Rav Yaakov Moshe Harlop, a venerated student of Rav Kook and one of the heads of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav after his teacher's death, often spoke of the contemporary phenomenon of baalei teshuvah, returnees to Torah observance. The problem was that this was far from a widespread trend at the time – 80 years ago, give or take – and his students wondered what he was referring to. On the contrary, it seemed that society in the Land of Israel was deteriorating towards secularism...