Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: What Requires Protest?

#279 

Date and Place: 15 Adar I 5670 (1910), Yafo

Recipient and Background: The secretariat of the Mizrachi Center of Frankfort.

Body: I received your letter from 8 Adar I.

[I refer now to] the claim that the official Zionist institutions are going against our holy religion in formal affairs. Realize that if we will believe everything that the masses say, there would be many such instances. However, we must obviously not build, based on [such reports], a fundamental approach to protest publicly against them.

That which indeed does exceed any doubt is that which the administration of the Gymnasium allowed themselves to do – to join the two genders together, young men and young women, in one school and the same classes, without any semblance of modesty or the way of Judaism. This is also the cultural approach of most of the enlightened countries, and the beginning of this sin [in Eretz Yisrael]started in the schools of the moshavot (agriculture settlements). Hashem knows what ethical deterioration will result from these behaviors. On this matter we should protest with all of our strength. It also seems that whenever they hold balls with large groups on Saturday night, they desecrate Shabbat without embarrassment while doing the preparatory work. Be strong, brothers with pure hearts. Let us work diligently to “fence off” [as much forbidden activity] as we can succeed in doing, and may Hashem be of assistance to us.

[Now we will turn to the public announcements about the Tachkemoni school, which the Mizrachi organization sponsored.] Rav Shlesinger has still not sent me [the text]. Certainly he will tell me soon. However, the matter is difficult for me in the short term, for I am entrenched in the position of leading the “Shaarei Torah” school. This is also a respected educational system, and even though it has a different approach and spirit from Tachkemoni, it still “goes to one place.” That is, to erect on a strong foundation an institution that spreads the light of Hashem and the sanctity of the holy Torah on holy soil. I cannot touch anything that that Shaarei Torah is nourished from. Maybe it would be correct to connect this institution with [funds] that come from Russia by the encouragement generated by my public announcement. We will take this up again in future letters so that we can clarify the matter,

P.S. – Everything that I described about the negative elements of the institutions mentioned addresses only actions taken. There is so much to protest in regard to philosophical positions. It is well known that [there are problematic] teachers, especially those in the Gymnasium, and especially one who teaches the Holy Scriptures, who removes the soul of Judaism from the hearts of their students, with his extreme ideas and his disgusting adherence to the worst of the biblical critics. I do not want to disgust my pen by presenting the lowly ideas about the worth of the Torah and the Prophets in its entirety, which is presented before our youngsters by these distorting teachers. How could we be quiet about that?! Devise plans, beloved, respected brothers. Devise plans and speak up, and He who provides strength for Israel will help us find the power we need to help His Nation and His lot.