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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 started writing about the Torah’s view of slavery. He posited that slavery was a natural fact of human society, not at all created by the Torah, and that a slave protected by regulations could be better off than an exploited worker.]
Igrot Hare’aya (200)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
58 - Course of Study in Contemporary Times
59 - Course of Study in Contemporary Times
60 - Follow-Up Questions
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This idea needs to be hidden until the time of light when Torah will go forth [to the whole world] from Zion. At that time, the following pasuk will be fulfilled: "Ten men from all the nations will grab the corner of a Jew’s garment, saying: ‘We will go with you, because we have heard that G-d is with you’" (Zecharia 8:23). Then, the whole world will recognize, as the hearts will be fixed and will become hearts of flesh (as opposed to hearts of stone), full of rectitude and mercy, what is actually good for them. Some of the downtrodden will want to put themselves under the auspices of fine, righteous people with wise hearts, who will look out for their welfare in the way people do for their prize possessions, which will bring them contentment and security.
The social and ethical situations are interconnected based on Hashem’s wisdom. Therefore, the ones who are fit to be slaves are those who would bring bad for themselves and the world by having greater freedom. These are people whose nature pushes them toward lowly lives, so that only external pressure straightens and elevates them. One’s family pedigree plays a role. Just as good attributes are often inherited, so too lowliness is often inherited in a way that it takes many, many generations to outgrow, as it is passed on both through people’s material and spiritual side.
Therefore, the lowliness that Ham displayed was such that his descendants were more likely to be fit to be slaves than to rule their own lives. This is what the Torah describes as Ham’s cursed status. For this reason, blessed people, who have attributes that connect them to love of Hashem and a striving for wisdom, should avoid clinging to them. In order to give credence to the level of rectitude mankind should have embraced through the Torah, there was value in the laws of slavery remaining in a regulated manner. This is the impact of a law like yom oh yomayim (forbidding excess enforcement of slaves’ obligations). The punishment for taking a life must be weighed in the perspective of making the world a better place, including in the future. That which protects society and the majority of its constituents in the future, in addition to being the right thing intrinsically, also needs to be limited in a way that it is safe externally. A situation must not exist whereby punishment of sinners stops being a tool of mercy and improving society but becomes a form of revenge.
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
Igrot Hare’aya Raffle of Property in Eretz Yisrael for Tzedaka
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: – #220
Igrot Hare’aya Trying to Arrange Purchase of Land in Eretz Yisrael – part II
#229 Date and Place: 13 Tishrei 5670 (1909), Yafo
P'ninat Mishpat A Commercial Rental for a Closed Business – part II
based on ruling 80047 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Igrot Hare’aya Informing a Friend he Is Not Insulted – #320
Date and Place: 5 Menachem Av 5670 (1910), Rechovot (probably)
Igrot Hare’aya The Need for a Broader Education – #274
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook Date and Place: 8 Adar I 5670, Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya What Requires Protest? – #279
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook Date and Place: 15 Adar I 5670 (1910), Yafo
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(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
P'ninat Mishpat Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Chemdat Yamim The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
