Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: How to Counter the Secular Trend of the New Yishuv

#144

Date and Place: 13 Sivan 5668 (1908), Yafo

Recipient: Mr. Yehoshua Shachnovitz, Editor of “Israelite” in Frankfurt, a follower of the teachings of Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch.

Body: We need now to expend great effort immediately so that the stream of life will increase in Eretz Yisrael, which will make everyone who loves the nation and the Land happy. At the same time, broken foundations and damaging matters are gathering in the Holy Land. The only remedy is to strengthen the hands of the community of believers regarding all practical matters of settling the Land and raising the stature of the Torah and Jewish knowledge. This should be done in a way that crowns the emerging life in Eretz Yisrael with a crown of sanctity and grandeur, which rest upon the feelings of reliable sanctity.

[Rav Kook shared his vision of the yeshiva and schools he was working on founding in Yafo (discussed in several other letters).]

If we truly succeed with this foundation, to raise the stature of Klal Yisrael, in Eretz Yisrael and the whole world, [we will see important improvements]. The [nation’s] good parts are being ruined now because of the lack of broad life skills among the devotees of Torah and Hashem’s righteous statutes. This causes a tendency to cling to the destroyers of holy things. [If we broaden ourselves,] they will join us to work with great strength and skill for the true soul of the nation, which is deeply connected to belief in Hashem and the laws of the Torah of truth. The sight of the bright light of enhancing Jewish settlement in the Land in truth will make the shadows disappear; those who sow impurity will cover their head in great embarrassment.

I tell you proudly that for quite some time, since I evaluated my approach, I have known clearly that the hope of the settlement of Eretz Yisrael and for liberating the stature of Israel by means of Zion depends on this critical point. That is, we must gather proper forces to be involved in the spiritual and physical building of Eretz Yisrael. This can be done specifically based on the foundation of “culture” (a movement that religious parties staunchly opposed because it gave inroads to secularism), which are progressing rapidly in Eretz Yisrael and the world. Everyone for whom true fear of Heaven burns in his heart must heed the imperative to help Hashem and His nation; do not delay! We must not let people trample the “young plants” sprouting on holy soil.

We turn to dear brothers, believers from the German Jewish community, who follow the footsteps of the great thinker, the lofty prince of G-d, Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch, zt”l, who bravely saved the remnant of the Western European Jewry by teaching to use all available weapons of a full life to give reliable Judaism a strong basis. We need to do the same thing in today’s Eretz Yisrael, using the same spirit in different and changing conditions. If we will not seize the moment when the Jewish community of Eretz Yisrael is forming, and Jews dedicated to Torah will be physically and spiritually weak, without “weapons,” then the dominant people will be those well-armed with lack of dedication to Hashem and the gentiles’ approach, without real mention of that which is holy in Israel. These people cover their destruction with bits and pieces of forged nationalism, nuggets of Jewish history, and a love of the language. This is cloaking national life with an exterior of Judaism and an interior that is totally not Jewish, ready to turn into a destructive monster and hatred of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel, as we have learned by experience. If the impure hand will prevail, the tragedy is indescribable.

However, I have trust in Hashem that our legs will not collapse. All who fear the word of G-d and desire the salvation of His nation and Land will flock to our flag. We will succeed in building in the New Yishuv a special place, which will give it life based on pure belief and great joy. Hashem will be with us as we rebuild the ruins of generations. Respected editor, be in the forefront of our helpers.