Books
Ein Ayah. Ein Ayah is a commentary on the aggadic portions of the Talmud, specifically Berachot, Shabbat and Seder Zeraim. Rav Kook began writing Ein Ayah when he was a young rav in Lithuania, and continued adding material until the end of his life. Ein Ayah seeks to extract profound and fundamental principles of Torah hashkafa from the world of Aggadah.[1] It is an excellent introduction to Rav Kook’s thought, inasmuch as the pieces tend to be more shorter and self contained and less esoteric than many of Rav Kook’s other worlds. While Ein Ayah has never been translated in its entirety into English, selected excerpts have been published by Betzalel Naor in Of Societies Perfect and Imperfect. An online course from WebYeshiva covering Ein Ayah on Masechet Shabbat is available here.
Igrot haReiah. Igrot haReiah is a three-volume set of Rav Kook’s letters on a variety of topics in halacha, hashkafa and other areas of Torah, as well as communal and political matters. It has never been translated into English, although selected excerpts have been translated (see here and here, both unfortunately out of print). An excellent series of written shiurim on Igrot haReiah is available from Yeshivat Har Etzion’s Virtual Beit Midrash, here.
Me’orot ha’Reiah. Me’orot ha’Reiah is a multi-volume anthology of Rav Kook’s writings on various Jewish holidays. The volumes are published by Machon Rav Tzvi Yehuda ha’Kohen, and began to come out in the late 1990s.
Midbar Shur. Midbar Shur is a collection of drashot on the parsha that Rav Kook wrote when he was the rav of Zeimel, Lithuania. Unlike Rav Kook’s later works, Midbar Shur is written in normal (i.e. non-poetic and non-kabbalistic) rabbinic Hebrew. Although the drashot were written in the 1880s, Midbar Shur was not published until 1999. An English translation by Betzalel Naor is available here, and various excerpts are adapted in the works Gold From The Land of Israel, Silver From the Land of Israel, and Sapphire From the Land of Israel, available here, here and here.
Orot haTeshuva. Orot haTeshuva was first published in 1925. In seventeen brief chapters, Rav Kook develops the notion that teshuva is not a somber process of self-deprivation and embittered guilt. Instead, it is a joyful journey back to Hashem and one’s own essence, part of a cosmic process by which the entire Creation yearns for improvement and Divine closeness – hence the title Orot haTeshuva, or Lights of Teshuva. It is s available in various English translations or adaptions. In my opinion, the absolute best is the commentary of Rav Moshe Weinberger and Ya’akov Shulman, published in four volumes. This edition combines a clear, accessible translation with a commentary that presents the basic aspects of Rav Kook’s unique thought. Citations from other thinkers and other works of Rav Kook are presented to provide context and develop important themes. Ya’akov Shulman’s translation is also available in a standalone volume without the commentary. Other editions can be found here and here.