The Torah of Rav Kook
The Five Books
Breishit (Genesis)
Bereshit (12 articles)
- Breishit: Tasty Fruit Trees
- Breishit: The Titans, Men of Renown
- Breishit: Adam's Unicorn-Offering
- Breishit: Braiding Eve's Hair
- Breishit: Creation of the Universe - Twice
- Breishit: Be Fruitful and Multiply
- Breishit: Letters of Creation
- Breishit: Cain's Offering
- Breishit: Cherishing Troubles
- Breishit: The Torah of Eretz Yisrael
- Breishit: The Hidden Light of Creation
- Breishit: The Age of the Universe
Noach (6 articles)
Lech-Lecha (8 articles)
Vayeira (9 articles)
Chayei Sara (7 articles)
Toldot (4 articles)
Vayetzei (4 articles)
Vayishlach (10 articles)
- Vayishlach: Reuben's Sin
- Vayishlach: Exploring the Meaning of the Names 'Jacob' and 'Israel'
- Vayishlach: The Conflict Between Jacob and Esau
- Vayishlach: Pillars and Sanctuaries
- Vayishlach: Reliance on Miracles
- Vayishlach: I Have an Ox and a Donkey
- Vayishlach: The Service of Pillars and Altars
- Vayishlach: Jacob's Journey to Holistic Living
- Vayishlach: Ancient Agronomists
- Vayishlach: The Prohibition of Gid Ha-Nasheh
Vayeshev (7 articles)
Miketz (4 articles)
Vayigash (4 articles)
Shmot (Exodus)
Shemot (8 articles)
Vaera (5 articles)
Bo (11 articles)
Beshalach (11 articles)
- Psalm 68: Song from the Womb
- Beshalach: The Inner Song of the Soul
- Beshalach: The Influence of Amalek
- Beshalach: Two Levels of Love
- Beshalach: This is My God
- Beshalach: Preparing for Sinai: The Mitzvot of Marah
- Beshalach: Innate and Acquired Holiness
- Beshalach: Listening to the Old...
- Beshalach: The Proper Time to Light
- Beshalach: Sanctity in Space
- Beshalach: The Assault of Amalek
Yitro (9 articles)
Mishpatim (9 articles)
- Mishpatim: Revealing Our Inner Essence
- Mishpatim: Accepting Two Torahs
- Mishpatim: Trust in God vs. Self-Reliance
- Mishpatim: Following the Majority Opinion
- Mishpatim: Legislating Kindness
- Mishpatim: An Eye for an Eye
- Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah
- Mishpatim: Tablets of Stone
- Mishpatim: Permission for Doctors to Heal
Terumah (7 articles)
Tetzaveh (7 articles)
Ki Tisa (12 articles)
- Purim: Shekalim - All For One
- Ki Tissa: The Luchot's Miraculous Letters
- Ki Tissa: The Knot of God's Tefillin
- Ki Tissa: A Chair with Three Legs
- Ki Tissa: The Copper Washstand
- Ki Tissa: Moses' Sapphire Quarry
- Ki Tissa: The Recipe for Ketoret
- Ki Tissa: When Bad Things Happen to Good People
- Ki Tissa: A Lesson in Leadership
- Ki Tissa: Moses' Extraordinary Prayer
- Ki Tissa: The First and Second Luchot
- Ki Tissa: Wisdom for the Wise
Vayakhel (6 articles)
Pekudei (1 articles)
Vayikra (Leviticus)
Vayikra (7 articles)
Tzav (5 articles)
Shmini (5 articles)
Tazria (5 articles)
Metzora (1 articles)
Achrei Mot (3 articles)
Kedoshim (8 articles)
Emor (4 articles)
Behar (5 articles)
Bamidbar (Numbers)
Bamidbar (3 articles)
Naso (6 articles)
Beha’alotcha (7 articles)
Sh’lach (9 articles)
Korach (8 articles)
Chukat (7 articles)
Balak (4 articles)
Pinchas (10 articles)
- Pinchas: Pinchas’ Ancestry
- Pinchas: The Daily Sheep Offering
- Pinchas: Our Offerings of Bread, Fire and Fragrance
- Pinchas: Atonement for the New Moon
- Pinchas: Genuine Zealotry
- Pinchas: Zealotry for the Sake of Heaven
- Pinchas: Connecting the Natural with the Supernatural
- Pinchas: The Tamid Offering Performed at Sinai
- Pinchas: Appointing a Leader for Israel
- Shlach: The Sin of Tzelofchad
Matot (6 articles)
Masei (2 articles)
Devarim (Deuteronomy)
Devarim (5 articles)
Vaetchanan (8 articles)
Eikev (8 articles)
Re’eh (6 articles)
Shoftim (7 articles)
Ki Teitzei (11 articles)
- Ki Teitzei: Advice to a Troubled Father
- Ki Teitzei: Drafting Yeshiva Students
- Ki Teitzei: Faith in Troubled Times
- Ki Teitzei: Avoid All Evil
- Ki Teitzei: The Rebellious Son - Preventive Medicine
- Ki Teitzei: Waging War
- Ki Teitzei: Amalek - Constructive Destruction
- Ki Teitzei: Remembering Miriam's Punishment
- Ki Teitzei: Rationale for Mitzvot
- Ki Teitzei: Free Will versus Causality
- Kedoshim: Sha'atnez - A Glimpse into the Future
Ki Tavo (11 articles)
- Ki Tavo: Two Paths of Bikkurim
- Ki Tavo: The Splendor of Tefillin
- Ki Tavo: Don't Study Alone!
- Ki Tavo: How to Serve God in Joy
- Ki Tavo: Tithing in the Proper Order
- Ki Tavo: The Farmer's Declaration
- Ki Tavo: Remembering to Bless God
- Ki Tavo: Be Happy!
- Ki Tavo: First Fruits, Led by an Ox and a Flute
- Ki Tavo: Accept and Then Analyze
- Ki Tavo: A Different Kind of Viduy
Nitzavim (4 articles)
Ha'azinu (4 articles)
Vezot Haberakhah (4 articles)
Special Sections
Shabbat & Holidays
Shabbat (9 articles)
Rosh Chodesh (2 articles)
Rosh Hashanah (11 articles)
- Elul: Unity and Repentance
- Rosh Hashanah: The Shofar of Redemption
- Rosh Hashanah: The Music of Teshuvah
- Rosh Hashanah: Personal Judgment
- Rosh Hashanah: Knowing the Teruah-Blast
- Rosh Hashanah: The Dual Call of the Shofar
- Rosh Hashanah: The Call of the Great Shofar
- Rosh Hashanah: The Teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah
- Rosh Hashanah: Blasts That Penetrate the Heart
- Rosh Hashanah: Complete Teshuvah
- Nitzavim: Teshuvah for the Generation of Rebirth
Yom Kippur (9 articles)
- Yom Kippur: The Holy King
- Yom Kippur: Healing the Universe
- Yom Kippur: You Know the Mysteries of the Universe
- Yom Kippur: The Value of Life
- Yom Kippur: The Shofar and the Wall
- Acharei Mot: The Ox and the Goat
- Acharei Mot: The Goat for Azazel
- Acharei Mot: Triple Measure of Incense
- Emor: Eating before Yom Kippur
Succoth (8 articles)
- Succoth: Completing the Days of Awe
- Succoth: The Role of the Lowly Willow
- Succoth: The Water-Drawing Celebration
- Succoth: Sukkah of Peace
- Succoth: Sukkot and the Land of Israel
- Succoth: All of Israel in One Sukkah
- Succoth: Our Protective Fortress
- Pinchas: Connecting the Natural with the Supernatural
Simchat Torah (2 articles)
Hanukkah (7 articles)
Tu B'Shvat (5 articles)
Purim (10 articles)
- Purim: Mystical Scythes and Guardrails
- Purim: Timna and Purim
- Purim: Wine Enters, Secrets Emerge
- Purim: Accepting the Torah in the Days of Ahasuerus
- Purim: Go Gather All The Jews
- Purim: Purim in Volozhin
- Purim: The Joy of Purim
- Purim: Shekalim - All For One
- Beshalach: The Influence of Amalek
- Beshalach: The Assault of Amalek
Passover (19 articles)
- Passover: Next Year in Jerusalem!
- Passover: 'How Splendid This Tree is!'
- Passover: The Second Seder in Jerusalem
- Passover: The Strong Hand and the Outstretched Arm
- Bo: Destroy Chametz, Gain Freedom
- Passover: Who is Free?
- Passover: Because of This
- Passover: The Hillel Sandwich
- Passover: Matzah of Love
- Passover: Answering the Wise Child
- Passover: Shir HaShirim - The Song of Songs
- Passover: Shir HaShirim - The Fourfold Song
- Psalm 81: Aiming for Greatness
- Bo: The Birth of a Nation
- Bo: Training for Greatness
- Bo: Draining Egypt
- Bo: The Special Pesach Offering
- Va'eira: Hamotzi - For all Times
- Va'eira: Priceless Jewels on Tattered Clothes
Yom HaShoah (3 articles)
Yom HaAtzmaut (9 articles)
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Redeeming the Land
- Yom HaAtzmaut: From Tragedy to Triumph
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Mizmor 19 of the State of Israel
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook and Yom HaAtzma'ut
- Yom HaAtzmaut: The Sanctity of Yom Ha'Atzmaut
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Who Are You, Great Mountain?
- Yom HaAtzmaut: The Balfour Declaration
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Rav Kook and Zionism
- Psalm 87: Children of Zion
Lag Ba'Omer (4 articles)
Jerusalem Day (9 articles)
- Jerusalem Day: Zion and Jerusalem
- Jerusalem Day: Returning to the Kotel
- Jerusalem Day: The Two Messengers
- Jerusalem Day: The City of One Gate
- Jerusalem Day: Windows to World Peace
- Jerusalem Day: Rav Kook Arrives in Jaffa
- Jerusalem Day: The Kotel Affair
- Eretz Yisrael: Longing for Jerusalem
- Eretz Yisrael: The Kotel - Stones with Hearts
Shavuot (11 articles)
- Shavuot: Seeing Sound
- Mishpatim: Revealing Our Inner Essence
- Shavuot: 7 Tips for Success in Torah Study
- Shavuot: The King's Torah Scroll
- Shavuot: The Torah is our Spiritual Holy Land
- Shavuot: Like an Apple Tree
- Beshalach: Listening to the Old...
- Mishpatim: Accepting Two Torahs
- Yitro: The Date of Matan Torah
- Yitro: Coercion at Sinai
- Yitro: A Pure Revelation
Tisha B'Av (12 articles)
- Tisha B'Av: Teachers Armed with Spiritual Might
- Tisha B'Av: The Call for Sacred Splendor
- Tisha B'Av: Rebuilding the World with Love
- Tisha B'Av: The Three Watches of the Night
- Tisha B'Av: Rebuilding the Temple
- Tisha B'Av: The Beauty of the Universe
- Tisha B'Av: Seeing Jerusalem in its Joy
- Tisha B'Av: The Poel Mizrachi Kitchen
- Tefilah: Anticipating Redemption
- Psalm 87: The Beloved Gates of Zion
- Massei: Unchecked Violence
- Terumah: The Iron Wall
Prayer (Shema, Amidah)
Tefilah (27 articles)
- Tefilah: The Holiness of the Synagogue
- Tefilah: The Torah of Rashbi
- Tefilah: Free Expression of the Inner Soul
- Tefilah: Preparing the Heart to Pray
- Tefilah: The Servant and the Minister
- Tefilah: You Have Cast Me After Your Body
- Tefilah: Rabbi Akiva's Prayer
- Tefilah: Balancing Prayer and Torah
- Tefilah: Dressing for Prayer
- Tefilah: Anticipating Redemption
- Psalm 145: To Pray in Truth
- Psalm 5: Awakening Love and Awe
- Psalm 10: You Prepare Their Heart
- Psalm 12: Circles and Straight Lines
- Psalm 130: Prayer From The Depths
- Psalm 27: Tenacious Prayer
- Psalm 30: Mizmor Shir - Melody and Song
- Psalm 69: A Favorable Time for Prayer
- Psalm 84: Prepare Yourself for Prayer
- Psalm 31: My Times Are in Your Hand
- Balak: Tents and Dwelling Places
- Beha'alotecha: A Tale of Two Prayers
- Beha'alotecha: Praying 'Against God'
- Vayeira: Sanctity in Space
- Vayechi: Jacob's Sword and Bow
- Vayeitzei: The Prayers of the Avot
- Kedoshim: First Impressions
Tefillin (9 articles)
Shema (7 articles)
Amidah (10 articles)
- Amidah: Engaging the Intellect, Heart, and Actions
- Amidah: National Redemption and Private Protection
- Amidah: Purity of Speech
- Amidah: The Proper Dose of Deference
- Tefilah: The Power of Prayer
- Amidah: Three Prayers, Three Goals
- Psalm 72: Prayer at Sunrise
- Psalm 146: God Raises the Bowed
- Pinchas: Genuine Zealotry
- Va'etchanan: Introducing Prayer with Praise
Stories & Eretz Yisrael
Story (23 articles)
- Rosh Hashanah: The Shofar of Redemption
- Passover: The Second Seder in Jerusalem
- Story: The Fatal Mistake
- Purim: Purim in Volozhin
- Jerusalem Day: Rav Kook Arrives in Jaffa
- Yom HaAtzmaut: The Balfour Declaration
- Jerusalem Day: The Kotel Affair
- Psalm 43: The London Bomb Shelter
- Story: How to Visit the Sick
- Eretz Yisrael: The Visit to Merchavya
- Story: Rav Kook's Mission to America
- Story: Where is the Agreement?
- Story: Delusions of Grandeur
- Story: Tarpat (1929): Jewish Pride
- Story: Rav Kook and the Gold Watch
- Naso: The Blessing of a Kohen
- Naso: The Nazir of Jerusalem
- Chayei Sarah: Rav Kook and Hebron
- Re'eih: Open Your Hand Generously
- Shoftim: The Jerusalem Police Officer
- Kedoshim: Love Your Neighbor
- Kedoshim: A Letter for the Neturei Karta
- Kedoshim: The Printer's Dilemma
Eretz Yisrael (17 articles)
- Succoth: Sukkot and the Land of Israel
- Tu B'Shvat: Planting a Tree in Magdiel
- Psalm 105: Our Ties to the Land of Israel
- Eretz Yisrael: Longing for Jerusalem
- Eretz Yisrael: In the Holy of Holies
- Eretz Yisrael: The Atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael
- Eretz Yisrael: The Kotel - Stones with Hearts
- Eretz Yisrael: The Visit to Merchavya
- Eretz Yisrael: Like Doves Flying Home
- Eretz Yisrael: A Wise Old Nation
- Massei: The Merit of Building the Land of Israel
- Shlach: The Lesson of Shiloh
- Shlach: The Grape Harvest
- Shlach: Rejecting the Land of Israel
- Shlach: Repairing the Sin of the Spies
- Eikev: Two Loves for Eretz Yisrael
- Nitzavim: Dances of Teshuvah in Poriah
Gimmel Elul (4 articles)
Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook (10 articles)
- Jerusalem Day: Returning to the Kotel
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Mizmor 19 of the State of Israel
- Simchat Torah: The Merit of A Dance
- Yom HaAtzmaut: Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook and Yom HaAtzma'ut
- Story: How to Visit the Sick
- Eretz Yisrael: The Kotel - Stones with Hearts
- Story: Where is the Agreement?
- Shlach: The Grape Harvest
- Ki Teitzei: Drafting Yeshiva Students
- Ki Teitzei: Faith in Troubled Times
Pirkei Avot (3 articles)
Emunah (11 articles)
- Shabbat: Our Response to Illness and Crisis
- Simchat Torah: The Merit of A Dance
- Psalm 92: Faith in the Nights
- Psalm 122: The Peace of Torah Scholars
- Emunah: Why Does the Earth Shake?
- Emunah: Reverence for Sacred Vessels
- Emunah: Caution, Yes. But No Fear!
- Story: Where is the Agreement?
- Emunah: A Time to Study Esoteric Wisdom
- Emunah: The Message of the Scholars of Yavneh
- Ki Teitzei: Faith in Troubled Times
Tehillim (Psalms)
Book 1 (34 articles)
- Psalms 1-2: Two Aspects of Spiritual Growth
- Psalm 2: Rejoice with Trembling
- Psalm 3: David's Song
- Psalm 4: Controlling Negative Impulses
- Psalm 5: Awakening Love and Awe
- Psalm 6: Tearless Cries
- Psalm 9: Nations Who Forget God
- Psalm 10: You Prepare Their Heart
- Psalm 12: Circles and Straight Lines
- Psalm 13: Trust, Happiness, and Song
- Psalm 19: Elevating Life Through Prayer
- Psalm 19: The Power of Holy Speech
- Psalm 20: Grasping the Middle of the Beam
- Psalm 24: Climbing and Standing
- Psalm 24: Opening the Temple Gates
- Psalm 26: Connected to the Klal
- Psalm 26: Two Levels of Love
- Psalm 27: Tenacious Prayer
- Psalm 3: The Enemy from Within
- Psalm 30: Mizmor Shir - Melody and Song
- Psalm 31: Like a Lost Vessel
- Psalm 31: My Times Are in Your Hand
- Psalm 32: Praying for Results
- Psalm 32: The Joy of Tzaddikim
- Psalm 33: Our Inner Source of Trust
- Psalm 34: Amen - the Response of the Soul
- Psalm 34: Freeing Ourselves from Bad Habits
- Psalm 34: Who Wants a Good Life?
- Psalm 35: From My Very Bones
- Psalm 36: You Deliver Man and Beast
- Psalm 37: My Feet Will Not Stumble
- Psalm 39: When Will I Die?
- Psalm 41: God Sustains the Ill
- Psalm 43: The London Bomb Shelter
Book 2 (8 articles)
Book 3 (9 articles)
- Psalm 73: The Complacency of the Wicked
- Psalm 81: Aiming for Greatness
- Psalm 81: The Strange God within Us
- Psalm 82: The Holiness of the Synagogue
- Psalm 84: Better than a Thousand
- Psalm 84: Prepare Yourself for Prayer
- Psalm 86: A Sign of Forgiveness
- Psalm 87: Children of Zion
- Psalm 87: The Beloved Gates of Zion
Book 4 (15 articles)
- Psalm 90: Teach Us to Count Our Days
- Psalm 91: Dwelling On High
- Psalm 92: Faith in the Nights
- Psalm 94: Fortunate Misfortune
- Psalm 95: Bowing Before Our Maker
- Psalm 97: Light Sown for the Tzaddik
- Psalm 99: The Leadership of Moses and Aaron
- Psalm 100: How to Serve God in Joy
- Psalm 100: Recognizing God's Kindness
- Psalm 103: Reaching Inwards to God
- Psalm 104: God's Messengers
- Psalm 104: Let Sin be Uprooted
- Psalm 104: The Inner Meaning of Hallelujah
- Psalm 105: Deepening Our Wonder
- Psalm 105: Our Ties to the Land of Israel
Book 5 (21 articles)
- Psalm 111: The Divine in the Details
- Psalm 112: Placing Our Trust in God
- Psalm 115: The Earth is Entrusted to Us
- Psalm 115: Why Do We Love Life?
- Psalm 119: A Time to Act for God
- Psalm 119: King David's Nightly Schedule
- Psalm 119: The Peace of Torah Scholars
- Psalm 122: The Peace of Torah Scholars
- Psalm 125: Judging Scholars Favorably
- Psalm 126: We Were Like Dreamers
- Psalm 128: Seeing the Goodness of Jerusalem
- Psalm 128: Striving for Excellence
- Psalm 130: Prayer From The Depths
- Psalm 135: Deliverance from Powerful Enemies
- Psalm 140: The Tzaddik and the Yashar
- Psalm 144: No Breach in Our Street
- Psalm 144: Our Leaders Are Burdened
- Psalm 145: The Two Benefits of Ashrei
- Psalm 145: To Pray in Truth
- Psalm 146: God Raises the Bowed
- Psalm 149: The Double-Edged Sword of Shema