Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems"Precisely the dimension of our heritage that most needs to be recovered....I cannot imagine a more timely publishing venture." Huston Smith Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Syracuse University ABRAHAM ISAAC KOOK-THE LIGHTS OF PENITENCE, LIGHTS OF HOLINESS, THE MORAL PRINCIPLES, ESSAYS, LETTERS, AND POEMS, translation and introduction by Ben Zion Bokser, preface by Rivka Schatz and Jacob Agus Confirm me not in cages Of substance or of spirit I am lovesick. I thirst, I thirst for God. More than the deer for water brooks. I am bound to the world, to life, All creatures are my brothers. But how can I share with them my light? Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) A spiritual master of our own times, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook was the Chief Rabbi of Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. Rabbi Kook represents the most significant renewal of the Jewish mystical tradition in modern times. This volume presents to the English reader the major expressions of his thought, and a biographical sketch sums up his basic teachings. Ben Zion Bokser observes that, "Rabbi Kook's thought was dominated by two primary concepts, particularity and universality...Born into the restricted world of the Jewish ghetto in Eastern Europe, he was in constant rebellion against all that restricts and narrows the human spirit...In Rabbi Kook's world of thought, the love of God carried with it a love for all God's creatures, an openness to all ideas, and a continued passion to perfect life through reconciliation, harmony, and peace..." Rivka Schatz, Associate Professor in the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Rabbi Jacob Agus, author of eight books, including Banner of Jerusalem, have both contributed prefatory statements to this volume. + |
Contents
1 | |
The Lights of Penitence | 37 |
THE MORAL PRINCIPLES | 131 |
LIGHTS OF HOLINESS | 189 |
ESSAYS | 243 |
Letters | 325 |
Poems | 367 |
Bibliographies | 387 |
Index to Foreword Preface and Introductions | 393 |
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Common terms and phrases
ABRAHAM ISAAC KOOK action aggadah Agudah anguish ascend aspect aspiration atheism authentic basic basis beauty become bring Cabbalistic concept concern creatures culture defects delight depths dimension disposition divine light emanating embrace engendered enlightenment Eretz Yisrael eternal everything evil exalted existence expression fear feeling force Genesis Rabbah God's halakhic Harayah Hasidism heart hidden higher highest holy sparks honor human humility ideal idolatry Igrot illumination individual influence inspired Israel Jaffa Jerusalem Jewish Judaism knowledge Kook's letters light of penitence living Lord lowly Maimonides manifest mend Messiah mighty moral mystical nation nature one's Orot particular peace peni perception perfection person pervaded pietists potency purge purity Rabbi Kook reach realm refined religion religious faith repent result revealed righteous rise seek sefirot Shabbat shines Sifre sins song soul spiritual splendor stirring strength Talmudic tence thought tion Torah truth unity universal vision vitality wisdom yearning Zohar
Popular passages
Page 290 - Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Page 364 - And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
Page 148 - For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Page 142 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Page 166 - In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence : and his children shall have a place of refuge. . 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Page 143 - They are vanity, a work of delusion : in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
Page xx - They are replacing the traditional methods of the neogrammarians which were so prevalent at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.