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Separation and Integration – Parshat Korach

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Printable PDF available here. Last year’s post on Parshat Korach, which deals with similar themes but from an entirely different angle (re. Rav Kook’s take on Christianity) can be found here. See also this piece regarding withdrawal and isolation, written at the height of the COVID pandemic.

Rav Kook (Orot ha’Kodesh, 2:28)

The theme of separation is pervasive in Parshat Korach. Korach claims that Moshe and Aharon have no basis to rule over the people, as “the entire congregation are all holy.” The separation of the tribe of Levi also appears to have a role in the controversy. Both the death of Korach/his assembly and the miracle with Aharon’s staff all reinforce the distinct roles of Moshe, Aharon, and the tribe of Levi, roles which are reaffirmed by the laws at the end of the parshah as well.

Separation (lit. הבדלה) is one of two spiritual channels by which each individual and the collective must conduct their affairs. The second channel is that of integration (lit. הכללה).

Separation is more than just physical partition. It expresses itself any time that a person withdraws from the broader world due to an inner longing to perfect his world of spirit, thought, emotion, instinct or action. A sensitive soul understands that he must occasionally withdraw from the noisy superficiality of the world when it seeks to deprive him of the supernal treasure of an elevated life and a pure and joyful consciousness. He must be apart in order to rescue himself from the pale, constricted imitation of life that others regard as “the real world.”

On a broader level, separation expresses itself whenever any group is set aside for a distinct mission. At the outset of Israel’s development, the tribe of Levi was separated from the rest of the nation, and from the tribe of Levi, the Kohanim, descendants of Aharon, were further separated as well. Later in our history, the halacha developed distinctions between pious members of the community and amei ha’aretz, who were unreliable when it came to certain matters of ritualimpurity and tithes. But there are more fundamental expression of havdalah that provide the basic architecture for existence itself – the separation between Israel and the nations of the world; and prior to that, the separation between humanity and the rest of the animal kingdom, through man being endowed with a unique spiritual sensitivity and ethical awareness, which undergird his inner world and enable him to strive heavenward.

But within the very depths of separation is concealed an orientation and a potential for integration. By their very nature, spiritual talents and proclivities are scattered throughout the world. But when a group is Divinely set aside, those sparks can be nurtured into a flame of holiness and reach their most essential and consummate expression. The perfected aspirations of the group do not remain locked within it, but spread an inner illumination well beyond its boundaries, uplifting all of existence.

A few examples will serve to illustrate the truth of this principle. Humanity was separated from the rest of the natural world and raised up as the crown of G-d’s creation. However, mankind’s spiritual stature is not meant for its own aggrandizement. Our spiritual potential was conferred so that we would uplift of all of G-d’s creation and guide the entire world to its perfection.

The unique nation of Israel, the סגולה מכל העמים, fiercely guards its inner uniqueness and separates itself from the ways of other nations, not as an expression of chauvinism, but so that it can retain the ability to serve as a light to the nations and bring salvation to the rest of humanity.

The tribe of Levi is set apart of the rest of Israel. However, its unique path serves to distill a purity and spiritual intensity by which the rest of the nation is blessed. The same thing is true of the Kohanim, whose kedushah is not something foreign to Israel, but rather draws down the supernal revelation of ruach ha’kodesh for the benefit and refinement of the entire collective.

The separation of chaveirim from amei ha’aretz was not an expression of hatred or contempt for less educated members of the community. By living in accordance with unique spiritual aspirations, above and beyond what is expected from the masses, the chaveirim were able to cultivate an intensity of spiritual talents and aptitudes, which uplifted everyone they came into contact with.

All of this is the opposite of the shallow and superficial integration preached by the broader world (lit. ההכללה הגסה), which seeks to erase all differences and combine everything under one amalgamated banner, and thereby plows under every repository of spiritual splendor and refinement. Ultimately, life and clarity of consciousness become coarsened and dark. The unrefined “universal love of humanity” becomes polluted and corrupt. The great unity of shallow universalism disintegrates into resentment, hatred, and even bloodshed. As the holy Zohar teaches, “The forces of evil and negativity (lit. סטרא אחרא) begin in unity and end in separation. The forces of holiness (lit. סטרא דקדושה) begin in separation and end in unity.”

In summary, behind every act of separation lies a more profound goal – that life’s deeper and more sublime dimensions be preserved in their truest form, not to remain permanently constricted and withdrawn, but for the ultimate enrichment of and integration with everything outside of its borders. This is the path of G-d in all matters of holiness – separation for the purpose of ultimate integration.

Food for Thought

The above piece from Rav Kook deals with the profound spiritual relationship between separation and integration. If his insights seem esoteric or hard to relate to, consider the following excerpts from Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Commentary on the Torah (Bereishit 28:22): The sanctity of [Jewish] homes is the necessary condition for the sanctity of the House of G-d, which is not mikdash because it is the place to which kedushah is relegated, but, because from there holiness is to flow out and penetrate all human conditions and places, it is to be their center point. “Let them make a Sanctuary unto Me” it says later on to the descendants of Jacob who are to build out the foundation of this stone into a system of private and national life, “that I may dwell,” not in it, but בתוכם, “amongst them”… and the goal of the development beginning with this stone is as stated in Zechariah’s description of the messianic era, “Every saucepan in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy unto G-d.” (Zechariah, 14:21)

Collected Writings (Vol. 2, pg. 154): Thus our holy periods [in time, i.e. moadim] are not simply an oasis in a desert but are comparable to blessed wellstreams which flow in all directions… over all bordering time spans to spread holiness over all of life.

Commentary on the Siddur: The holy is set apart from the profane only to show that it is from the holy that the spirit of sanctity and sanctification should go out to permeate all the other phases of human life. That which is shut off from the light is so separated only that, under the cover of darkness, it may gather new strength in order then, suffused with light, to be awakened to new life and vigor. Yisrael, too, is set apart from the other nations only so that, through Yisrael, the rest of the nations may be won over to an ever-increasing extent to the truths it has revealed.

Horeb (Pg. 106): From the duty to ponder over the concept of the Sabbath when the Sabbath commences and to affirm that concept when the Sabbath departs [i.e. tosefet Shabbat] there follows this corollary: It is above all your duty not to limit the influence of the Sabbath to the short period of its duration but to let its holiness overflow into the week.

Consider also the following excerpt from the Rambam, particularly the bolded portion.

Maimonides (Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Melachim 12:1): Let no one think that in the days of the Messiah any of the laws of nature will be set aside, or any innovation be introduced into creation. The world will follow its normal course. The words of Isaiah: “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid” are to be understood figuratively, meaning that Israel will live securely among the wicked of the heathens who are likened to wolves and leopards, as it is written: “A wolf of the deserts does spoil them, a leopard watches over their cities.” They will all accept true religion [lit. dat ha-emet], and will neither plunder nor destroy, and together with Israel, peacefully eat that which is permissible, as it is written: “And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”

I believe the following quote, from an excellent work of political theory by a non-Jewish author, illustrates Rav Kook’s point about the “shallow and superficial integration preached by the broader world.”

Professor Patrick Deneen (Why Liberalism Failed, pg. 79-80, 82): Liberalism valorizes placelessness. Its “state of nature” posits a view from nowhere: abstract individuals in equally abstract places. Not only does liberalism rest on the anthropological assumption that humans are from no one… but that we are from nowhere. The place where one happens to be born and raised is as arbitrary as one’s parents, one’s religion, or one’s customs. One should consider oneself primarily a free chooser, of place as of all relationships, institutions, and beliefs…This placeless default is one of the preeminent ways that liberalism subtly, unobtrusively, and pervasively undermines all cultures and liberates individuals into the irresponsibility of anti-culture…Larger units than the locality or the region can flourish in the proper sense only when their constitutive parts flourish. Modern liberalism, by contrast, insists on the priority of the largest unit over the smallest, and seeks to impose a homogenous standard on a world of particularity and diversity.

Questions for Discussion

  1. Was Korach wrong when he said “the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst?”
  2. What are the possible meanings of “true religion” in the excerpt from Maimonides above? What are the implications of each possible interpretation? And which do you think Rav Kook would agree with?
  3. Think of some Torah laws that differentiate between different groups of people. Are they more intuitive in light of Rav Kook’s insights? Why or why not?
  4. How would Rav Kook react to someone invoking the chosenness of Israel to support racist beliefs or comments?
  5. Can you think of any concrete examples of the process described by Rav Kook, where a shallow “universal love of humanity” degrades into resentment, hatred, and even bloodshed?
  6. What are healthy ways of withdrawing from “the noisy superficiality of the world?” What are unhealthy ways?

True and False Humility – Parshat Beha’alotkha

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Printable PDF available here.

Rav Kook (Midot ha’Reiah, ערך גאוה, ערך עינוה)

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. They said, “Has the Lord spoken only to Moses? Hasn’t He spoken to us too?” And the Lord heard. Now this man Moses was exceedingly humble, more so than any person on the face of the earth. (Bamidbar 12:1-3)

The Danger of Arrogance

No negative trait comes close to arrogance (lit. גאוה) in its ability to deaden one’s religious personality, in its power to foreclose spiritual elevation and refinement.

Arrogance is bad character trait, but it is also a terrible punishment.

Humility and Willpower

Arrogance blemishes one’s willpower, and without willpower, Divine goodness can find no place to rest.

Humility deepens the power of the will, which makes it singularly important in shaping a person to be a vessel for all blessing and all goodness.

True and False Humility

Foolish is the person who allows concern for arrogance to hold him back from righteous conduct, Torah study, or developing his own Torah thoughts. A person must involve himself vigorously in every good pursuit and strive to elevate all of his thoughts. As he rises upward, the problem of arrogance will rectify itself – either by being cast aside, by being sanctified and elevated to its supernal source, or through a process of teshuva.

Our sages (see Bereishit 22:1 with Rashi) teach that הנני, the declaration “Here I am!” is an expression of humility and vigor (lit. לשון ענוה וזריזות). These two traits are not opposites. On the contrary, a truly humble person is full of determination and holy dynamism.

Any humility that leads to depression is spurious and illegitimate. True humility brings one to a state ofsimchah, gevurahand inner dignity.

A person who detects ga’avah within his personality must undertake an exceedingly thorough investigation. He must distinguish between (i) the terrible malady of arrogance that undermines a person’s clarity of consciousness and awareness of the Divine, and (ii) the refined sensitivity to one’s own spiritual potential, which broadens a person’s mind, girds him with a sense of confidence and fills his spiritual world with strength and splendor. Many times, what a person initially judges to be prideful conceit is really the vigorous expression of the Divine light that flows within his soul. He sees the greatness of G-d (lit. גאות ה׳) that streams through all of reality, and this fills him with a sense of vigor and self-worth. If someone in this state of being forces himself to constrict his sense of pride, no good will come about. The opposite is true – his spiritual stamina will be smothered and he will live out his days as a broken, timid and listless shadow of his full self. He will delude himself into thinking that his meekness brings him close to G-d, when in truth, it is a retreat from His presence.

Sometimes, it is hard for a person to grow and develop linearly, in gradual steps. He must leap upwards by making use of the trait of Holy pride (lit. גאוה של קדושה) and judge himself in an exceedingly favorable manner. He must find the points of goodness that remain within himself despite his many shortcomings. When a person exerts himself to find these points, he discovers a wealth of good within him. Through teshuva, even his shortcomings become transformed into fuel for spiritual improvement. And each day, he can advance in righteousness and good deeds, with a pure heart and full of confidence in his unfolding rehabilitation.

Food for Thought

Rav Moshe Weinberger (Song of Teshuva Vol. 4): [In the second excerpt above, Rav Kook writes that arrogance can be more than just a bad character trait – it is also a punishment.] Great rabbis such as the Ari and R. Chaim Vital teach that the essence of a Jew is holy and pure. Where then do a Jew’s bad traits come from? The Mussar literature answers that these traits come not from his essence but from his nefesh, his animal soul, and are superimposed upon his intrinsic goodness. Typically, a person’s bad traits are congenitally or environmentally shaped. But sometimes, Rav Kook states — in line with teachings of the Zohar and the Ari — G-d punishes a person for his sins by afflicting him with bad traits, in particular with a stubbornness of heart, as was the case with Pharaoh (Shemos 7:3). That is the worst punishment of all.

Thus, there are some people who stubbornly refuse to follow a halachah found in the Shulchan Aruch. Someone could speak to them day and night but they will not accept it. They will not listen to criticism, or agree to bind themselves to the most straightforward of Torah laws. This has nothing to do with intellectual differences or with an inability to subject themselves to the discipline that would be involved. It is due only to their having a hardened, stubborn heart. Even if someone demonstrates to them that their stubbornness is destroying their lives, they do not hear. They prefer to watch their entire kingdom, everything they have lived for, crumble before their eyes rather than comply.

In the yearly cycle of the Torah reading, every time we come to the Parshiyos that tell about the Exodus, we think that Pharaoh was a fool for having contested G-d. But if Pharaoh could look at us, he would say, “What makes you any smarter? Aren’t you ruining your children and yourself with gossip, slander, looking at immodest sights and all kinds of filth? Isn’t your own life crumbling before your eyes? You make fun of me, yet although you constantly hear words of reproof, the words of the living G-d, from holy books, you still sin. You’re still destroying your life.”

Typically, when a person wants to rid himself of a bad trait that hurts him and others, he studies Mussar texts or follows the suggestions found in self-help literature. However, that approach may not help. And if so, it is possible that this trait has come as a punishment for his sins. Therefore, the way for him to rectify that bad trait is to do teshuvah for his sins, even though he may not see any connection between the two.

Rav Soloveitchik (Days of Deliverance, pg. 8-9): The vulnerability of man is more than just a tragic truth; it is an ethical – halakhic postulate. The awareness of vulnerability, of being exposed, engenders many ethical virtues, among which the most important is humility. Man must practice humility; pride and vanity are both degrading and corrupting. Humility is perhaps the highest ethical virtue – Maimonides even suspended the rule of the golden mean vis-à-vis humility, writing that one must be “of exceeding humble and lowly spirit.”

Why should man be modest, shy, humble? Particularly, why should successful man be humble? He has the right, prima facie, to be proud of himself, to be arrogant toward those who have failed in life. In fact, man is inclined to be arrogant, to be impudent and aggressive. He is inclined to reach for things that are above and beyond his legitimate reach. Human arrogance, is of course, the consequence of victory; the feelings of self-assurance and self-righteousness that accompany success result in pride and arrogance. However, human pride and arrogance disappear the very moment man becomes aware of his vulnerability and of the suddenness with which fortune changes. In other words, the awareness of human vulnerability is cathartic, cleansing, it is an awareness that ennobles man and has a redemptive impact upon him. Humility is the expression of that awareness.

Questions for Discussion/Further Thought

  1. We usually think that punishment involves pain and suffering. How can a bad character trait be a punishment?
  2. Rav Mordechai Willig writes that “Self-centered modern society promotes self-fulfillment, gratification of one’s physical and psychological needs and wants, and self-actualization, the maximum fulfillment of one’s potential. The Torah teaches that these two goals are contradictory. Moshe reached the highest level of self-actualization precisely because he humbly negated his sense of self, and lived as an absolute servant of his Master. May all of us learn from his example and attempt to understand the Torah without a personal agenda. Paradoxically, by this self-negation we will be enabled to narrow the line between who we can be and who we are.” Do you think Rav Kook would agree? Why or why not?
  3. How does humility make a person closer to G-d? How does it make his or her life better?
  4. What does Rav Kook say about how to distinguish between true and false humility? Can you think of any other ways?
  5. What is the relationship between willpower and humility?
  6. How does Rav Kook’s understanding of humility differ from that of Rav Soloveitchik, quoted above?
  7. What are ways that a person can acquire humility?

Mandatory Diversity Training – Parshat Naso

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Printable PDF available here.

Introductory Comments

(Ramban, adapted by Rabbi David Sedley)

The second half of this week’s Torah portion describes the offerings that the Princes of Israel brought to the Mishkan on the day that it was established. The Torah writes: “And it was that on the day that Moses finished erecting the Mishkan, he anointed it, sanctified it, and all its vessels, and the altar and all its vessels. The Princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, presented [their offerings]. They were the leaders of the tribes…” (Bamidbar 7:1-2) The subsequent verses continue this thread and describe in specific detail the sacrifices that each Prince brought –- even though every Prince brought the exact same kind of offering. The result is that there is a block of verses in the Torah essentially repeating the same information twelve consecutive times. Because the Torah is normally concise with its wording, a clear question arises: why repeat the details for each Prince individually, and what is the deeper message that can be gleaned by the repetition?

To this question, the Ramban answers, based on the Midrash, that while the content of the offerings were the same, the essence of each was different. Each Prince brought his offering with unique meaning and intent which represented the individualized mission of his particular tribe. Despite the fact that on the surface each offering was the same, since the gift was defined by the unique intent of the particular Prince who offered it, in reality no two offerings were alike. The Ramban concludes that this is in fact the reason why the Torah records each Prince’s offering separately: to highlight the message that over and above outward appearances of uniformity, it is the internal intent and individuality of a person which is paramount.

Rav Kook (Orot haTorah, 9:6)

Some people leave Torah observance because they were taught an approach to Torah study and religious development that ignores their particular personality and unique temperaments. One person may be passionate about study of aggadah or midrashic matters, and is not able to make halacha the central focus of his studies. Because this person does not recognize his unique talents, he throws himself into study of halacha, which others expected of him by default. But his soul is resistant.

If this person would find the discipline of Torah that he is uniquely drawn to, he would realize that his unease in studying halacha is not a reflection of a blemish or shortcoming in the Torah, but simply because his soul is drawn to another of the Torah’s many disciplines.

Such a person would then be able to engage in productive study in the area of Torah that illuminates his soul. He will remain faithful to the Jewish people and the holiness of Torah. His fruitfulness in matters of aggadah will aid those other Jews who concentrate in halacha, and he will share with them the pleasantness of the inner world of Jewish thought. But too often, such a person fails to recognize the root cause of his unease in studying halacha. He forces himself to go against his nature, and eventually comes to experience Torah and Torah study as something painful and disagreeable. Spiritually suffocated, he flees as soon as the gates of the wider world are opened, and leaves the Torah behind.

The same dynamic applies regarding the quantity of a person’s Torah study. Even if a person ‘diversifies’ his Torah curriculum and supplements halacha with other disciplines, he is not necessarily cut out to study Torah to the exclusion of derech eretz, i.e. productive labor and worldly endeavors. Each person must know his individual spiritual temperament, and engage in Torah study in a way that suits his unique nature.

Food for Thought

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch (Commentary on the Torah, Bereishit 25:27): As long as Ya’akov and Esav were little, no attention was paid to the slumbering differences in their natures, both had exactly the same teaching and educational treatment, and the great law of education חנוך לנער על פי דרכו “bring up each child in accordance with its own way” was forgot­ten. The great Jewish task in life is basically simple, one and the same for all, but in its realization is as complicated and varied as human natures and tendencies are varied, and the manifold varieties of life that result from them.

To try to bring up a Jacob and an Esau in the same manner, make them have the same habits and hobbies, want to teach and educate them in the same way for some studious, sedate, meditative life is the surest way to court disaster. A Jacob will, with ever increasing zeal and zest, imbibe knowledge from the well of wisdom and truth, while an Esau can hardly wait for the time when he can throw the old books, but at the same time, a whole purpose of life, behind his back, a life of which he has only learnt to know from one angle, and in a manner for which he can find no disposition in his whole nature.

Had Isaac and Rebecca studied Esau’s nature and character early enough, and asked themselves, how can even an Esau, how can all the strength and energy, agility and courage that lies slumbering in this child be won over to be used in the service of G-d … then Jacob and Esau, with their totally different natures could still have remained twin­ brothers in spirit and life; quite early in life Esau’s “sword” and Jacob’s “spirit” could have worked hand in hand, and who can say what a different aspect the whole history of the ages might have presented. But, as it was, only when the boys had grown into men, one was surprised to see that, out of one and the same womb, having had exactly the same care, training and schooling, two such contrasting persons emerge.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Covenant and Conversation (Vayelech, 5780): At the end of his life, having given the Israelites at G-d’s behest 612 commands, Moses gave them the final mitzvah: “Now therefore write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be My witness against the people of Israel” (Deut. 31:19)… Oral Tradition [understands this] as a command for every Jew to write, or at least take some part in writing, a Sefer Torah… What, though – if we take the command to refer to the whole Torah and not just one chapter – is the significance of the word “song” (shira): “Now therefore write down for yourselves this song”? The word shiraappears five times in this passage. It is clearly a key word. Why?…

Rabbi Yehiel Michael Epstein in the introduction to the Arukh ha-Shulchan, Choshen Mishpat, writes that the Torah is compared to a song because, to those who appreciate music, the most beautiful choral sound is a complex harmony with many different voices singing different notes. So, he says, it is with the Torah and its myriad commentaries, its “seventy faces.” Judaism is a choral symphony scored for many voices, the written text its melody, the oral tradition its polyphony…

By Faith Alone: The Story of Rabbi Yehuda Amital:The open-mindedness that Rav Amital exhibited with regard to shiurim also characterized his attitude toward the substance of what his students were learning. When he identified certain students’ need to diverge from the regular framework – for instance, to limit their study of Talmud in favor of other disciplines – he understood and supported them. One such student was Yosef Avivi, a member of the yeshiva’s second class and now a scholar of Kabbala: “Rav Amital allowed me to study whatever I wanted. At first, during the afternoon break, I studied the Shelah – R. Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz’s Shenei Luhot HaBerit. He knew, but did not object. Slowly but surely, these subjects began to fill my regular sedarim (study sessions), not just break times, until my entire afternoon and evening sedarim were spent studying books that could not be found on many desks in the yeshiva. Rav Amital knew of this, and encouraged me.” Avivi once told Rav Amital about a certain work that he had seen in manuscript at the National Library and wished to edit, but could not due to lack of funds for the large amount of photocopying it would entail. Rav Amital granted Avivi some financial assistance from a discretionary fund of his and encouraged him to work on the manuscript. “More than the financial assistance,” Avivi says, “he provided spiritual assistance and support. Rav Amital’s enthusiasm encouraged me to review the manuscripts; all of my work, from then until now, is because of him, and to his credit.” In the introduction to a work published in 1977, Avivi wrote: “My gratitude and appreciation goes to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yehuda Amital, who allowed me to study my part of the Torah and did not impose the yeshiva’s framework on me….”

Rav Amital also allowed a student from the yeshiva’s first class, Asher Yaron, who later fell in the Yom Kippur War, to take university courses as a member of the Kollel in the yeshiva. This was quite an exceptional arrangement in the yeshiva world at the time. Yaron studied mathematics at Hebrew University in the morning and then diligently studied Torah in the beit midrash every afternoon.

At the same time, Rav Amital limited his openness to the desires of his students only to instances where he felt that there was a real need that justified deviating from the norm. When he felt that there was no such justification, he did not hesitate to rebuke those who independently adopted a schedule that differed from their peers’ or spent their time on unusual learning material. He once caught – and castigated – a first-year student devoting the majority of his morning seder to the study of Rav Kook’s Orot HaKodesh. If that student would revert to Talmud study in the wake of the rebuke, Rav Amital said, it indicates that he did not really need to study Orot HaKodesh. And if he would persist with what he was doing despite the reprimands, then apparently it was a real need, in which case Rav Amital would let him continue.

Questions for Discussion/Further Thought

  1. How does a person discover what portion of the Torah they are suited to study? How much they are suited to study?
  2. How do we a create space for ‘spiritual differentiation’ in our communities? In our schools? In our families?
  3. In terms of how your unique self finds religious expression, can you think of religiously observant friends/family members who are the polar opposite of you?
  4. Why is it important to study halacha?
  5. See Rav Hirsch’s comments above. Is his reading of the Ya’akov/Esav story compelling? Why or why not?
  6. In a recent piece on the day school tuition crisis, one writer has noted that “The pressure to produce high earners discourages and marginalizes those members of the community whose calling is in music, literature, the visual arts, or the performing arts. The problem is not only that creative types will likely be unable to afford the Modern Orthodox lifestyle; the community itself tends to marginalize those who pursue artistic careers, viewing them as irresponsible. Some creative types will gravitate toward the rabbinate or Jewish education, careers that can offer a creative outlet, financial incentive in the form of tuition reductions, and social acceptability. Many will either give in to the pressure to pursue a stable, lucrative career, or leave Orthodoxy behind.” Discuss this problem in light of Rav Kook’s comments.
  7. What area of Torah study are you attracted to? If you haven’t found one yet, what areas haven’t you explored?