HaRa'ayah Kook • Rav Kook
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook
Era of the AcharonimRabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (HaRa'ayah) was the first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, a profound thinker, and a kabbalist. He viewed the revival of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel as the beginning of redemption. He authored many works on halakhah, Jewish thought, …
Biography
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (HaRa'ayah) was the first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, a profound thinker, and a kabbalist. He viewed the revival of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel as the beginning of redemption. He authored many works on halakhah, Jewish thought, and Kabbalah.
Life Story
Childhood
He was from Griva in Latvia and came from a priestly family.
Teachers
Rabbi Naftali Hertz Halevi; the Netziv of Volozhin.
Students
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap; Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook.
Family
He was the son of Shlomo Zalman. His brother was Rabbi David.
Key Events
He served as rabbi of Jaffa, held a rabbinic post in London during the First World War, became Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, and founded Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva.
Influence
His Torah teaching integrates halakhah, Jewish thought, and Kabbalah with love of the Land of Israel and Zionism.
Death
He passed away in Jerusalem.
Writings
Orot
Jewish thought
A work of Jewish thought on the Land of Israel, the nation, and redemption.
Orot HaKodesh
Jewish thought and Kabbalah
A work of Jewish thought and Kabbalah.
Orot HaTeshuvah
Jewish thought
A work on the spiritual service of repentance.
Mishpat Kohen
Halakhah
Responsa in halakhah.
His Way and Views
Torah Study
An all-encompassing Torah embracing halakhah, Jewish thought, and Kabbalah.
Halacha
Mishpat Kohen - halakhic rulings.
Faith
Faith in redemption and the national revival of the Jewish people.
Ethics
Love for all people and drawing the distant near.
Character
Holy, loving, and profound.
Public Role
Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel.
Famous Quotes
"There is no Jewish nation without the Land of Israel."
"The old shall be renewed, and the new shall be sanctified."
Famous Stories
HaRa'ayah Kook received every person with love and drew the secular pioneers close. He said: Every Jew, wherever he may be, is a sacred part of the whole.
When he saw the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel being renewed, he said: I see in this the beginning of redemption.
Students
Teachers
Grave Site
Timeline
Birth in Griva
Rabbi of Jaffa
Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel
Founding of Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva
Passing