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Recipient: R. Dr. Moshe Zeidel. He was a close disciple of Rav Kook, from their time in Boisk. Dr. Zeidel was a philologist and philosopher, who asked Rav Kook many philosophical questions.
Body: [Last time, Rav Kook wrote about the importance of talented students studying well on a basic level the classic works of mussar. Only then can one investigate these matters in depth, which requires a pure heart more than an academic approach. It must be done in a way that is also good for the future. We continue from that point and begin seeing an approach to the Torah’s view of slavery.]
Igrot Hare’aya (200)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
41 - False Accusation of Non-Kosher Soap – #333
42 - Asking Restraint from Insulted New Yishuv – #334
43 - Worse on the Outside, Better on the Inside – #332
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We need to look at life on two scales: how it is and how it should be. Absolute rectitude is always connected to the way life should be. However, temporary rectitude is more connected to the practical world in the present. The loftiness of Torah and G-dliness must by necessity be a precious instrument that is designed to align the world with the situation it is supposed to be in. It is critical for you to be aware that these two elements are connected like the changing views of the horizon that one sees on a long walk.
Realize that the laws of slavery, like all Hashem’s straight paths, which the righteous follow and the sinners stumble on, did not intrinsically bring about any stumbling block to the world. The institution of slavery is a natural one within humanity (i.e., when left unsupervised, man creates it), and legally supervised slavery does not extend beyond natural slavery. To the contrary, its rules in the Torah come to fix certain problems, which tend to exist in natural slavery.
The existence of different social classes – rich and poor, strong and weak, is indisputable. Those who have acquired a lot of property and use legal means to hire poor workers treat them like slaves to a great extent from a natural perspective. For examples, coal miners are hired willfully, but in practice, they are like slaves to their employers. Certainly, some people who have a lowly social status and are at the whims of evil people who manipulate the legal system, would be better off being slaves who were bought for money. For example, now we need moral statements to worry about the lives of workers from a financial and social perspective. A rich person with an insensitive heart mocks the rules of justice and ethics. In the case of the mine owner, he would prefer digging a tunnel that lacks light and air, even if it shortens the lives of and debilitates tens of thousands of people. He prefers that to spending extra money to provide a proper tunnel. If a mine collapses and buries its workers, it is of little concern to him because he can find new workers.
If these jobs were done not by workers but by his legal slaves, he would have incentive to protect their lives, as they are his financial resources, and the poor workers would actually be better off. Therefore, our holy Torah charts out a path to elevate a person’s heart and bring him closer to the ways of the Master of the Universe. As long as social factors dictate that the institution of slavery will exist, the Torah will fulfill the role of "I have created an evil inclination, I have created the Torah as a remedy" (Kiddushin 30b).
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
Igrot Hare’aya Trying to Arrange Purchase of Land in Eretz Yisrael – part II
#229 Date and Place: 13 Tishrei 5670 (1909), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Connecting Disciplines in Torah Study
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook #103 – part II
P'ninat Mishpat Payment for Not Clearing Warehouse On Time – part II
based on ruling 75076 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Igrot Hare’aya Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part II
Date and Place: 4 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya A Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part I
Date and Place: 4 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Excerpts of Letter on Shemitta – #289 – part I
Date and Place: 6 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Maintaining a Friendship of the Spirit – #266 – part I
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: Date and Place: 11 Shevat 5670, Yafo
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
