During the controversy over the "Heter Mechirah"  of the Sabbatical year, Rabbi Yaakov David Wilovsky (the 'Ridbaz') of Safed leveled a serious accusation. He accused Rav Kook of abandoning his religious beliefs and becoming a Zionist in his old age. (In fact, Rav Kook was imbued with a deep love for Eretz Yisrael from a very early age.)

For an Orthodox rabbi to support a secular movement that publicly proclaimed that it 'has nothing to do with religion' was close to heresy. Indeed, Rav Kook's outlook on secular Zionism is a complex topic, the subject of numerous books and academic articles, and certainly beyond the scope of a short essay. Nonetheless, the following quotes from his writings and letters shed light on his views on this secular and often anti-religious movement.

Historical Precedents

Rav Kook noted that our generation is not the first to experience a return to the land of Israel lead primarily by Jews lax in religious observance. When Ezra led the return to Eretz Yisrael in the beginning of the Second Temple Period, many of the settlers who joined him were Sabbath-desecrators and worse; and yet this was a period of tremendous expansion of Torah wisdom.

Also during the corrupt reign of Herod, the nation suffered from a cruel leadership far removed from Jewish ideals. The irony of Herod as the builder of the holy Temple is even bitterer, Rav Kook wrote, than the current phenomenon of secularists building up the Holy Land. But the external construction, the physical bricks, "may be carried by those who fail to penetrate the profound secrets of the righteous. And not just bricks — they may even be the ones orchestrating the construction."

The Positive Influence of Eretz Yisrael

Rav Kook suggested that we need not be overly concerned about the quality of Jews arriving in the Land, for the Land will naturally determine who is deserving of living in it.

"There is no need to check the level of kashrut of those who come, for the Land will vomit out the true chaff; and those who remain shall be called 'holy.' Just as we do not separate food from its natural dregs before eating it, but rather leave this process to life's natural functions."

Furthermore, the merit of the Land helps even the unworthy:

"The merit of the Land even guards over the wicked. Even a non- Jewish maidservant in the Land of Israel is promised a portion in the World to Come (Ketubot 111a). Certainly the Talmud is not speaking of a righteous maidservant, who would anyway merit the World to Come ... Rather this is an ordinary maidservant, with sordid deeds and evil traits. Nonetheless, the merit of living in the land of Israel helps her gain a portion in the World to Come. ...

"All the more so that one may find in each Jew, even the most unworthy, precious gems of good deeds and positive traits; certainly the Land of Israel helps elevate and sanctify them. And if this is not evident in them, it will become so in their descendants."

Sacred Roots

Despite the current secular nature of Zionism, the return to Zion in our generation was first promoted by great tzaddikim, and Zionism still derives its spiritual nourishment from these holy roots.

"In previous times, God's counsel appeared to the unique righteous, the elevated holy of previous generations, who ignited in the hearts of God's people a holy inner fire, a burning love for the holiness of Eretz Yisrael. Due to their efforts, individuals gathered in the desolate Land, until significant areas became a garden of Eden, and a large and important community of the entire people of Israel has settled in our holy land. ...

"But recently, little by little each tzaddik and truly great scholar has abandoned the settlement of the Holy Land ... And this holy work has gradually passed over to those lacking in knowledge and deed.... Yet we see that their dedication in deed and action is nourished from the initial efforts of the true tzaddikim, who instilled the holy desire to rebuild the Holy Land and return our exiles to it."

Breaking of the Vessels

Rav Kook compared the fall of Zionism into the hands of the secularists with the 'breaking of vessels' that took place during Creation. The original light and holiness was simply too great to be contained within the limitations of the physical vessels. It is our task, he wrote, to return these fallen sparks to their elevated source.

But why did the return to the Land of Israel need to be appropriated by a secular nationalist movement? Rav Kook attempted to solve this Divine secret by discerning certain aspects lacking in the traditional Jew.

"The fundamental moral force hidden in (the Zionist movement) ... is its catch-phrase, 'the entire nation.' This nationalism proclaims ... that it seeks the deliverance of Klal Yisrael, the entire Jewish people. It does not concern itself with individuals or parties or sectors. ... And with this perspective, it reaches out to the Land of Israel and the love of Zion with an unusual bravery and courage."

"It is clear that we cannot confront this adversary without the same elevated moral strength that speaks in the name of the entire nation, all of Israel. We may not distinguish and divide; we may not say, 'This one is ours and we worry about him, but this one is not.' ... (We must) care in heart and soul about the welfare of the entire nation and its salvation, in the widest possible meaning."

Additionally, Rav Kook explained that the pre-Messianic Era requires a more practical, materialistic orientation so that the Jewish people may return to their land as a healthy, balanced nation, after centuries of a detached statelessness in exile.

"We have a tradition that there will be a spiritual revolt in Eretz Yisrael and the Jewish people during the initial period of national revival... The aspirations for sublime and holy ideals will cease and the national spirit will sink. ... The need for this revolt will be the tendency for materialism, which must be powerfully generated in the entire nation after the passage of so many years in which the need and possibility of material pursuits were completely absent. When born, this proclivity will trample angrily and stir up storms. These are the birth pangs of the Messianic Era." (Orot HaTechiyah 44 p. 84)

However, secular Zionism can only bring about the external rebuilding of the Jewish people in their homeland. The complete rebuilding will only come about when Zionism is restored to its original holiness.

"Secular nationalism may be defiled with much defilement, hiding many evil spirits. But we will not succeed by expelling this movement from the nation's soul. Rather we must energetically return it to its elevated source, to combine it with the original holiness from which it flows."  (Orot HaTechiyah 22 p. 75)

True Zionism

And what about the Ridbaz's accusations that Rav Kook had become a Zionist? Rav Kook responded that Zionism, when based on its true ideals, is nothing to be ashamed of:

"My dear friend! If all of the Zionists would love the Land of Israel and desire the settlement of the Holy Land for the same reason and holy goal that I intend — because it is God's land, that God chose and loves out of the entire world, containing special holy qualities for prophesy and Divine inspiration ...

"If all of the Zionists were to think this way, then it would be certainly a great honor for every important rabbi and Torah scholar and tzaddik to be such a Zionist. Even your honor should find nothing embarrassing in this form of Zionism."

(Based on Igrot Hare'iyah vol. I pp. 56, 88, 207-208 (1907); vol. I p. 448 (1910); vol. II pp. 171-172, 194-195 (1913); vol. III pp. 157-158 (1918))

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison