Printable PDF available here. Previous years’ pieces on Yitro are available here and here.

Rav Kook (Based on Ein Ayah, Gemara Shabbat 86b)

What was the chronology of the period before the Torah was given on Mount Sinai? Rabbi Yose taught that Rosh Chodesh Sivan fell out on the first day of the week. On that first day, G-d did not say anything to Israel because they were weary from journeying. (Gemara Shabbat 86b)

The highest form of holiness demands the manifestation of complete life, in all of its fulness. Physical exhaustion impedes the noble expression of life’s breadth and purity, just as sadness or depression obstructs the emotional realm. An exhausted soul cannot manifest its potential for infinite fulness of elevated thought, profound emotional depth, or pureness of ethical conduct. A tired and weary individual is destined to fall prey to the scourge of Amalekite spiritual influences [1]. The exhaustion of his body will impede his spiritual development, and he will be unable to maintain true awe of G-d.

If one seeks to listlessly drag themselves forward on the journey to spiritual advancement, there is a grave danger that the search for G-d will become corrupted. One is liable to conclude that human weakness and enfeeblement is a Divine ideal, that the diminishment of life’s vitality and neglect of man’s physical side is a religious duty.

G-d forbid that our Torah would ever endorse such an approach! In the face of physical exhaustion, one must allow time for his strength to gradually return, until his physical and emotional faculties can express their full vitality. One must recuperate to the point that his physical constitution is suited to bear the surge of supernal holiness. Only once one’s strength is restored and conscious of his bodily vigor (lit. גבורת הגויה והבשר), only then can his physical nature serve as a base for the establishment of the vigor of his spirit and his soul (lit. גבורת הרוח והנשמה). In this restored and refreshed state, the light of Divine life will flow downwards upon him, like drops of dew descending upon freshly opened flower buds.

This is the deeper lesson behind Rabbi Yose’s teaching that G-d did not address the Israelites on the first day that they arrived at Sinai, because they were wearing from journeying.

[1] Rav Kook is alluding to the verse in Devarim 25:17-18 – “You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt, how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and did not fear God.” According to Rav Kook, the Jews became vulnerable to Amalek because being “faint and weary” meant that they, i.e. the Israelites, lost some measure of fear of G-d. When the verse says “and he did not fear G-d,” it refers to Israel, not Amalek.

Questions for Discussion

1. Rav Kook writes that “The highest form of holiness demands the manifestation of complete life, in all of its fulness.” What do you think he means?
2. Do Rav Kook’s insights have any relevant to how or why we observe Shabbat?
3. Where does the halacha give expression to the value of taking care of one’s physical health?
4. Were the Jews really so exhausted upon arriving at Sinai?
5. What does being tired have to do with Amalek?

A printable PDF is available here.

Translation (Orot haTorah, 3:3-4 and 4:3-4):

It is essential that a person’s heart and mind cling to the all-encompassing, expansive dimension of Torah, through recognizing its underlying unity and fundamental principles. Through this, a comprehensive commitment to Torah will spill over to meticulous adherence of every individual mitzvah and halachic detail. This is similar to the way the heart provides life force to every one of the body’s organs and cells. When the heart is healthy and full of vigor, it pumps blood to even distant arteries and capillaries.  Similarly, someone with a unitary perspective on Torah perceives how even mundane details express higher dimensions of ethics and holiness. He sees the light and the life within every aspect of Torah, which he regards as a splendorous treasure worthy of honor.

Without this all-encompassing state of consciousness, every part of Torah stands on its own and its vitality withers away. A person experiences Torah in a limited and fragmented way, and is thus unable to serve God with passion and complete resolve. This is what Isaiah described when he lamented “And [God’s word] became for them a commandment here and a commandment there, a line here and a line there.” [1]

To acquire a broader perspective, we must remind ourselves that every component of the Torah flows from a greater Divine totality. Granted, halacha acknowledges that not all laws and obligations share the same stature, since every part of the Torah system manifests the Divine light in its own specific and unique way. However, every particular of Torah living and learning – whether it be written or Oral Torah, a mitzvah, a halakhic detail or proper midot– contains a latent totality of light and life, holiness and supernal spirituality. Someone who acquires this perspective sees to the inner essence of every halachic detail, and perceives therein a world of splendor that fills the entire universe. Out of every detail he can compose an entire song, [2] a song that overflows until every aspect of the Torah, from the most mundane to the most sublime, resonates with a pleasing and refined melody.

 

Commentary

Consider the following insights from R. Moshe Weinberger about the need to perceive the Torah as a single, interconnected system:

(1) Throughout history, Jews were generally satisfied with their place in Hashem’s world. They accepted the disparate details that comprise Yiddishkeit without requiring an explanation of how they fit into the larger picture of their lives and into the puzzles of history, philosophy and so on. They even believed that they had no business making such inquiries. After all, how dare a little person expect to understand the big picture?

When the Mashiach comes, the bigger picture will be revealed. All Jews will experience Divine inspiration, and prophecy will return. So, as the spirit of that era begins to make itself felt, people are no longer satisfied with fragments. They expect to understand the relationship of the parts to the whole. And since the world is at a point where Jews are demanding how all the details are related to the bigger picture, telling them to focus on particulars will not satisfy their hearts and minds. A detail that remains unrelated to a person’s understanding of why he is a Jew will not bring him clarity or tranquility. [3]

(2) When a person lives a life of disconnected particulars, he only thinks of what he must do to get by, and when he looks over his life, he wearily asks, “What is the point?”… Without an awareness of the bigger picture, a person starts to feel that he is suffocating. Yiddishkeit itself can feel stultifying when it seems to be solely about unrelated details – about what a person may and may not do. [4]

(3) In order for a person to realize expansive, noble ideals in his day-to-day life, he must adhere to halachah… There are no shortcuts. Only through keeping every such detail can the power of a person’s dreams and hopes be unleashed. Otherwise, a person can talk about that idealism, sing about it, roll his eyes, and sway to guitar music after learning the Mei HaShiloach – but practically speaking his life will not change. [5]

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It seems like the above teaching from Orot haTorah is partly autobiographical, in the sense that Rav Kook was a towering spiritual personality who saw great light in every detail of Torah. Consider the following incident from one of his Purim seudot:

When the festivities reached their height, the Rav stood at the head of the table and began a lengthy Purim discourse. He examined every mitzvah in the Torah, interpreting each one as a source for the obligation to drink on Purim. With a wonderful blend of erudition and ingenuity, he derived from every mitzvah a metaphorical, homiletic, mystical, or even literal proof that one is obligated to drink “until one is unable to distinguish between cursed Haman and blessed Mordechai.” [6]

 

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. Would Rav Kook would claim that minhagim also emanate from the same all-encompassing, unitary dimension of the Torah? Or do those have a different status?
2. Have you ever had an experience where you perceived the significance of what had seemed like a mundane aspect of halacha or Jewish practice?
3. According to some, much of the ‘off the derech’ phenomenon can be attributed to an approach to Judaism where the ‘big picture’ is lacking. Do you agree?[7]
4. How can we educate ourselves and our children to perceive the underlying unity of the entire Torah system? Is it even something that can be taught, or does a person have to attain it on their own? Does it require familiarity or training in Jewish mysticism?
5. Are there any particular sectors of the Orthodox community that you think excel at seeing “the light and the life within every aspect of Torah,” like Rav Kook idealizes? If so, what do they do to foster that kind of perspective?

 

About this Piece

Orot haTorah contains insights from Rav Kook regarding various aspects of the experience and value of Torah learning. Rav Kook’s son, Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, compiled it from various writings of his father. It was first published in the 1960s. Multiple commentaries have been published in Hebrew, but the work has never been translated or adapted in English. An extensive series of English shiurim on Orot haTorah from R. Moshe Weinberger is available here.

 

[1] Isaiah 28:10.

[2] Consider the statement attributed to Rav Kook that “Just as there are rules to song, so too there is a song in the rules.” Lit. כשם שיש חוקים בשירה כך יש שירה בחוקים. (Quoted in שיחות הרצי”ה, פרשת האזינו.)

[3] Song of Teshuva, Vol. 1 pg. 157-158.

[4] Song of Teshuva, Vol. 3, pg. 195-196.

[5] Song of Teshuva, Vol. 3 pg. 180.

[6] Mo’adei HaRe’iyah pg. 264.

[7] Rav Kook certainty would. See Orot haTeshuva, 4:10, which the first excerpt from R. Moshe Weinberger above is commenting on.