar II, 5670. I rush to answer your precious letter, my dear friend, because I see that it comes from a precious and wounded heart, and soothing a pure soul even one day sooner is important to me. To begin with, I must correct your wording in the summary of what you understood from my article. You wrote that Israel's uniqueness lies in its being a nation which relates to the ways of the Divinity—and not to its essence. The negation "not to its essence" is incorrect. I often emphasize the tremendous deficiency inherent in reducing the idea of God by focusing solely upon his essence, without [considering] the Ideal. But focusing on the Divine Ideal without connecting it to the essence of the light of Infinite God is both utterly absurd and impossible, for without the light of life, all falls and perishes. No Ideal can exist or endure without the flow of life of the light of the Divine essence, springing always from the depths of knowledge and source of life of clear faith, from the source of all strength in life and the light of the world. The darkness of this phrase alone — "its ways — not its essence," which implies a separation between the essence and the ways, is enough to darken the entire soul and leave it desolate, and all the Ideals dissipate and vanish. This leaves man, individual and society, as a body without a soul, his life reduced to mechanistic function maintained by the operation of the circulatory system; the entire world reverts to the [primordial] chaos. This is not so, my friend! We must always remind ourselves that the foundation of our inner natural longing, which is our entire life, our entire existence, is actually the longing for the essence of the divine, the tiny seed of which is planted in the soul of every man, even the most childish. But it lacks the illumination of the Divine Ways, and thus lies desolate in contrast with the illumination of life. Human civilization, proceeding in its path by the advancement of the intellect and the divine currents of prophetic revelation, which together build the sanctuary of life, its foundations continually strengthened by emphasis on the most delicate and pure ethical principles, reveals the great light hidden in the soul's tiny seed of longing for the Divine Essence and holds "fast to it," being united and crowned with all the streams of its lights, which are the loftiest Ways, always drawing their transcendence and brilliance from the spring of the highest essence. Nothing, therefore, is so ruinous to the world, so polluting of its pure air, permeated by the Divine Ideal, as the evil folly of the denial of the divine essence. This is the most common of beliefs, found in the hearts of the worst of the unfortunate masses, when they surge with only the wildest of equine desires of promiscuity, wine, and murder, blended with a viper’s wrath and an idol's arrogance. But toiling in Torah, good character, and raising the soul through the holy song of the prayers of the righteous, combined with daily good deeds are man's shield against this accursed evil, and through them the path of the soul's progress is strengthened towards recognition of the Divine Ideals and their delicate sensitivity, as they exist in their living source, the living God. And the living position of pure ethics in its steadfast [divine] source must overcome the world, that same world which is so wretched without it. Evil and ignorance stand against it. Those whose beliefs are pure, who are the basic core of mankind, for whom [mankind] exists, are always fighting the worst of men, who see life's individual and social goal in the evil beastiality of an immature humanity This holy war is directed not only against other men. Also, and especially, man fights against himself, against the evil within him, against his ugliness. If the need arises, he is prepared to die the death of heroes and martyrs for the cause of the highest idea that gives life to everything, with no less vigor than he would use to kill one who obstructs the [divine] light. And the nation that recognizes the purpose of its existence, with-a feeling of inner life — whatever it does to pave its path in life, whether they be positive acts or negative ones, it does all because of its soul, which strikes waves within it and says, "Grow!" We have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in those wars which we waged for our establishment [as a nation], nor in the hatred aroused in our hearts against those who rise against us to deny our existence. Even had it been only a simple struggle for survival, it would have carried no shame, since it was not based on a perversion of justice. All the more so given that our vital position in the world is the [very] light of the world. A mind devoid of divine inspiration certainly could not define its bounds. For this reason, prophecy is one of our nation's special abilities, and when it lights the way for us, saying, this obstacle, be it a particular man or a particular group, must be removed from the path of history — then only ravaging cruelty and low cowardice could stand against this vital force. Certainly, there are those who imitate, in simian fashion, our historical work, drafted with the divine compass. But with [Rav Yehuda] Halevi we say, "Can they compare their emptiness to thy Tummim and Urim?" If they were to remove all traces of our spiritual influence from their ideas, would anything remain of all their wars' ideals but bloodshed and shameful murders? Prophecy, which looks with the spirit of the living Lord into the soul of nation and man, attested that the opposition of the race of Amalek to the light of Israel is intrinsic and that it has no remedy but annihilation, in order to clear the path of Jewish history of its greatest obstacle. This same prophecy oversees the paths of man towards the bliss of peace and the pleasure of the brightest love. When the day comes that mankind will no longer have need of acts of hatred, then we may be sure that Amalek has [finally] been obliterated. And the seven nations (*see note at end of essay) — because of that same remnant we stupidly spared, we brought upon ourselves physical and spiritual calamities, and we learned to perform all their abominations: the sacrifice of sons and daughters in fire and the witchcraft of the Emorites. Today, after the divine hand has dispersed these dark clouds, we cannot even imagine the depth of evil that was already an integral part of their soul. You, my dear friend, ask: why did we deal with them cruelly? We cannot imagine how dark and base the world would have become if not for this cruelty of ours, just as we cannot imagine how evil and reprehensible it would have been but for the pure illumination of the Lord's light and Ways, with which we enlightened [the world] through our historical progress. Indeed Christianity wished to eliminate the attribute of hate, woven into the tapestry of the divine light of Israel, but have we not come to realize that it shed blood and magnified malevolence in the name of the elimination of hatred, more than any battle of hatred [ever did]? Moreover, in its haste to prematurely bring the eradication of hate and its adherents while the chaff still remained, it separated the light of the divine faith from the entire social order of life, and the nations under its influence had to adopt pagan ways in their patterns of thought and their general conduct. We are not responsible for all the deeds done by the great people of the nation. Occasionally we find great people of Israel protesting the actions of many [other] great people of the nation: its forefathers, kings, prophets, and priests. Maimonides has already remarked in chapter seven of the Eight Chapters that it is not necessary to maintain that the most perfect of men be totally perfect without defect. There are deeds done by the greatest of the greatest that are worthy of criticism, and many statements of this sort are open in the writings of our sages as well as in the books of the Rishonim.But not for individual deeds—which at times exceed their [proper] limits for the sake of the general ideal, just as there is not a person who does not sin a little against his own health by means of those very actions intended to [preserve] it — will the general ideal enveloping the soul be weakened One must keep in mind that the Torah preserves many [old] standards for the sake of the larger goal, leading the nation slowly: "I accustomed Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms....'' Just as the Torah sometimes makes concessions to the base passions of the individual, it may do the same for the nation as a whole. The essential quality should not be sought in the individual actions of the nation or its leaders, but rather in the great generality that encompasses the beginning and the end, the source of the first of the nation, the character of its forefather, and the crowning display of the Messiah's light, and all that passes in between, all is connected to the great general principle of the beginning and end. And if you occasionally find, even in distant places, sparks of the lights of idealism sweetening the bitterness of foreign natures acting on us, there is nothing bad in it. On the contrary, we view everything benignly, seeing its merits- Had we not been imbued with the sublime perspective that everywhere, even in our deepest antithesis, there is also light and a spark of good, which we always try to accept in its purity, when cleansed of its filth, we would not have found in the treasure of our agaddic literature concepts such as [these]: "The ministering angels wished to recite a song of praise before the Holy One, blessed be he, but he rebuked them, saying: My handiwork [the Egyptians] is drowning in the sea; and you would recite a song before me!?'' Here we have feelings of integrity and love of humanity, justice overflowing on to the heart of the nation, even in relation to its pursuers—and in the hour of their downfall. It was not for naught that "the descendants of Haman learned Torah in Benai Berak, descendants of Sisera taught children in Jerusalem, descendants of Sennacherib preached Torah to the masses." The exception is Nebuchadnezzar, who left neither root nor branch of good, and even this was due to the ministering angels, the Divine Light being above such characteristics.' And if from that same spark of good one might find, for instance, that from the mound of garbage that [Composed] Torquemada's soul will or has come someone who taught Torah in public—we will accept him with open arms. The same goes for all good water that can be cleansed of the idolatry of their origins in Greek mythology and its offshoots. "And I will clean the blood from its mouth, and the corruption from between its teeth, and it too shall remain for our God." But all these are merely sparks [of holiness], whether sparks that can enter from beyond Israel's bounds into its domain, or whether those that exit the interior to the outside, and thus become unfit, the whole remaining intact, and "the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind." Therefore, my dear friend, be not dismayed or frightened of such insignificant ideas, for thin clouds cannot darken the bright sun in the sky, nor can white teeth lighten a dark face. There is already an appropriate parable in the midrash about a Kushite maidservant who told her mistress: "Tomorrow, your husband is going to divorce you and marry me." "Why?" asked the other. "Because," she replied, "while you were in the kitchen looking after the meal, you soiled your hands on a pot. " The lady, of course, answered: "I soiled by hands from the pot, while looking after my husband and household, and as soon as I wash them, the soot will disappear, but you are black from your mother's womb. Do not gaze upon me, because I am black, because the sun has scorched me." Dearest friend, please review any of my printed writings you can obtain. Broaden your emotions and deepen your study in them with joy and good spirits. Work diligently at the gates of the Torah to know the halacha clearly, with a straight mind, and set fixed times for your study. Make the written Torah [the Bible] and aggada a fixed study, giving it rapt attention with the desire of a pure heart. Then you will, with the help of God, succeed and gain knowledge, and from all the thoughts that sadden the spirit will emerge fine light that enlightens the soul in a blaze of pleasant colors, gladdening the spirit and heart. But before anything else, my dear friend, you should love the simple innocence, the natural fear of heaven, that is possessed by all those of perfect faith, a legacy more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces and all the treasures of new research and meditation, though it is brighter when combined with the broadening of knowledge and the invigoration of alert feelings, adorned with ornaments taken from the inner good life in the present in all its aspects. But above all is the knowledge that we can receive our happiness only from the Source of Israel. And you, my son, be strong and resolute and may God be with you, bracing your strength with physical health and lofty vision for Torah and destiny, with a joyous heart and the happiness of honest men: "Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright." As one who wholeheartedly wishes you happiness, Humbly yours, Avraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook PS. In Rabbi Chaim Vital's book, Shaarei HaKedusha part 1: Shaar 5, it says, "One should love all men, not only your fellow Jew.'' * [Note on 7 nations] The reference is to the ancient inhabitants of the land of Canaan, whom the Torah commanded the Israelites to annihilate, as written in Deuteronomy 20:10-18: "lest they teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they have done for their gods, and you would sin against the Lord your God." According to the Jerusalem Talmud, Sifri, Maimonides, and Nachmanides, any nation against which Israel wages war, even the inhabitants of Israel, must be offered peace and permission to stay in the land, but on the condition that they give up idolatry and return to the universal human standards of morality and justice, as codified in the seven Noachide laws. They were to be destroyed only if they refused to accept these terms of peace and insisted on maintaining their polytheistic way of life. This is the essence of the Jerusalem Talmud, Shevuot 6.: "Joshua sent three heralds in front of him before he entered the Land, with the proclamation: Who wishes to leave the Land, let him go away; whoso will accept peace terms, let him make peace; whoso wishes to make war, let him make war!" In this context it is interesting to note the comment of the Chazon-Ish: "'Your eye shall show no pity on them (Deuteronomy 7:16). We learn that Israel acted against its merciful nature [since otherwise this command would not have been necessary]. Even though the seven nations were despicable as a result of their abominations and had declared war on Israel after being asked for peace, the natural pity and forgiveness in the hearts of the people of Israel overcame them, and they acted only because of God's command—not as, heaven forbid, those who take pleasure in war and aggression." Chazon Ish, Teharot, 299a |