Date and Place: Yafo, 5668 (probably still 1907)
Recipient: Rabbis in the Diaspora
Body: [The first part discussed how the early settlers of Eretz Yisrael ranged from simple religious people to the holiest scholars, and that now many of the farmers are irreligious.]
We know clearly that many religious Jews are upset [about the decrease in patronizing Jewish products from Eretz Yisrael] and are unable to save the situation. There was especially great disappointment last year, as the inability to sell the wine was so bad, that they reached the point that it was necessary to uproot that which was already planted. This includes multiple vineyards whose owners gave up hope of being able to sell their wine. The sight of the uprooting pierced the heart.
There is an internal reason for the minimal connection that the majority of Hashem’s nation have to the holy love of the new community of settlers, which caused this very sad event. It is something we have to work very hard to fix and reconnect the multitudes of Jews with the depth of the heart and soul so that people will follow their leaders and take part in the rebuilding of the Land by her sons, the sons of the King and Savior of Israel, who are in the process of being drawn to her.
The reason is that the true, internal connection of Jews [of the Diaspora] to the Holy Land stands fully on sanctity. This includes the sanctity of Hashem’s Name, the sanctity of the love of our holy Torah, and the sanctity of the deep belief in the Torah and its mitzvot, which should be fulfilled on the Land that Hashem gave to our forefathers from time immemorial. Those settlers who toil in the land and are the builders of the Land in recent years do not know the loftiness of this great foundation of the connection and have taken a turn toward that which is profane. They desire to attach a label of secular to the New Yishuv, instead of the lofty sanctity that actually dwells on it from the sanctity of the Holy Land. This idea of secularism, promulgated by leaders of the New Yishuv, impacted especially the approach to education. It came to replace the sanctity and dependable approach of educating with the light of the Torah and pure fear of Hashem, which is proper for the children of the “holy flock” wherever they are, and especially in the Holy Land, which is Hashem’s estate. The education is led by real educators, filled with Torah, fear of Hashem, and complete belief. Instead, [groups of new settlers] founded schools that are styled around the mundane, which creates blemishes in the upper sanctity and prevents the spirit of Hashem from shedding light on the air of the Holy Land in a palpable manner. It brings on a desensitizing of the new paths, so that “the plant will not make flour,” and spirit is missing.
The Nation of Hashem has sensed all of these phenomena from a distance, and the great people within the nation saw these things from afar. This is the reason behind the horrible weakness in support for the New Yishuv. With this fall in spirit, there has also been a lower level of affinity for the produce of the Land, especially the wine of the Holy Land, even those that are guarded and supervised properly with a reliable kashrut certification. This weakness of enthusiasm affected sales and has held back the New Yishuv, which should actually be beloved by the entire Nation of Hashem.
Next time be"H, we end off with Rav Kook’s practical recommendation.
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